User Reviews

As a fan of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" I was intrigued when I saw a film entitled "The Good, The Bad, The Weird", when I saw it was a Korean western set in the deserts of Japanese occupied Manchuria I just had to see it even though I was sure it wouldn't be as good as it sounded... thankfully I was wrong, the plot may have been slight but the action was relentless and frequently very funny.

While it was obviously inspired by "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" it was not a remake, the main similarities where the three main characters; Once again The Good was a bounty hunter, The Bad was a sadistic killer and The Weird replaced The Ugly as the comic relief. The plot involves The Weird robbing a train, amongst the items he steals is a map... a map The Bad was planning to steal as well although he is interrupted when The Good arrives with the intent of collecting the bounty on him. In the confusion The Weird escapes and the rest of the film follows the attempts of The Bad, a group of bandits and the Imperial Japanese Army trying to get their hands on the map.

The action is spectacular and well done with numerous gunfights, knife fights and chases on foot, horseback, motorbike and car. While there is a focus on action the characters are fun too, especially The Weird who stole the show. While it is a comedy it does feature a few violent scenes which some viewers expecting only laughs might not like, I know I winced when one character tried to cut off another's finger with a knife.

I'd definitely recommend this to fans of westerns who are looking for something different as well as to fans of Asian cinema.

This is a real blast. A London Film Festival viewing this afternoon and my jaw dropped during the opening. This may have the most stunning opening of any film, I certainly can't think of any other contenders at present, with crazy music, a landscape out of a dream, soaring birds of prey and a great big steam train. The camera and hence the audience are everywhere, this side, that side above, below and even in the smoke from the engine. Previously there has been some set up to accompany the credits and then we are away. This film does not let up so if it is not non-stop action you are after you had best avoid. For all sensible folk this is a mind blowing exercise in action cinema. Loud, violent and stunningly shot this is awe inspiring stuff and with a comic edge too. I spent half the time with my mouth agape and rest with a broad smile. I have heard some criticise this for lack of storyline and certainly there is minimal narrative flow here as we are sped on by sheer excitement and amusement. Fantastic entertainment on a massive scale. Large screen viewing recommended.

The Manchurian desert in the 1930's has become the Asian cinematic version of the American West. A number of action films have been set here but this is the first to make an outright reference to a classic western that I've seen. While taking off from Leone's "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" this film goes in it's own direction although the mix of horses, trains, motorcycles, Chinese and Western costumes and some very odd characters makes this film resemble the Mad Max films more than anything else. An extended chase scene towards the end really seems influenced by the George Miller films.

Influences aside, the ingenuity in crafting the action scenes in this film makes it a joy to watch. Photography is great. The lead actors are good and the story while a little daft is easy to follow for the most part.The music is good but nowhere near the Leone films. The violence is typical for Korean action and might be a little hard to watch at times. Long but pure fun for the most part.

This is probably the best action film I've seen in a while.

Of the few Korean films i have seen , the best word to describe them all is eccentric and The Good The Bad & The Weird certainly lives up to that. This movie looks fantastic , almost epic like and you can see a lot of money was spent on the set . It really does have the feel of a western and the three main characters are all very interesting in their own right. The story is a simple one , three men ( and their cronies) are after a treasure map and they will do anything to get hold of it. The minus points of this film are that its half an hour too long and that at times it's to frenetic. Because of the constant action you get a little bombarded with it after a while. On the whole i enjoyed this film but im not too sure i would ever watch it again.

Off-kilter Korean neo-western "The Good, the Bad, the Weird," is a frenetic genre mash-up packed with visceral, loopy violence. That isn't a complement so much as it is a description.

Suffice it to say, if you're into a modernist, freewheeling foreign take on Leone's "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," with cartoony characters and outrageous action, you're going to have a blast; if you're looking for a substantive or meditative reflection on the period or the original film, you're in the wrong line.

Personally, I'm caught between the two perspectives. I appreciate the pure Peckinpah punch of the gunplay, but was in equal parts bored and bewildered by the overall film. Perhaps the principal flaw in writer/director Ji-woon Kim's script is that he indulges in too much of a good thing. His action sequences are a lot of fun, and the über-stylized retro/modern aesthetic delivers bizarre and inventive visuals like a gunslinger in a deep-sea diving helmet.

