Predator review

 Number 443 on the top 1000 films of all time is the action-thriller Predator

Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) leads a group of elite commandos as they attempt to rescue hostages from guerillas in the Central American rainforest. His group consists of mercenary Mac (Bill Duke,) explosives expert Poncho (Richard Chaves,) macho Blain (Jesse Ventura,) tracker Billy (Sonny Landham,) Dutch's commander Dillon (Carl Weathers) and wisecracking smart ass Hawkins (Shane Black.)

If you were to measure this film by an action-film standard, then it ticks every box in spades. You have the tough-as-nails soldiers, cheesy one-liners, undeveloped female characters, gunfire, explosions and Arnold Schwarzenegger. By that metric, Predator is a great film.

By any other metric, it is a load of rubbish. Of course it isn't pretending to be anything other than your average shoot-em-up, but shoot-em-ups can still make you care about their characters. Shoot-em-ups can still be entertaining.

I would say that the characterisations of Dutch and his men were paper-thin, but that's being generous. They were non-existent. They were nothing but your generic wise-cracking, vulgar soldiers. The only civillian and female character - the guerilla Anna (Elpidia Carillo) was similarly under-developed. At first it seems like she only speaks Spanish until she can suddenly speak fluent English. Why the change? Reasons.

The soldiers also didn't act like soldiers. They were so unrealistic from the whole group blindly following a million rounds into the jungle in an effort to kill the predator, to Dillon and Mac running off on their own to kill the predator, to Billy throwing down his gun to fight the predator with just a knife. Surprise surprise, he dies quickly. It just seemed like stupid characters doing stupid things for no reason but to advance the plot. If this were teenagers running away from Jason Vorhees, I'd get it, but fully-trained marines? Come on.

If you're going to watch Predator then manage your expectations. If you are expecting ground-breaking cinema, or at least entertaining cinema, you will be disappointed. But if you are after a popcorn-munching, octane-thriller, then Predator is the film for you. 

The Man from Nowhere review

 Number 417 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2010 Korean neo-noir action-thriller 'The Man from Nowhere.'

Cha Tae-Sik (Won Bin) is a pawn shop owner with a dark past. When his only friend - the ten year old So-Mi (Sae-Ron Kim) is kidnapped by gangsters, he will stop at nothing to get her back.

If there's one thing I've learned from my experience of watching Korean films is that they do not do anything by half-measures. They go in hard with their use of stylised violence and slick fight choreography. Sure, at times, it's over-the-top and even cheesy, but it's still entertaining enough to watch.

At the heart of our action story we have the psychologically-damaged, former black ops soldier Tae-Sik and his touching relationship with the young, innocent So-Mi. The old cinnamon swirl being undone by the cute kid certainly isn't a new idea, but if done, well, it's certainly entertaining to watch. And it was well done here.

Won Bin gave a measured performance taking Tae-Sik from the darkly mysterious loner to an all-out action here. Similarly, So Mi's relationship with her junkie mother is so damaged that it's understandable seeing her latch onto a father figure like Tae-Sik.

If anything I would say the villains weren't as well-developed as they could have been. Tae-Sik was fighting against a series of gangsters running a lethal organ-harvesting operation. There were quite a few of them and they all blended into one after a while.

Overall, the Man from Nowhere, was exactly what it said on-the-tin - an over-the-top, no holds barred K-Thriller.

Hard Boiled review

 Number 368 on the top 1000 films of all time is John Woo's 1992 Hong Kong action-triller Hard-Boiled.

"Tequila" Yuen Ho-Yan (Chow Yun-Fat) is a cop who doesn't play by the book. His goal is to bring the triad boss Johnny Wong (Anthony Wong) to justice. He finds an unlikely ally in undercover cop Alan (Tony Leung) who is masquerading as Johnny Wong's closest advisor.

Similar to his previous effort of the Killer, Woo's Hard Boiled will be an acquired taste. If you're a fan of action films then you'll love it, but if not then I'd recommend you watch something else, as Hard-Boiled employs almost every action film cliche in the book including infinite ammo, plot armour, slow-motion, lots of blood and endless gunfights.

