Story: What I liked about this story/plot is that you could strip the countries and government names from the story and replace it others and it would still make sense. I think that is what compelling and relatable about this movie. The story could happen in any time period, country or reality but still be found realistic and relatable to the audience in some way. Yes, there were definitely plot holes in the story and the plot can get a little confusing in the middle but it is still an entertaining story, worth watching. One common theme throughout the movie, whether it be within the story or costume choice, is the story of Red Riding Hood...that was pretty interesting to figure out what that story meant to the plot or how it is used as a metaphor throughout the movie. The red riding hood theme helps the plot keep you guessing because you don't really know who the "Wolf" is...
Acting/Cast: The acting was good...not great but not bad either. I found some of the actors to be very emotionless or wooden in some scenes...granted maybe that is what the director wanted for that scene. Other scenes, the actors did a wonderful job...The acting just wasn't consistent throughout the movie but it FOR SURE wasn't bad acting either.
Music: The music was good! It added to the action and suspense and also added emotion to the sad/downtime parts. I think the music supported the story very well...especially when the soldiers were going into a fight. You always need good music with a fight scene.
Rewatch Value: OH I will for sure rewatch this movie. It was very entertaining.
Overall: What I loved the most about this movie was the cinematography. It was just a beautifully shot movie! The fight scenes are some of the best shot scenes and are beautifully choregraphed. If you are looking for an entertaining and action packed movie, you should try this one out. Yes, as I said earlier, it has some faults but overall it is a beautiful movie that will definitely hold you in suspense and actually bring up some powerful questions in the end.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watch the movie. Watch the anime.
So many spoilers coming your way, so I will get this off my chest. I enjoyed this movie and I am sure I will the original Japanese anime version too.Cool? Cool.
The opening exposition gave away too much. If you are watching it on Netflix, read the short description and then watch the movie 2-3 minutes (or was it 4-5 minutes). Anyway.... Just skip the intro, it would have been better to figure everything out while watching. I still enjoyed it, though.
During the first half an hour, you do not know what to expect. Once our main characters have it all out in the open, you can (kind of) guess what is coming next. A few surprises are still in store for you (especially those who have already seen the anime movie).
I believe the screenplay, casting, direction and music was brilliant.
Definitely worthwhile.
SPOILERS!
These were my thoughts throughout the movie (I have to get this out):
• Opening exposition peaked my interest.
• Oh, no. She is a double crosser, but I knew that 'friend' was dogde as hell.
• I did not see that slap coming. I reacted and rubbed my own cheek.
• I have gotten use to sweet, happy ,fluffy dramas and movies .... That all of this action seems so foreign to me. I love it.
• He is part of the wolf brigade..... Why is she surprised? I thought we all knew this going in? That opening exposition gave away the plot twist.
• I swear, if he risks it all to save Yun-hee, I'm gon' be pissed! Stick. To. The. PlaN!
• HE'S CRYING! HE'S CRYING. HE'S GONNA RISK IT ALL AND HE SHOULD! THOSE. TEAAARRRSSSS.
• When I heard his Jeep, I thought he was gonna drive through the walls to get to her...
• Mistake no. 1: They gave him a gun.
• Mistake no. 2: The conversation they're having while he is holding that gun.
• I'm back to him just following orders. Risk NOTHING.
• Wait, wait, wait.... He should risk it all.
DID HE SHOOT HIM???? IS HE DEAD????? DID SHE GO BACK FOR HIM?????
• I feel fuzzy inside.
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This review may contain spoilers
Grandma what big teeth you have!
The Wolf Brigade could have been an interesting movie about a rocky reunification between North and South Korea with politicians and civilians pulling in different directions. What we were given was a mess of a story that could never quite figure out what it wanted to be.The Wolf Brigade is a high powered, deadly force of men whose job it is to crush the sect opposing reunification. It’s not their job to care if the people are innocent or should have a voice in their country’s future. But there’s always one guy whose conscience can’t be stomped out and Lim is that soldier. This story ends up being his story of independence and redemption.
If the movie hadn’t started out with nearly an hour of what turned out to be largely confusing and at times boring exposition, I would have rated it higher. Instead it didn’t get any traction until an hour into the movie. A movie shouldn’t take an hour to figure out who was going to be the focus of the film.
After the exposition was out of the way it became a straight action film with almost zero character development or explanation yet I did become caught up in the typically unrealistic gun fights and car chases. Some of the fights did drag on too long. There was a lot of carnage.
The cinematography, sets, and costumes were all high quality and the acting was on point for this type of film.
I feel like my score is just for the second half of the movie and I should have rated it lower given the convoluted plot and lack of character development.
One character said, “We aren’t humans in wolves’ clothing, we are wolves in human clothing.” I’d have to disagree as he was giving wolves a bad name. Humans need to own their own deadly and bad behavior. And the writers needed to own their responsibility for a story that could have been much better.
12/8/22
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as a wise woman named Jo once said.