But the deafening sound effects and quick cutting style wear thin if not appropriately paced, and "The Good, the Bad, the Weird," is almost relentless in its drag race to the final showdown. I'm loathe to draw a comparison to "Transformers" here, but Kim proves that even good action has a threshold, and there are times in his film where it's easy to let your eyes glaze over.

In its more quiet moments, the story, a very loose retelling of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" follows a band of misfit thieves who come into possession of a treasure map sought by both Chinese thugs and the Japanese military. What's maybe most interesting about the film is seeing the conventions, chronology, and geography of the western customized to fit eastern ideology, and China's Taklimakan desert stands in for Manchuria circa 1940.

The tone is played as loose as the history, however, and Kim is never bogged down by self- seriousness or the oft-stringent requirements of a period piece. "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" is closer to a gleeful "Kill Bill" in tone than South Korea's own operatic, ultraviolent "Oldboy," and benefits from it. Kim easily leapfrogs from hard-hitting shoot-outs to charming comedy, a phenomenon that has everything to do with his incredible cast. Each of the title characters, Park Do-won (Good), Park Chang-yi (Bad), and Yoon Tae-goo (Weird), brings with him a distinct tonal octave that lends the film some much-needed variety. My lone gripe in this department is that it would have been nice to get to know them a little bit better. As it stands, their rifles seem to have far more to say.

And for many, that won't be an issue. I've no question that there exists a very appreciative audience for this film—I'm just not it. Nevertheless, I'm only too happy to report that everything basically works. The cinematography is frequently gorgeous, the performances are stellar, and the action is kinetic—There's just too much of it. By the end of the two-hour engagement, what should be a satisfying, visceral finale comes off as extravagant hoopla.

As viewers we shouldn't be conditioned to expect non-stop action, because once you pass the threshold, there's a diminishing return on adrenaline, impressive as any sequence that follows may be. "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" gets all its forward momentum right, but could benefit from applying the brakes more frequently.

Then again, maybe that reckless pace is what made it such a fast, fun ride to begin with.

This movie is fantastic, exhilarating and fun. High dramatic art it is not.

It's a movie about a chase for treasure, and it holds onto that and never forgets. In the pursuit of creating a chase, everything is crafted carefully. The cinematography is breathtaking, with huge elaborate sets that are used to their fullest. Most of the stunts and effects are real, CGI being kept to a minimum. It is an action movie with actual action instead of pixels, a rarity in movies from the past 10 years. Stunning candy for all the senses, it gets your adrenaline pumping! As far as acting goes, it is excellent. Korean comic actor Song Kang-Ho fills the "Weird" role of Tae-Goo, pulling off a combination of humanity and quirkiness. Lee Byung-Hun is the 'bad' character, brutal and insane as gangster Chang-Yi. Filling out the main three is Jung Woo-Son as the cool, collected and more than a little arrogant bounty hunter Do-Won. While Jung is eclipsed by the other two, his character ultimately became my favorite during the climax. The supporting cast is none-too-shabby either, playing everything from military dropouts to ninjas, all well. Particularly entertaining are the leaders of a group of Manchurian gangsters, who watch insanity take place and calmly discuss it from horseback.

Now, while the acting is good...there is not a lot of it. I don't think anyone is going to try to pretend this is a character-driven piece. It could have been, maybe, but it wasn't try to be. It was trying to be fun. There is enough character development so that when the climax rolls around after two madcap hours of amazing action, you care that the characters lives are being threatened. That's...all.

But the action is extremely well done, with a heart-pounding score that makes it all the well fun. For entertainment, you aren't going to get much more well-done for this. Supremely fun, with scenes shot with people, horses, cars and real pyrotechnics in the middle of the Gobi desert (too much CGI and spectacle just becomes yawn-worthy, I often fun). So get the DVD, get some popcorn, turn the sound WAY up and prepare for a beautifully-crafted action movie. Not for a complex character-driven masterpiece.

This is a stunning visual film to watch. The cinematography is exceptional through-out the movie. The framing, the lighting and the colors are outstanding. This alone makes the movie a joy for me to see.