Thankfully, one refreshing change was how Hard Boiled's female protagonist - Tequila's girlfriend Theresa Chang (Teresa Mo) and fellow cop has some agency and does something else than incessantly scream like Sally Yeh did in the Killer. Teresa even shot one of the bad guys.

In making this film, John Woo wanted to romanticise the police rather than criminals, which he did do in fairness. True they weren't the most complicated of characters, but Tequila and Alan were undoubtedly the heroes of the films. Not the two-dimensional villainous Johnny Wong. 

I did enjoy seeing Yun-Fat and Leung together - they had good chemistry which is important in a film like this. I've seen Leung in both romantic and action roles and he's good at both. It's just a shame that I don't care for action films. The endless explosions and gunfights became rather repetitive. Rather than being exciting, it was very boring.

And I also found it strange how despite the film is mostly in Cantonese, the characters had a few odd lines in English. True Hong Kong was still a British colony, but it seemed like an odd, out-of-place choice.

Similar, to the Killer, I'd only recommend watching Hard Boiled if you're an action film fan. If you're not then you best find something else to watch as this is not the film for you.

The Killer review

Number 359 on the top 1000 films of all time John Woo's Hong Kong action film 'the Killer.'

Ah Jong (Chow Yun-Fat) is a hitman who accidentally blinds nightclub singer Jennie (Sally Yeh) in a mob hit gone wrong. Wanting to raise money for an operation that can cure her sight, he embarks on one last hit, but disgraced policeman Li Yang (Danny Lee) is determined to send him to prison.

If there was a list for the cheesiest 1980's, popcorn-munching action films then the Killer would surely top the list. If you love those types of films then you would love the Killer. But if you're looking for something more than pretty much every single cliche in the action genre, then you'll be disappointed. And I was left sorely disappointed by this film.

I know it was an action film, but it was so absurd that it bordered on the ridiculous. Like I say, it is absolutely bursting with cliches. Where do we even start? There's the infinite ammo cliche. In the numerous gun fights that litter the film, Ah Jong and Li Yang never seem to run out of bullets even when they're using handguns. And the characters get shot multiple times but rarely show any distress. Plus there's a silly amount of slow motion too.

The character of Jennie is little more than a damsel-in-distress having little identity beyond being a screaming woman to be saved. Hardly the most complicated of characters. Not knowing that he is the one who blinded her, she falls in love with Ah Jong and the two begin a relationship which also seemed pretty unlikely.

As for the villains, Triad boss Wong Hoi (Shing Fui-on) was one of the most two-dimensional villains I've seen in a while. Like the rest of the film, he was just so over the top that it really hurt his credibility as a scary enemy. However, I also think that the exaggerated reality was very much the point of the film. Everything was supposed to be over-the-top. 

Yet that didn't make it any more entertaining. The gunfights became tedious after a while. And they detracted from the rest of the film particularly from the central three characters of Ah Jong, Jennie and Li Hang. Beyond their roles in the film, there was little depth to any of them. The whole film is about Ah Jong raising money to help Jennie's sight yet she ends up completely blind by the end. It was rather a disappointing end to that storyline.

You should only watch the Killer if you love cheesy action films. If you don't, then I would sorely recommend you find something else to watch instead.

Taken review

 Number 418 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2008 action-thriller Taken.

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is an ex-CIA operative with an estranged wife and daughter. When his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped in Paris by an Albanian sex-trafficking gang, he has to put his very particular set of skills into good use.

Let's get one thing straight. Taken is your generic, run-of-the-mill, action-thriller. It's never going to be an Oscar darling nor will it get a standing ovation at Cannes. In the vein of many action-films, it's completely ridiculous and over-the-top. But that's okay. That's exactly what we expect.

And to criticise Taken for its action sequences would be to criticise its very essence. Not to mention its best parts. As the action and the dialogue were certainly nothing stellar. Although Maggie Grace didn't have much acting to do except be the damsel-in-distress for Liam Neeson's knight in shining armour. And Famke Janssen who played Mills' ex-wife had little characterisation except for being a giant thorn in the side of our big action hero.