The biggest problem I had with this movie was the beginning exposition. It was supposed to give me a background of the story, sort of an introduction, but these few minutes just bore and confused me. I lost focus in the opening scene and it never came back. Giving me a narrator explaining all the history and all the information I need to know is the laziest way of starting the movie.
With that in mind, I barely cared about what was happening. It was a beautiful movie with a great cast, but it was simply not engaging. They introduced a lot of characters, and it felt like half of them just got lost half way through the movie, just to be brought back by the end.
Anyway, in a few days I will forget I have ever seen it, and even now I can't really tell what was the plot. There was some romance and no one was happy. Lots of fights and running in metal.
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A film that frustratingly never reaches its potential...
If I rate it as an action flick, it's a solid 9/10 because of the excellently choreographed action scenes and shots. Very well-made in that respect.However if I had to rate it overall, it's a 6.5-7/10. Occasionally it's okay to overlook certain aspects if characters or the world-building really shines. Sadly here, neither does and so it frustratingly never reaches its potential due to the lack of depth overall.
1. The Characters and Acting.
It's a bit hard to gauge whether it was simply bad acting or whether they were given very little to work with. Honestly, I've seen the actors in better roles. The film's setting could've been a great foundation to explore morally grey characters. Instead, we are given forgettable and oddly cliched characters. The female lead ends up being a damsel-in-distress. The male lead is a tortured soul. The antagonists are tough militants.
The attempt to make the leads a little more interesting in the second half falls flat. It just didn't work in the movie's favour to create these plot twists out of the characters' actions because it just highlighted the tonal inconsistency.
2. World-Building
The opening sequence was fantastic, sets the dystopian world very well. And that's all we see of it. It's frustrating how we never see more development because it would've helped us to understand why our characters are doing what they're doing. The visuals are a little jarring, especially when it transitions from the conflict into present day 2029. Although it's not far off from today, it would've helped if things looked more 'dystopian'. Similar to my comments about the characters, the lack of world-building shone a light on the movie's inconsistency in tone.
3. Music and Action
Best parts of the movie. I have no major issues with how the score accompanied the theme. The gunfights/ action scenes were excellent as the choreography/ direction here was fantastic.
4. Story/ Adaptation
I can't comment on how faithful this adaptation has been, although I've read that it's fairly respectful of the original source material (except for the ending). The story was simple and unfortunately the attempt to deepen the plot with a fairytale analogy wasn't executed well. The illustrative aspects of it was stunning, on par with the opening sequence (and I wished they used more of these visuals throughout)
And then there was the ending! It fit the eerie dystopian setting at all...
5. Conclusion
As an action movie, this is fantastic- the sequences and visuals are well-executed. If a little more thought went into exploring the themes, and world-building, then this movie would be brilliant. My score would go higher that a 6.5. However it's a shame that they prioritised action over substance. I'm not asking for a highly philosophical debate, rather it would've been nice just to give us a little bit more. And maybe I would've cared more about our characters and where they eventually ended up.
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Worth watching if into action/war/suspense, with sprinkle of romance!
I thought this was really good. I’m really into action, suspenseful movies and dramas. I didn’t see who was acting in it but saw some of my favs! I chose to watch because Kim Mu Yeol was in it and I loved him in his other works. I loved the slight romance but glad it didn’t overpower the action/war/suspense theme of the movie. It’s worth a watch, if watch it again in the future. I loved seeing Minho from Shinee he’s does in action scenes well. Surprised by the low rating but aye different strokes for different folks.Was this review helpful to you?
A must watch movie
I've really enjoyed watching this movie that I didn't even want to finish it all at once, but in two days in sequence. The end was kind of satisfying, yet I expected they'd end up being together, but not like how it was plotted.I liked the actors and actresses so much to be honest, they were pretty good, especially the main actor and actress, they were magnificent and flawless...
I would definitely give the movie a 10/10 I'm usually generous when it comes to something I've enjoyed, I wish this movie was made as a series or were a bit longer than this.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good Action, Poor Story
Available on Netflix and with its great cast, i wanted to give it a try. I am an amateur of action movies and this movie has its share of action, violence, combat scenes. Unfortunately, this is all it got. The story stays vague, the doubts of the main character, the love story, the political issues ... nothing is elaborate. The way it was filmed gives you this melodramatic vibe while the viewer will have to slalom between the violent action scenes. As a result, this movie did not make sense to me. It was not entertaining enough as an action movie, nor it was melodramatic or romantic as it tried to be.Was this review helpful to you?
¡Bastante mejor de lo que me esperaba!
Pese a que no es de las películas más apreciadas del gran Kim Jee-woon, esta "Illand" está bastante infravalorada en mi opinión.Basada en el manga de Mamoru Oshii, se trata de una cinta de acción y ciencia ficción que se puede considerar una mezcla entre "Robocop" y "Terminator" en términos cinematográficos, pero a la que hay que añadirle la impoluta realización y maravillosa composición de planos de Kim, así como el buen trabajo de su estoico protagonista Gang Dong-won.
Así que si te gusta la acción con toques ochenteros y la obra de Kim Jee-woon, esta película te encantará.
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