Forget the fact that this movie is foreign, and forget the fact that this movie quickly broke Titanic's record in the South Korean box-office. Strip away these barriers and look at the movie itself.
What's left is one of the best political intrigue/action movies I've seen.
Ah yes, I've heard many claim that this is a run-of-the-mill actioner on the same lines as "The Rock." Yes, the two contain many similarities; a liquid explosive that's bound to go off in a large city (Seoul, South Korea,) betrayals, cinematic techniques to make you think otherwise then what's occuring, etc. However, what this has that any big budget Bruckheimer explosion-fest doesn't, is a heart. Oh sure, one can claim that "Armageddon" or "The Rock" tugged at the heart strings with their fabricated and completely manipulative tear jerker sequences (bye bye daddy in Armageddon, and Connery and his daughter in The Rock) but SHIRI makes you care, not because the film's manipulative like the U.S fares mentioned above, but because of the fact that the characters come alive. The whole plot is far-fetched, yet the emotions are real.
With that in mind, the story comes alive. What this film manages to do is show the dichotomy between North and South Korea. At the front, it seems to show North Korea in an extremely negative light. Well, this is bound to happen to some extent because of the fact the film was made in South Korea, but it also manages to show North Korea, not as the antagonist, but as a lost soul. It is one nation that's been split in two for 50 years, and reunification is desired at any cost.
Anyhow, this is one of the best Korean films that the country has to offer; not quite as good as JSA, but still quite spectacular. With those two, and the rather succesful U.S. run of the love story "Chunhyang," Korean films seem to be coming into their own.
What's left is one of the best political intrigue/action movies I've seen.
Ah yes, I've heard many claim that this is a run-of-the-mill actioner on the same lines as "The Rock." Yes, the two contain many similarities; a liquid explosive that's bound to go off in a large city (Seoul, South Korea,) betrayals, cinematic techniques to make you think otherwise then what's occuring, etc. However, what this has that any big budget Bruckheimer explosion-fest doesn't, is a heart. Oh sure, one can claim that "Armageddon" or "The Rock" tugged at the heart strings with their fabricated and completely manipulative tear jerker sequences (bye bye daddy in Armageddon, and Connery and his daughter in The Rock) but SHIRI makes you care, not because the film's manipulative like the U.S fares mentioned above, but because of the fact that the characters come alive. The whole plot is far-fetched, yet the emotions are real.
With that in mind, the story comes alive. What this film manages to do is show the dichotomy between North and South Korea. At the front, it seems to show North Korea in an extremely negative light. Well, this is bound to happen to some extent because of the fact the film was made in South Korea, but it also manages to show North Korea, not as the antagonist, but as a lost soul. It is one nation that's been split in two for 50 years, and reunification is desired at any cost.
Anyhow, this is one of the best Korean films that the country has to offer; not quite as good as JSA, but still quite spectacular. With those two, and the rather succesful U.S. run of the love story "Chunhyang," Korean films seem to be coming into their own.