Or should I say action-hero reborn. Taken redefined Liam Neeson as an action-star and he certainly carried the action well. The fight scenes were well-choregraphed and he was very convincing.  He isn't particularly big or imposing, but he still made Bryan Mills a character you don't want to mess with.

Taken was a fast-paced, exciting and intense thriller. If you like such things then you'll definitely enjoy this film. And if you don't then this is certainly not the film for you.

Law-abiding citizen review

 Number 937 on the top 1000 films of all time is the action-thriller 'Law Abiding Citizen.'

Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is a family-man and former CIA operative. He witnesses his wife and daughter being murdered in a home-invasion by Clarence Derby (Christian Stolte.) When the justice system, including his lawyer Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) lets him down by cutting a deal with Derby ensuring his premature release, Clyde Shelton begins to take the law into his own hands.

Vigilante justice always makes for a good film. People fall through the justice system all the time either through corruption or incompetence. Men like Shelton are always sympathetic protagonists, not to mention their poor wives and daughters. They've been victims of horrific crimes. Their entire families have been killed. Nobody's going to miss their murderers. However, what makes vigilante thrillers so interesting is their quiet, intimate nature. Generally it's one man acting out of passion or retaliation with one gun or one knife. Maybe he does have a plan, but the plan isn't as elaborate as Law-Abiding Citizen.

And that's where this film falls down. It all becomes so ridiculous. I get that Shelton is some super-soldier, CIA operative, but are we supposed to believe that he's spent ten years digging into every solitary confinement cell in prison? That he's turned mobile phones into bombs? Or created a remote-operated machine-gun mount? I get him tracking down Derby and brutally torturing and killing him, but everything else is so ridiculous.

It also gave the film an overly, dark tone which made for an uncomfortable watch. Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx did the best with what they had, but neither character had any real depth to them. Rice is your typical man too busy to spend any time with his family while Shelton is a seemingly innocuous man with a psychopath bubbling beneath the surface.

This film is based on a good premise. Shame the execution was way too over-the-top.

The Next Three Days review

 Number 936 on the top 1000 films of all time is Paul Haggis' action thriller 'The Next Three Days.'

John Brennan (Russell Crowe) is a teacher whose wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) is sentenced to life in prison for murder. He is only one who believes she is innocent and begins plotting to break her free from prison.

Paul Haggis also directed Crash. I didn't like Crash. I thought it was half-arsed and contrived. I would say the same for the Next Three Days. It doesn't just stretch my suspension of disbelief, it snaps it in half. The whole film is completely implausible.

Let's start with John Brennan who is the unlikeliest hero ever. He's a teacher. You would never believe he could stage a successful prison break. To aid him, he tracks down and consults Damon Pennington (Liam Neeson) a former convict who successfully escaped from prison. Damon Pennington helps him, because of ... reasons, before disappearing and not featuring again. John goes onto learn criminal skills like making bumper keys by watching Youtube skills. Although he has a few initial mishaps, he goes onto master these skills. This is ridiculous. You can't just master something by watching Youtube videos. It takes a lot of practice. I realise they don't have the time to show this, but they could have tried at least.

And it's unbelievable that John Brennan, a teacher who is naive enough to ask a street dealer about forging passports, and then goes onto be robbed by him, to be able to pull off a prison break. It might have been a bit more believable if Damon had physically helped him instead of offering information. I also think Russell Crowe was miscast. True his American accent was better than expected, but he wasn't believable in the role. He's an action-star who has played cops and robbers alike. He wasn't suitable as some naive teacher venturing into the world of crime.

I also thought that we were sorely missing Lara's perspective on things. One reason, I enjoyed prison drama Felon was that it focussed on the husband's life within prison and the wife's life outside of it. But this film was all John Brennan with only snippets of Lara's life. If we were going to care about her escaping, we should have seen more of her in prison. She tries to commit suicide, but we only hear about it, instead of seeing it. This scene was far more important than one of the silly, over-long musical sequences.