The problem with the film is that it lacks depth. The director uses archetypes from the Italian Westerns of the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the dialogue and action is lifted directly from Sergio Leone's "man without a name" opus. Most obviously The Good, The Bad and the Ugly; but also a heavy splattering of the others. The problem is not the reworking of Leone's work, but I do not think the director quite understands how to work subtext into his script. In fact, the director leaves far too much exposition to the end which makes the movie drag at the end of the epic battle scene (I thought this might be a cultural issue, but I do not know if it is).

Another thing that bothers me (and here comes my western sensibilities), I know stunts.... and there were horses hurt during the filming of the battle scene. The reason I say this is that I could see trip wires. So for the photography I give this film 6 points out of 10. I also suggest that the director rent some of the Ford Westerns. As good as Leone was Ford was better.

I was lucky enough to see this film in a big cinema complex in the centre of Seoul, South Korea, yesterday. It is surprisingly difficult to find big Korean releases with English subtitles, so seeing Jin-Woon Kim's new film, which i have been looking forward to for well over a year, was a pleasant experience. Unfortunately everyone in the west will have to wait a little longer...

As with all of Jin-Woon Kim's films i have very little criticism to give this film, from its fantastic and totally relentless action opening to the suspenseful ending, i was completely entertained.

The cast, as expected from three of South Korea's most most talented actors were superb with in my opinion exceptionally notable roles from Lee Byun Hun and Song Kang-Ho. Lee Byung Hyun pulls off a villain superbly and fills this role with style and terror without fault. Song Kang-Ho in my opinion is the main force of the film, pulling it along with humour and perhaps the most interesting story as the film progresses. Woo-Sung Jung plays his 'good' role well but feels like the character with least depth. The film contains fantastic make-up and costume design, notably in my eyes, Lee Byung Hun's character, who looked fantastic and the on screen presence of this smart darkly dressed character set against the sandy desert was stunning.

The cinematography in this film was superb with plenty of great flying panoramic desert shots, high octane action camera maneuvers, fast cuts and perfect editing as expected from the director of such fantastic action/thriller films.

The soundtrack is fun and reminiscent of old western films with a new, modern twist to keep things up to pace. Although the story has been noted as being weak, the film really does not offer itself as an in depth period drama in the first place. The film is exactly what it calls for... Fun, fast and funny entertainment and what you can expect from some of the finest noted stars and workforce in South Korean cinema.

Set in the wastelands of Manchuria circa the 1940s, 'The Good, The Bad, The Weird', a bonkers oriental western from Korean director Ji-woon Kim (A Tale Of Two Sisters), opens with a spectacular train robbery in which thief Yoon Tae-goo (Kang-ho Song) makes off with a valuable treasure map that is seemingly sought after by every other outlaw, shady character, and opportunistic gunslinger in the area, including ruthless killer Park Chang-yi (Byung-hun Lee) and bounty hunter Park Do-won (Woo-sung Jung). Oh, and the Japanese army too!

What follows is a violent, madcap adventure with the gun-crazy characters pursuing each other through the desert landscape, engaging in frenetic shootouts, well orchestrated chases (think Mad Max, but with horses), and flawlessly choreographed punch-ups, pausing only occasionally to allow the viewer to pick their jaw up off the floor and draw a breath. Sometimes, the blistering pace and chaotic action becomes so intense that it's hard to keep track of who is shooting at who and why, but with so much fun to be had, this is a minor quibble and it certainly doesn't detract much from one's overall enjoyment of the film.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird is a film that by its own title says 'there's something extra here', that there might be another twist on what Leone's masterpiece brought to us in film. From Ji-Woon Kim (director of the acclaimed Tale of Two Sisters) one would also think his first foray into an action spectacle would be bug-f*** insane. But as it turns out, this is really just another action movie, nothing too 'weird' enough about it (the 'Weird' character isn't even that weird, more just scum along the lines of his inspiration of Tuco in GB&U). Is this a bad thing? Not at all. It's a respectable, sometimes even really thrilling and alive, action western that could be described as a "noodle-western" with its setting in Manchuria and featuring Korean, Chinese and Japanese players in a setting with basically the same general plot of Leone's film, except this time featuring a treasure map with an undetermined amount of fortune, and set in the 1930's.

