GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD, THE - DVD review

My oh my, South Korean cinema sure has come a long way. And that is not just my personal opinion but an undeniable fact that has become quite apparent to a lot of people in recent years. My first experience with a Korean film was when I reviewed the 2000 film, "Chunhyang," uniquely told through "pansori," a traditional form of Korean storytelling that narrates a story through song. Then came a series of action flicks in the form of Kang Jae-Kyu's "Shiri" and what I would like to call my Park Chan-Wook obsession years that included the filmmaker's masterful hits like "Joint Security Area," his highly acclaimed Vengeance trilogy and most recently, in one of the most wildly imaginative and devilishly alternative takes on the current vampire craze, "Thirst." And let's not forget about "The Host," an effects-heavy sci-fi/comedy that provides chills, thrills and even emotional frills. The film managed to come across as a high quality Hollywood blockbuster; only it was made at a fraction of the cost and had way better character developments than most blockbusters. As I said, Korean cinema has definitely come a long way.

As you might have already guessed, the title for this 2008 Korean film "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" is an unfortunate play on the Sergio Leone spaghetti western classic, "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly." Directed by Kim Ji-Woon ("A Tale of Two Sisters"), "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" demonstrates another facet of Korean cinema that showcases not only the versatility of its filmmakers across many genres but also the peninsula's vast array of talented actors and screenwriters. Although the film could be classified as a Western by broad definition (horses, guns and ten-gallon hats), it is really an entertaining amalgam of old school Indiana Jones-style action-adventure vibe and stylish Tarantino-esque sequences.

Taking place some time in 1930's Japanese-occupied Manchuria, "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" takes us on a giddy journey of unbridled greed and the violence it attracts, all centered around a mysterious treasure map. It all starts, easily enough, with an old fashioned double cross. Tasked by his boss to steal back a treasure map from the man he originally sold it to, the manic outlaw with the anime-inspired oil-slicked hair, Park Chang-Yi (Lee Byung-Hun) or the Bad from the title, sets out to ambush the train carrying said map. Like most well-laid plans, it hits a snag when the Weird, Yoon Tae-Goo (played to uncanny perfection by "The Host"'s Song Kang-Ho) accidentally gets to the map first. A small-time bandit, Weird doesn't even know what he's got in his possession until he finds most of Manchuria's bandit community hot on his tail. Besides having the crazed Bad and a band of Chinese bandits, the Ghost Market gang, in hot pursuit, Weird also has to contend with Park Do-Won (Jung Woo-Sung), a swashbuckling bounty hunter (yes, you guessed it, he's the Good) who goes after his prey with unflappable determination. This time, Good is after both the Bad and the Weird, who have bounties on their heads.

As the action builds and moves quickly from one locale to the next, the movie becomes a dizzying action extravaganza, punctuated only by scenes that last just long enough to carry the plot forward. From the speeding train to the thieves market to the massive chaotic chase across the desert and eventually the final showdown, the action sequences seem to never pause even for just a split second for the audience to catch their breath. That's not a bad thing, considering that the stunt and camera work are impeccably executed and well choreographed, rivaling the best that Hong Kong action flicks have to offer.

However, "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" is not just about frenetic slam-bam action and comedy. Believe it or not, there is a historical commentary embedded somewhere in the movie as well. Like the Nazis in the Indiana Jones films, the Japanese Imperial army stands in as the big villain this time around. References to the Japanese occupation of Korea and Manchuria are peppered throughout the movie, together with references to the fight for independence and against tyranny. This kind of social commentary, usually tied to a historical context, is a constant in most Korean films. From "Joint Security Action" to "The Host," never doubt the Korean filmmakers to grab the chance to have a thing or two to say about the world in which we live in, albeit from the Korean perspective.

Acting-wise, I have nothing but praise for all the three main actors in this film. Song Kang-Ho is a ubiquitous figure in the Korean film industry, having appeared in such box office hits as "JSA," two of Park Chan-Wook's Vengeance trilogy films, "Thirst" and "The Host." Song's comedic timing and funny facial expressions puts him in the same league as the early Jim Carrey from the 90's. He may not have a typical movie star's good looks but Song brings so much more depth to any character that he is cast to play. In this film, like his other films, Song easily steals the limelight from his two other colleagues. As for Lee Byung-Hun, he was most recently seen displaying his martial arts skills as Storm Shadow in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." As you can see, Lee is not a stranger to action-heavy films and his role as the Bad is certainly not a stretch. Finally, Jung Woo-Sung's face may not be familiar to stateside audiences but I'm quite we'll see more of him in the future. Jung's role as the good guy bounty hunter in this film suits him to a tee as his classic dashing good looks reminds me of another heroic actor, Errol Flynn.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Good, The Bad, The Weird," even though the silly sounding title may initially turn some people away. Fortunately, I'm here to dispel that notion of judging a book by its cover. Its running time of just over two hours seems a bit excessive and I'm pretty sure there are some scenes that can and should have been trimmed down for the final cut. Even then, I'll gladly sit through this version as it is thoroughly entertaining with its high octane action, perfectly timed comedic pieces, small nods to the Indy films plus a fitting finale that Tarantino himself would gladly approve.

Video:
Presented in the original theatrical version's aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (enhanced for widescreen TVs), the video quality is superb, displaying vivid colors and clear and detailed images. There is hardly any dirt or flaws to be found on the print and even during low light night scenes, various dark objects on the screen are clearly discernible.

Audio:
There is only a single option for audio to be found on this disc and it is a very robust Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that features Korean, Japanese and Mandarin languages. The action sequences provide the best sonic thrills as you can hear bullets whizzing by from front to back and explosions enveloping the front sound field. Dialogue is clear and is never drowned out by the frenetic and loud action on the screen. Subtitle options include English, English SDH and Spanish.

Extras:
This DVD release of "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" features the usual array of extras, mainly trailers, interviews and making-of segments. Starting things off is "Behind the Scenes," a non-narrated sequence of videos shot during filming. Here you'll see how the camera is used in creative ways to film certain action scenes plus just general behind-the-scenes footage. In "Cannes Highlight Reel," the arrival of the guests-of-honor at the screening of the film at the festival plus audience reactions are highlighted. Next are two segments titled "Making Of #1" and "Making Of #2," which feature brief interviews with the director, who highlight the difficulties of filming in desert conditions in China and also the large amount of costumes, animals and firearms that were used. Also revealed is the fact that the film does not employ any CG and the actors perform most of their own stunts. Both are short segments, totaling just over four minutes. Finally, there are four separate interviews with actors Song Kang-Ho, Lee Byung-Hun and Jung Woo-Sung and director Kim Ji-Woon. The actors mainly describe how each of their characters came about and how they fit into the overall context of the film while Kim talks about his inspirations for the film.

Film Value:
"The Good, The Bad, The Weird" is another in a string of great entertaining films to come out of South Korea. What can I say but to ask for domestic audiences to give these kinds of films a chance. Just because it is in a foreign language doesn't mean that it is not as good as any Hollywood films. On the contrary, I can say that they are inherently more imaginative and with recent box office successes and critical acclaim in international markets, we should be seeing better quality screenplays and eventually bigger budgets from future Korean films.