Also, after John breaks Lara free, he starts to be pursued by cops Lieutenant Nabulsi (Lennie James) and Sergeant Harris (Allan Steele.) Yet they only appear nearing the end of the film, as if they were an afterthought thrown in by Paul Haggis. It's very strange, as John was initially investigated by the cops who quickly dismiss him as a nutcase.

Why does Paul Haggis or his films feature on this list? Neither Crash or the Next Three Days deserves to be included in the top 1000 films of all time.

The Raid review

 Number 716 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2011 Indonesian martial art, action-thriller 'The Raid.'

Rama (Iko Uwais) is a member of an elite swat team sent into a high-rise building to take down notorious crime-lord Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy) and his top lieutenants Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian) and Andi (Donny Alamsyah.) Rama is assisted by his sergeant Jaka (Joe Taslin) and lieutenant Wahyu (Pierre Gruno.)

Upon making this film, Gareth Evans said that he wanted to make a pure action film. He certainly achieved that. The Raid is non-stop action with plenty of explosions, hand-to-hand combat, gratuitous violence and non-stop gunshots. Unfortunately, Evans forgot to include any semblance of a storyline. The narrative, as far as it goes, is paper-thin and often gives way to the fight sequences. Don't get me wrong, the martial art sequences are brilliantly choregraphed. The actors are depicting the Indonesian martial art of pencak silat and they never put a foot wrong. 

It's just after one or two fight sequences, it all became very repetitive and monotonous. The fight sequences, as spectacular as they were, very quickly took over the film. And they might have looked great, but they were hardly the most realistic. The characters seem to survive endless knocks to the head that would have killed somebody like me. And this lack of realism certainly stopped me from becoming too immersed. But I guess action films are never supposed to be the most realistic. They're not documentaries.

While Gareth Evans did attempt to have emotional beats or subplots, they always felt half-done. He didn't properly develop these into anything of substance. It's implied that Wahyu is corrupt, but this is never explored in any great detail. It is revealed that Rama and Andi are estranged brothers, but this plotline is never given any chance to breathe, before we're thrust back into the action. Rama also has an expectant wife at home, yet except for a brief scene in the beginning, we hear very little of her ever again.

And the film is ridden with all the cliches we could expect from an action film: guns that never run out of ammo, bad guys who scream before attacking somebody, losing the element of surprise and giving away their position, bad guys who just when it looks like the hero is down-and-out then hesitate or monologue allowing themselves to be overpowered. It's explained that Rama and the rest of the SWAT team are a bunch of rookies so that explains why so many of them are completely useless and die quickly. But why were the bad guys such noobs?

Usually I end reviews like these with a disclaimer of "this wasn't necessarily a bad film, but it just wasn't for me." I can't do that here. Action films and martial-art films can be enjoyable to watch as long as the action is balanced with a strong storyline and the storyline was virtually non-existent. Film critic Roger Ebert panned the film giving it one out of four stars. He received a lot of criticism for his review, but I'm with him all the way here. The Raid was not a good film.

Battle Royale review

 Number 501 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Japanese action-thriller 'Battle Royale.'

In a dystopian future, to curtail rising teenage delinquency, the Japanese government forces a group of junior-high-school students to fight to the death on an abandoned island. These include aspiring love-birds Shuya Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda,) exchange students, wildcards and former champions - the quiet Shogo Kawada (Taro Yamamoto,) and the psychotic Kazuo Kiriyama (Masanobu Ando), and the mysterious but equally psychotic Mitsuko Souma (Kou Shibasaki.)

Battle Royale was the Hunger Games before the Hunger Games. There is an on-going debate about which of the two is better - * cough cough* it is Battle Royale, by a country mile. Yes, Battle Royale is cheesy, over-the-top and pretty ridiculous at times, but that is what made it so enjoyable. Unlike, another film I could name, it doesn't take itself very seriously. It is dour and downbeat at times, but also self-aware and funny. The contestants constantly acknowledge the absurdity of their situation. And even the creators of the game do too - to supposedly make things as fair as possible, they give the kids a different weapon each - some get guns, some get knives, some get nunchucks - Shuya and Noriko get binoculars and a cooking pot lid.