While it did shoot short of being really great and original - it's setting and variation on the characters is really the only change that Kim's homage to spaghetti westerns goes- it's a lot of fun seeing how the characters get where they go, and how the set-pieces do function as best they can. The opening train sequence has a lot of verve and some humor (more people in the screening were laughing out loud than I was, but it was always amusing), and there's one particular chase sequence out in the desert when 'Weird' (a very good Kang-ho Song) is driving in his cart from an entire army and tons of bandits, all firing guns (some machine variety) and put to the 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' cover that was featured in Kill Bill Vol. 1. This is, at the least, a real breathtaker, where Kim just says 'f*** it' and goes all out with propelling the action forward, with anybody getting in the way trampled underfoot.

The film also boasts a few other goodies. One of these is the performance of 'The Bad', Park Chang-yi, who has a very crazed look in his eyes every other moment and is purported to be a notorious finger-chopper with his victims. His work makes it constantly watchable whenever he's on screen. And, as mentioned the actor Kang-ho Song (who we previously saw as the Priest in Park's 'Thirst') is tough as nails and goofy as hell in his part of the Weird. The other main player, Woo-sung Jung as 'The Good' is more the straight man, less a bad-ass than Clint Eastwood but more subtle and with a more obscure and interesting back-story that is only revealed in snippets. While Kim definitely verges from the usual Mexican stand-off just a bit in the climax, there's at least a sense of real love for his source material of The Good the Bad and the Ugly, and action westerns in general.

If only it could be a little more, well, weird. It's certainly no Sukyiaki Western Django, but if you're hankering for some bloody western fun and shameless action and characterizations (and a little jazz to boot), it gets good marks on all counts.

Oh, the sweet irony. What would this world be without the acerbic, poignant, scathing realization irony offers? A less interesting place for sure. Take Ji-woon Kim's new (insert traditional Korean food) western action movie for example. The ill-advised title immediately reveals everything that is wrong with it.

Whereas Sergio Leone's THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is a similar sprawling western adventure from which Ji-woon Kim freely borrows, it still has a masterful story behind its quirks and eccentricities that holds it together. Kim's GBW lifts the plot from Leone's movie wholesale yet forgets to mould it into a story worth the celluloid it's printed on. When the loud explosions, quick cutting and dangerous acrobatics stop for a moment, the silence becomes deafening. And while GBU will remain a staggering classic, GBW will be sooner tossed away for the next collage of things blowing up and stuntmen jumping from high places that Hollywood will serve us.

The titular three (broadly sketched as the strong silent type, the coldhearted bastard and the bumbling fool respectively) are all after a map that reveals the location of hidden treasure somewhere in Manchuria. Set in early 20th century east Asia, GBW cross-references the genre world of the American western with then contemporary historical setting, something that in theory should resemble the spaghetti western but instead comes off as a tad on the Hollywood side of things.

GBW hovers in the middle, a thinly plotted pastiche that goes on for too long, a step upward from your run-of-the-mill action blockbuster on the strength of exotic locale alone. Mildly interesting at first until you realize it's a one-trick pony. The opening and pre-climax large action scenes are quite good but the middle sags and drags painfully. Easily the most impressive action scene takes place in the desert and involves the Japanese Imperial army, bandits and some more bandits all chasing after a motorbike. The astonishing panoramas of the army bombing the desert that recall Sergei Bondarchuk's epic WATERLOO are a pleasure to be hold.

I see a lot of people praising this film, not for what it is, but for what it's not (a Hollywood blockbuster); however if we're quick to scoff at the sight of another mindless, airheaded superhero blockbuster, if we refuse to be dazzled by dramatically vapid spectacles that make up for their wafer-thin story and absent characterization by staging bigger, louder, and more CGI-laden scenes of things blowing up and buff guys posing for the camera, I don't see any reason why we should take them from South Koreans in the name of 'foreign cinema' - even when they're presented in the form of homage, or perhaps more so in those cases (as Kim shows no understanding of Leone's cinema). I'm sorry to say I ended up disliking this movie as much as I was looking forward to it.

And finally why didn't anybody tell Kim that GBU spoof titles stopped being cool 20 years ago?

There are few things more enjoyable than watching a film made by a filmmaker who clearly has a passion for his subject - especially when he seems to determined to pass that enthusiasm on to his audience as Ji-woon Kim does with The Good, The Bad, The Weird, a kind of cockeyed homage to Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Ji-woon goes for all out action, forsaking any romantic involvement or depth of plot that might slow the full-on action that begins with a chaotic shootout on a steam train and culminates with a madcap, full-on chase through the desert involving the good guys, the bad guys and a few hundred red army soldiers in jeeps, motorbikes and on horseback. Ironically, because of this the film's main weakness is that we seem to be moving from one shootout to another with a few minutes of padding in between to allow the audience to catch it's breath. And while the action set-pieces really are breathtaking, it does feel as though something is missing at times.

Nevertheless, the exuberance of Ji-woon's direction will sweep you up and keep you watching (and enjoying), and given that the final Mexican stand-off drags in comparison to the original on which it is based - and which lasts two or three times longer than Ji-woon's version - it's perhaps for the best that he didn't try to emulate Leone's genius for creating tension out of seemingly endless set pieces. Either way, this is a film you're not likely to forget in a hurry.

It's not difficult to see why The Good, The Bad, The Weird is number 1 at the Korean box office this year, given that the titular roles are handed over to some of the heartthrobs such as Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-sung. But the real scene stealer here is Song Kang-ho as The Weird Yoon Tae-goo, with some of the best lines and given the moral ambiguity of his character, rather than being the Good Park Do-won (Jung) and the Bad Park Chang-i (Lee) which is cast in stone, simply endears himself to the audience, and not to mention the extended screen time devoted to him too.

But those aside, this film trounces plenty, and I mean plenty of bland, generic action adventure types cooked up by Hollywood in recent times, and having a Korean flavour in what would essentially be a Western, it adds plenty of spice to a genre that most wouldn't want to touch with a ten foot pole. The storyline's pretty straightforward, with everyone (the titular characters, the Japanese army, the Korean freedom fighters, and plenty of rival Manchurian gangsters) after a treasure map that points to some age old Chinese dynasty goodies buried deep within some desert land in Manchuria, and having the map stolen and in the possession of The Weird, this makes it one hell of a chase movie from start to finish, offering plenty of set action sequences from massive chases, to awe-inspiring gun play.

The references and inspiration from Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is undeniable, but this is its own movie. Making its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, director Kim Ji-woon crafts a tale that is full of rip-roaring fun, finding some good balance between comedy and stylized action. It tries though to plant many elements and characters into the story, but these are rather forgettable as the spotlight falls firmly upon our titular three. Positive elements of the movie include the excellent cinematography and camera work, which packages the action scenes like a video game, offering the audience a close up third person perspective following through the characters in their execution of maneuvers and moves, while the eclectic soundtrack is just plain music to the ears.

Jung Woo-sung perhaps got the shortest straw of the trio, with his limited screen time devoted to looking good and cool with his double barelled shotgun. As The Good bounty hunter, he's requested by the group of Korean freedom fighters to assist them in the retrieval of the map, which also gives him an opportunity to apprehend The Bad. His character doesn't say much or do much other than to dispatch the bad guys, and frankly speaking, he falls squarely into the strong and silent mold for the movie.

Lee Byung-hun on the other hand, in reuniting with the director since their A Bittersweet Life days, brings forth quite convincingly his role as the chief baddie. Ruthless and highly skilled, he doesn't flinch an eyelid when dishing out punishment, and has through this role, told the world that he can be equally adept at being the bad guy. Kudos go to the makeup artist in trying to make him look really nasty, with plenty of facial scars that try to disguise his naturally good looks. Female fans in the audience looking for eye candy would be gleefully happy to note that he was sans shirt in one scene, and I thought it'd put to shame plenty of guys out there when they see Lee's rock-hard six-pack (time to hit the gym, guys!)