The tournament begins with forty-two contestants and things are very confusing at first. All of the schoolkids are dressed the same in their uniforms meaning that it was difficult to tell them apart. Director Kinji Fukasaku tries his best to give each of the kids an important scene before their inevitable deaths, arguably he does a better job than other directors have done, but there were just too many characters for me to care about. It was only after the competition started to get whittle down did things become clearer. 

But then again, Fukasaku was just killing off the supporting cast, so he could properly focus on our principle characters - such as Kawada who entered the competition to gain revenge on the tournament's founder - former teacher Kitano (Takeshi Kitano.) Kawada won the last tournament at the expense of his former love. 

The stylised violence does border on the excessive at times, I don't think I've ever seen so much spurting blood before. And, perhaps you can argue it was a little silly that each character stays alive long enough to get a memorable death scene. However, a lot of this violence is offset with emotional storylines. We see love and lust blossom among a lot of the contestants - we see tales of friendship and tales of heartbreak. Some of the kids commit suicide instead of fighting. Other abstain from fighting altogether and the strongest group together. All of the reactions were so human. But, most importantly, we see kids act like kids. These aren't adults who have willingly volunteered for this gladatorial fight to the death, but school kids who are being punished by the Japanese Government. And that's where Fukasaku succeeded. Yes, the actual concept and execution might be a little spurious, but the characterisation felt real.

And some of the best characterisation comes from the film's antagonist: Kitano. His backstory is explained within a flashback where he resigns from his teaching job after being knifed by one of his students. It is later explained that he has a tumultuous relationship with his own estranged daughter. Yet like many of the other characters *spoiler alert,* he stays alive long enough so he can have famous last words. After Shuya supposedly shoots him dead, he stands up, answers the phone and then dies for real. Kitano's backstory is explained as him having a tumultuous relationship with his own daughter. Pretty ridiculous, but entertaining nonetheless. This all added to the rich tableau of Battle Royale. A tableau that's a hell of a lot richer than the bloody Hunger Games.

The Town review

 Number 729 on the top 1000 films of all time is Ben Affleck's crime-drama 'The Town.'

As well as directing, Ben Affleck stars as Douglas "Doug" Macray, a bank-robber who is looking to go straight. After his latest heist goes wrong, where his crew Jeremy "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner,) Albert "Gloansy" Macgloan (Slaine) and Desmond "Dez" Elden (Owen Burke) take bank manager Clare Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage before releasing her later, Doug begins keeping track of her. The two eventually fall in love. But for Doug to escape the life completely, he has to do one last job as ordered by local crime boss Fergus "Fergie" Colm (Pete Poselthwaite.)

What followed was a largely generic and banal action-thriller spearheaded by a largely wooden performance by Ben Affleck. Since starting this list, I've seen him in a few films, like Argo, which he also directed. And I would argue he is better as a director than an actor. It doesn't matter whether the role is a rough-round-the-edges hero or a bad boy turning good, he isn't very expressive. He just always seems to have a permanent scowl on his face. And there isn't a whole lot of emotion there. There are plenty of emotional scenes, or scenes that should be emotional, but Affleck couldn't really carry them off.  And since I wasn't invested in him as a character, I wasn't really invested in the storyline. Although he was nominated for Best Actor Bafta for his role in Argo, so what do I know? 

Affleck's lack of chemistry with Rebecca Hall didn't do much to help things either. Also a brief note on Rebecca Hall's accent. What was up with that? She's English, but at times it sounded like she was switching back and forth between English and Bostonian.

Much more convincing was Jeremy Renner. He plays Doug's childhood best friend and fellow bank-robber Jem Coughlin. Unlike his friend, he has no desires of leaving the life behind which sets up some nice conflict between the two. Renner was far more charismatic to watch and his storyline was more compelling. And it's a shame Poselthwaite was so under-used. He's a great actor so he should have had a far greater screen-presence. 

This wasn't a film I enjoyed very much if you didn't already guess. Sure it was watchable enough, but Affleck's wooden performance stopped it from achieving any true greatness in my eyes. 

Man on Fire review

 Number 546 on the top 1000 films of all time is Tony Scott's action thriller Man on Fire.

John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is an alcoholic former CIA officer with PTSD. When his friend Paul Rayburn (Christopher Walken) convinces him to become a bodyguard for the Ramos family in Mexico, he is initially reluctant. However, he soon forms a close relationship with Lupita 'Pita' Ramos, (Dakoto Fanning) daughter of the Ramos.' When she is abducted by a kidnapping gang, Creasy promises to rain down hell on her kidnappers.

By their very nature, action films tend to be cliched and formulaic. You get the handsome, physically fit hero with a troubled past and plot armour, lots of explosions and guns, gratuitous violence and a simplistic plotline. Man on Fire had all of this in spades. The only thing was missing was an attractive female lead whose only function would be as a sex object for our rugged protagonist. Man on Fire was pretty cliched as far as action films go. Creasy is haunted by an unexplained past which is never really fleshed out. And that certainly didn't make him anymore three dimensional. 

Upon finding out information about Pita's kidnappers, he resorts to violently torturing members of the gang. And some of his methods were so violent that they bordered on silly. He sticks an explosive up a corrupt policeman's rear and detonates it when he has the information he needs. His plot armour was ridiculously thick. How many gunshot wounds does he survive? 

I also think the villain of the film was cliched. Roberto Sosa plays Daniel Sanchez who is otherwise regarded as 'the Voice.' But we don't see enough of 'the Voice' or his motivations to really make him a threatening enough villain. He's the one giving the orders but he doesn't have enough screen time to make him particularly scary. And there was also too much slow-motion and in really strange places too. Why did we need to see Creasy help Pita out of the pool in slow-motion? 

Lastly, Radha Mitchell plays Pita's mother and while she was good enough her accent was not. Radha is Australian and her character was supposed to be Texan. However, Radha's accent was very inconsistent. At time it sounded Texan and at others it just sounded generic American.

Despite all that, it was still an entertaining and, most importantly, a thrilling film. Washington and Fanning had a great chemistry and it was lovely seeing their relationship develop. Creasy starts off as morose and grumpy, but Pita helps to bring him out of his shell. They were very cute together. And I also enjoyed the gritty, visual style. Apparently it was a homage to the brilliant film City of God. The two films also shared a similar cast. 

I'm not sure whether I would count this as one of the top 1000 films of all time. But as an action-thriller film, I think it was very good.

Kung Fu Hustle review

 Number 512 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Chinese martial art, comedy-drama Kung Fu Hustle.

Sing (Stephen Chow) and Bone (Lam Chi-Chung) are two hapless, small-time crooks. To break into the big time, they decide to join the Two-Axe gang which terrorises the local neighbourhood run by Landlord (Yuen Wah) and Landlady (Yuen Qiu.) To gain initiation, Sing and Bone must kill somebody - a task easier said than done when the neighbourhood is populated by no less than five kung fu masters.

Would it be fair to say that Kung-Fu Hustle was more style than substance? I know it's a comedy and it's not meant to be taken seriously, but I've never been a fan of films that are overly-reliant on special effects. I know they're supposed to be integral to the film's humour especially the slapstick nature and they weren't meant to be used gratuitously, but I did find them tedious after a while. From the weird banshee shockwave that the Landlady performed to the Sing's sonic punch that destroyed an entire building, it all became repetitive after a while.

Another reason I didn't get on with this film is that I'm not keen on martial art movies. Similarly to boxing films, while the fights maybe well choregraphed, they drag on too long and don't hold my interest. I'm not invested in the fighting so I naturally don't care about who wins or loses. I am also puzzled as to why the film was marketed as a comedy. It didn't make me laugh very much. But that's not because the jokes fell flat, but rather they didn't seem to be making many jokes at all.