But in all honesty, this film firmly belongs to pudgy looking Song Kang-ho for his charismatic role as The Weird. The first Korean film that I ever watched in the cinemas was Shiri, and Song had a memorable supporting role to play there. From then on I've become a fan of his, and followed Song through his roles in Park Chan-wook's Joint Security Area, Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder and The Host, and Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine. Having seen him backstage last year when he won Best Actor for his role in The Host at the inaugural Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, was nothing but a thrill. Here, he single-handedly stole the show from the other two pretty boys with his sheer presence, and I felt that he'd probably had a field day with this free spirited role.

With well designed action designed to exhilarate, and being cheeky without qualms, The Good The Bad The Weird deserves to be highly recommended with its fusion of gun play, knife play and comedy in large doses, despite some forgivable inconsistencies. The last act did seem quite indulgent in trying to achieve spectacle that it might have become a little repetitive, but the finale face off more than makes up for this minor disturbance to a very enjoyable movie.

My expectations for this film were through the roof. It's basically a Korean all-star game: directed by Ji-woon Kim, he of A Bittersweet Life and A Tale of Two Sisters fame (not to mention The Quiet Family), and starring three of Korea's finest (or at least most popular) actors, Woo-sung Jung, Byung-hun Lee, and (one of my favorite actors, Korean or otherwise) Kang-ho Song.

The production values are top notch, the direction creative and self-assured, the special effects worth the time and money spent on them. I love the kill scenes as directed by Kim, especially one of the first ones where a guy is running from train car to train car, bursting through doors like they don't exist and then BAM! He's five feet behind where he was. You have to see it to appreciate it, I guess. The timing and the focus on the result instead of the impact makes the impact seem more impactful. Whoever edited this film did a great job.

Woo-sung Jung plays the Good, and he's a cute guy who oozes goodness, so that's good. His character is perhaps a bit under-played/under-developed but that's the nature of Good, isn't it? Byung-hun Lee as the Bad has a little bit too much contemporary in his swagger and look. He's more arrogant than Bad, but we're supposed to dislike him so that's good too. Not surprisingly, it's Kang-ho Song, as the Weird, who steals the show. He runs through this movie like a chicken or a turkey with its head cut off but never misses a beat. He's having a good time and makes sure that we do too. He's able to do things that many other actors are incapable of like delivering predictable lines with equal parts sincerity and irony so that we won't even think of groaning out loud. He's so adorably slightly plump and likable that even when ... well, I don't want to give it away ... we like him. We really do.

Caught up in all the fun and excitement I almost forgot that, with very few exceptions, movies with lots of gun fights are stupid.

My title says it all. I won't debate whether it's OK to kill animals for entertainment. I won't debate whether Korean laws suck for not preventing animal abuse. I won't debate whether animals have souls or not. You can figure these things out for yourself. All I'll say is WARNING: Animals were harmed in the making of this film.

Every dollar you spend on this film tells the filmmakers that it's cool to kill horses. If you really must see this movie for some reason, you should steal it or download it illegally so you're not paying people to run over horses with trucks & other such atrocities they did here. Animal snuff films ain't my thing.

With a film title such as this, it is unavoidable that Ji-Woon Kim's latest foray will be compared to Sergio Leone's epic masterpiece that is "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", and while the comparison is not entirely necessary to write a critique without bringing it up is ignoring the obvious. In 2005, Ji-Woon Kim released the highly lauded and severely engaging film "A Bittersweet Life", in which he took the reformed gangster plot device and twisted it wonderfully to create an intelligent action-thriller. It is evident that in the aftermath of his unprecedented international success, Ji-Woon Kim was given free reign to create any film of his choosing, spawning the genesis to his latest endeavour "The Good, The Bad and The Weird".

We all have films that we classify as being in our "top ten" or even "top five", films that speak to us on a level that we are so incredibly immersed within the story being told that we connect on a subconscious level to create unbound admiration. Ji-Woon Kim has a passion for the spaghetti western, and climax to the "Man With No Name" trilogy, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and with his free license has not intended to copy, parody or pastiche Leone's creation but to attempt to create an Easternised Western using the fore-mentioned film as a template. Inevitably, the director has had to update the story and transplant the time line for a completely new audience and to maintain historical plausibility which is admirable but his nature as an action film director proves to be the films Achilles heel.

To say there is little plot in this film is to say there is too much, for after the films introductory, and satisfactory, skirmish the story descends into the chase of a map which is about as flimsy as the glue that, allegedly, holds the plot together. The story hops gleefully, and unashamedly, from one action scene to the next, and while the criticisms that the sequences are fifteen minutes in excess of what they should be are accurate, it is the overwhelming lack of perspective or objective that infuriates the viewer. It is all well and good having a twenty minute battle royale in the middle of a desert, incorporating all the warring factions within the story but to have nothing more than a simply cut and one of the protagonists to be miles away in complete isolation without one of the hundreds chasing him in sight is nonsensical and irritating. Perhaps though, the most frustrating is the lack of development in the three most important pieces of this puzzle. For example Woo-sung Jung, who plays "The Good", has studied the Clint Eastwood films thoroughly mimicking his stance, tone and style in his attempt to recreate the feel of his character, yet lacks the aura and gravitas of Eastwood to pull off the anti-hero role sufficiently. Not simply this, but at this stage in Leone's trilogy the "Man With No Name" while still fixated with obtaining his fortune had softened as an individual making it easier for the audience to connect with him come the final confrontation. With Ji-woo Kim's version it is unintentionally the case that the character traits of all three interchange at varying junctures making it nigh on impossible to sympathise enough with one individual character to make us care about the film in anything more than two hours of mind numbing action.

As not to completely eviscerate the film there are notable plus points which must be mentioned as the score overlaying the film is perfect for a film of this sort carrying along the action elements with a slight undertone of Morriconne's iconic creation. Ji-woon Kim shows he is still a director worth worrying over as there are some luscious landscapes in his rich and vivid cinematography, showing he knows how to capture a film while Kang-ho Song shows his versatility as he adds zany charm to a list of roles which include his undoubtedly iconic revenge driven "Park Dong-jin" in Chan-wook Park's "Sympathy For Mr Vengeance". These noted exemptions aside, one cannot help but feel that "The Good, The Bad and The Weird" is an ultimately hollow experience, a concept which had all the tools to be a success yet escapes into the comfort of an action genre all too frequently. It leaves me personally wishing Ji-woon Kim would have shown the characteristics of his earlier work "A Bittersweet Life" and taken the arguably more pretentious but the more rewarding route of jettisoning some action and slowing the pace of the story down so as to allow the characters the time to develop and flourish and not be the mere cutout clichés that they occasionally turn out to be. What sums this film up perfectly is its ending sequence which utilises the same dramatic tension that Leone so wonderfully created, before shattering that illusion and choosing the most clichéd, ridiculous and unfortunately laughable of all the available alternate endings. "The Good, The Bad And The Weird" goes down in history, as of 2009, as being the most expensive South Korean film made, yet if Hollywood has taught us anything it is that bigger and more expensive does not always mean better. While "The Good, The Bad And The Weird" is unintelligibly watchable you do wonder if this, or another of South Korea's plethora of talented directors could have created a grander cinematic experience for a few dollars less.

An avowed homage to Sergio Leone (with references to quite a few other westerns, martial arts films and other films thrown in), with Morricone-imitating music, the film goes on for much too long, despite some beautiful shots and well-directed action scenes- which go on for too long as well. The central characters just aren't interesting, original or convincing enough to carry the plot- such as it is- and the final revelation about one evokes neither astonishment nor comprehension. All the same, if you just sit back and let it wash over you without thinking except to count the thefts, references and clichés you'll have an enjoyable couple of hours.

If you are looking for a good time, check this out. Kang-ho Song The Weird) and Woo-sung Jung (The Good) stand out for their performances in a film written and directed by Ji-woon Kim (writer of The Uninvited, and directed A Tale of Two Sisters).

The music, the cinematography, the constant action, all remind you of that other movie with a similar name. Ji-Woon Kim has given us a spaghetti western set in Korea with Japanese invaders. It is a cool ride from beginning to end - and it it extremely funny, too.

Of course, there are those who may think it sacrilegious to remake Sergio Leone's movie, but remember he made that movie from the Japanese film Yojimbo.