A lot of the film is dedicated to Sing's childhood and a particular flashback of him standing up to some bullies going horrifically wrong. He is trying to stop them from beating up a girl, but is beaten up instead. We see the two re-unite and kindle a romance as adults. This was a cute subplot, but not very funny. In fact, other than bizarre special effects, the only joke I remember is a rather predictable one.

Bone, to gain initiation into the Two axes, decides to kill Landlady by throwing knives at her. But due to his terrible aim and hapless nature, the knives all end up in Sing instead. And Sing is behind him. Yet as we know that these two are hapless, this joke was far too obvious to be funny.

Unfortunately, this film didn't appeal to me. I am not a fan of martial art films, not am I fan of films that prioritise style over substance, but I am sure this film has a dedicated fanbase. I'm just not one of those fans.

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War Review

 Number 185 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Korean war film, Tae Guk Gi: the Brotherhood of War.

Set during the Korean War, Tae Guk Gi focusses on brothers Lee Jin-Tae (Jan Dong-Gun) and Lee Jin-Soek (Won Bin.) The naive and innocent Jin-Doek is drafted into the army. To protect his younger brother, Jin-Tae also enrols. But the war soon changes both brothers beyond comprehension.

Since I started this challenge, I've watched a lot of war films and I've found the best films are the ones that refuse to shy away from the true horrors of war. Tae Guk Gi did exactly that. This was a relentless, non-stop, two and a half hour lesson in the brutality of man. As this is a South Korean film, you might expect them to be portrayed as the heroes and the North Koreans as the villains. But war is rarely that simple. We see both sides commit atrocities.

Jin-Tae discovers that if he earns the Tae Guk Cordon of the Order of Military Merit - the highest military model possible, he would have the power to send his brother home. He volunteers for progressively riskier missions and slowly transforms into a cold-blooded killer.

Upon running into a childhood friend who has been drafted for the North, Jin-Tae is prepared to slaughter him until his younger brother intervenes. Later on, Jin-Tae arranges for the POWs to fight for his own amusement. The North is just as bad. They massacre whole villages and booby-trap the dead bodies. War is never as simple as "he is good and he is bad." There is always a lot of morally grey. This is demonstrated in the supporting cast from the man whose whole family was massacred by the communists and now wants to kill them all to the young Song-Yong, who like Jin-Soek, doesn't want to kill anybody.

Granted the whole brothers/friends gong to war as comrades and slowly becoming enemies is not the most original of ideas, but Tae Guk Gi did it well. In the initial fifteen minutes, we have a clear idea of who the brothers are - Jin-Doek is young and naive with aspirations of college. Jin-Tae is street-smart and confident - he shines shoes to earn enough money to send his younger brother to college. But the brothers are very loyal to each other which is what makes their gradual separation even the more painful.

When Jin-Tae and Jin-Soek return to their home town, Jin-Tae's fiance, Young-Shin, is accused of being a communist and is taken to be shot. Despite the brother's best efforts to save her, she is still executed and the brothers are arrested for trying to save her with Jin-Soek supposedly dying when his prison is burnt down. He survives and later finds out that Jin-Tae has defected to the North Koreans and is now one of their elite commanders. Jin-Soek goes to rescue him, but it appears that Jin-Tae is too far gone. When a battle breaks out and it looks like all hope is lost, Jin-Tae recognises his brother and sacrifices himself so he can escape. And this was a nice way to round out their story arcs. They began as brothers, turned to enemies and finished as brothers again.

If I were to criticise the film for anything, I think it would be for its choppy editing. Some of the battle scenes went on for too long and some of the peace scenes were cut too short. At times it did make for a confusing watch. And I also wonder whether the film over did the action scenes. Yes, I know, war is confusing and chaotic, but the frenetic camerawork and constant explosions did become a little tiresome after a while.

Overall this was a great film and will join the likes of Saving Private Ryan, The Deer Hunter and Full Metal Jacket as one of the best war films of all time.