By the thrust of the narrative and the flavors added on top of the story, this is unmistakably a take on the western genre. The slight echo of classic spaghetti westerns in the premise furthers that sentiment. This isn't your granddad's cowboy saga, though: 'The good, the bad, the weird' is a slick, action-filled adventure that shifts the setting from the classic American southwest to the desolate open spaces of wartime Manchuria.

The pure, unbridled playfulness of over the top action sequences reflects a flair and sophistication recalling the likes of Guy Ritchie's 'Sherlock Holmes' films or Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise. Exciting gunfights, explosions, and chases, and dashing stunt work, define much of the film. But when the choreography takes a break, other tropes of the genre reveal themselves including sweeping, loving photography of beautiful if barren landscapes; duplicitous characters with sordid histories of criminal enterprise; and further hallmarks including sex workers, a great army on the horizon, and dingy dens of thieves and antagonistic forces.

Set design and decoration is phenomenal, and together with costume design, filming locations, props, and sound realize a very different Wild West at once keenly familiar and wholly outside common expectations. Director Kim Jee-woon's camerawork is outstanding, whether in its vigor in the most bombastic moments of frenzy, or in some of the dazzling, artistic shots he arranges generally. Not to be forgotten, the music put together by Dalpalan and Jang Young-gyu works wonders to bolster the film. It matches the tenor of classic western themes, while adding a measure of exaggeration that echoes the fantastical slant of the feature as a whole.

It's worth taking an extra moment to emphasize the music. Because during a grand chase that precedes the finale, the score pointedly shifts to a stylized instrumental arrangement of Santa Esmeralda's phenomenal version of 'Don't let me be misunderstood." Especially with the flamenco guitar that fills no small part of the song, where the dance beat could be jarring and inappropriate it instead only adds to the electricity of the sequence. It's brilliant.

Just as the title and the build of the three chief characters take inspiration from a Sergio Leone masterpiece, the finale also borrows substantially from that climax. Yet so deft is the writing and direction, to say nothing of Nam Na-yeong's editing, that it feels not like a cheap copycat, but a venerating homage.

I stepped into 'The good, the bad, the weird' with expectations of a good time, a uniquely Korean take on a staple genre, and an outlandish tribute to 'The good, the bad, and the ugly.' To be sure, this is exactly what we get, but it's also so much more ambitious and glorious than I could have expected. It's fun and silly, but with a sense of great adventure, and an attention to detail, that makes it so much more than what it could have been.

This is rollicking, boisterous entertainment, very much worth watching and highly recommended for all!

Rather an insult to the great western The good, the bad and the ugly. Why? Because this is nowhere near a classic. Nor is it really funny. And it lasts way to long: over 2 hours and that for something what intends to be an action comedy. Bizarre.

Too much action upon action can numb the senses and although individual action scenes are filmed and edited masterfully, this movie does become boring after half an hour. It ought to be a comedy, but the many violent scenes dont fit into a comedy. I know Tarantino has combined comedy and violence in many of his movies, but there is never CONTINUOUS violence to be seen in his movies. There needs to be a balance, between a story with characters and a build up in suspense towards 1 or 2 violent scenes. But this director, however skilled he is at making violent action movies, doesnt know how to produce a good story with characters that arent merely one dimensional.

This movie is best suited for straight action fans, who wish nothing else but brainless action upon action. I found it to be numbing my senses though, because of a lack of a good supporting story and too much violence, which felt out of tune with such a comedy story...

The Good, The Bad, The Weird

The best thing about being a Korean criminal is that after police get a description, they'll put out an APB for a Japanese guy.

And while the outlaw in this action movie isn't Japanese, he does steal a map from someone who is.

Manchuria, 1930 – an assassin aboard a train, The Bad (Lee Byung-hun), attempts to pinch a priceless map from a passenger.

However, a thief, The Weird (Song Kang-ho), procures the parchment before he can.

What follows is a chase through the desert with: The Weird being pursued by The Bad; The Bad being stalked by a bounty hunter, The Good (Jung Woo-sung); and the Japanese army hot on their tails.

With the grit of an Italian western and the kinetic shootouts of Korean action cinema, The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a scrumptious fusion of the two genres.

Much like their food equivalent: Spaghetti and Dog Meatballs. (Green Light)