Whatever. So not two minutes ago the credits rolled. After reluctantly giving up the directorial role, Oshii originally thought on Patlabor 2: The Movie animation director Kazuchika Kise, but he had no interest in chief direction at the time. JOIN NOW The film stars Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, and Jung Woo-sung, and was released on July 15, 2018. Why? She also cannot blame Lim for her death. I liked the quality of the movie action scene, simple and without CG. Want us to remember this setting for all your devices? Who killed her at that moment? Yet moving the story from Japan to a Korean peninsula which is on the point of reunifying in 2029 results in a film which is both over-plotted and melodramatic. Visiting the grave of the suicide, he meets Kei, the girl's sister, who does not hold him responsible for her demise. Even if the film managed to balance the romance, sci-fi, action, and political conspiracy, it wouldnt change the fact that the two have the least amount of chemistry in a couple since Anakin and Padm in Star Wars. [8], Hyper commends the film for its "art direction and character design which are beautiful examples of hand-drawn animation and the music fits the action (or lack thereof) brilliantly. The sci-fi bit of the plot is merely veneer over the very Asian politicking. The Korean police forces quickly become overwhelmed with the size and violence of protests in the regions, prompting the government to create a new, elite police force called the "Special Unit." 2023 GAMESPOT, A FANDOM COMPANY. Human-Wolf; also known as Inrang) is a South Korean science fiction action movie directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. In-between the action, there is a lot of talk. In the end, everyone remains alive. The soldiers survive, but Lim shows shock. The film is generally too slow for the duration with small bursts of action at the beginning and end where it recovers a lot, but the beginning and the end are exceptions because the in the almost three hours of duration is boring for the most part, then it is too confusing and it makes struggling to figure it out. Failing to follow an order to execute a frightened young girl only to see her commit suicide by detonating an improvised explosive device before his very eyes, Fuse is put on trial and sent back to the training camp for re-evaluation. It is a live-action adaptation of the Japanese animated film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. EDIT 2: I have no idea why the numbers are screwy. However, fans of the original might find that there are either too few changes to merit watching this over the original, or they might feel that there were too many changes and the film moved too far into action and away from the emotional core that made the original so memorable. With the exception of Kim Mu-yeol, the cast are about as stiff as boards, and I think it's because they have so little to work with their characters. You can also change your preferences at any time by clicking Cookie Preferences in the footer of each page. A remake of the acclaimed japanese anime Jin-roh this new movie somehow fails to make the impact that one might expect from this director. The story ends with the wolf eating Little Red Riding Hood. If you were looking for some scrappy, tense fight scenes, though, Illang probably wont do much for you. Starring: Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung Watch all you want. [10], The following month the film shown in Cannes' March du Film, where Variety's Derek Elley noted it for pushing cel animation to its limits in the action scenes and for Okiura's focus on stillness in between while considering it a less complex work than its predecessor Ghost in the Shell lacking its "stomach-churning, visionary moments". All stories are accompa. Suffice it to say, there is an elaborate conspiracy afoot to disband the Special Unit which is strange, since they seem pretty effectively disbanded 15 minutes into the movie. That was satisfying! Warriors of Future. Kim Jee-woons script cant handle the mystery without a lot of heavy exposition and needlessly complicated doublecross-on-doublecross. In the sewers they meet Jang Jin-tae. They provide Fuse with a full set of armor and weaponry, before leaving with Kei in tow. The human weapons who are called wolves, "Illang" (The Wolf Brigade). This is bright and vibrant action movie, filled with decent special effects and appropriately entertaining fight and chase sequences, mainly utilising super technology in the form of massive shoot-outs and the like. [4], Oshii "begged" to at least be entrusted with the screenplay, the prospect of working with Okiura changing his previous reluctance about merely writing films. But, it really feels as if the actions of any character become pointless, especially during the third act of the movie. Illang tries for a slightly different emotional tug, but it didnt quite take the time to build it up for me the way the slower, more plodding Jin-Roh managed. He uses mostly tracking shots, following each of the players involved, highlighting the fear and desperation in the eyes of the terrorists (though the film never makes it clear if we should feel bad for them or not), and the cold, heartless dedication behind the cyborg-like the Special Unit. If they had kept the original ending that preserved the nature of the main quote, I would have easily given it a 9/10. Two things right off the bat: Wow. Rafael Motamayor Email news@gamespot.com. (Source: KoBiz) Edit Translation, In 2029, after the governments of North and South Korea announce a 5-year plan to reunify the country, strong sanctions by the world's powerful nations cripple the economy and lead to a hellish period of chaos. Three Crows Magazine is a reader-funded publication and your support keeps us operational and independent to continue paying our authors for the best fiction and non-fiction possible. The main plots complexity makes early portions a bit sluggish but sets up for a lot of twists and betrayals later on. Illang: The Wolf Brigade 2018 | Maturity Rating: 16+ | 2h 19m | Sci-Fi Movies In 2029, the elite police squad Illang combats a terrorist group opposing reunification of the two Koreas. Since Lim was the last to see the girl alive, Han asks him to give the book to her sister. Which is where, if you were looking for a movie inspired by, but uniquely different to, Jin-Roh, Illang will let you down. However, the intelligence service Public, Security, which sees its own influence drop, hatches a plot to annihilate the Special Unit. Out of all world cinema I have to say Korea may well be the one I've always had the best relationship with. The year is now 2029, and Special Unit forces now patrol wearing elaborate steel-plated armor. The ending theme (Grace Omega I think it's called) is rolling in the background even as I type this. Jin-Roh is the third film in Oshii's Kerberos saga and is primarily based on Oshii's manga Kerberos Panzer Cop. A good movie if you don't know about Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Could've been so much better if it wasn't for the convoluted plot. Han Hyo-joo sure tries hard to make Yoon-hee work, but I think to really make that character come alive, Joong-kyung needs to be more dynamic, and by design, he's not. The setting is moved to near future Korea from an alternate 1950s Japan allows for interesting visuals and some different interactions between characters that were present in the original. After hesitating to shoot the girl responsible for the blast, Lt. Lim (Gang Dong-won, the rare live-action star whos less expressive than his hand-drawn equivalent) is publicly reprimanded and sent to re-education whatever that means (other than a chance to feature a flashy training sequence in which he shoots his way through an abandoned building). IPv6 Ready. He ultimately still found the experience frustrating both through the tiping ("The moment you write, you want to direct") and after realizing the result would unavoidably be much different from what he pictured in his head. When your consent is required, you can accept, refuse or personalise your choices. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. They encounter the fully armored Fuse, who slaughters them all. [21], Illang: The Wolf Brigade was released in South Korea on July 25, 2018. Netflix and third parties use cookies and similar technologies on this website to collect information about your browsing activities, which we use to analyse your use of the website, to personalise our services and to customise our online advertisements. South Korean police launches a special unit, known as "Illang" (The Wolf Brigade), in response to the rise of an anti-reunification domestic insurgency called "The Sect". Failing to create any sense of intrigue about its futuristic world, The Wolf Brigade is one disappointing mess that carries bits n pieces of brilliance scattered here n there but the overall product is too weak & uninspiring to sustain the interest and leaves the viewers feeling rather indifferent in the end. Cast: Gang Dong-won as Lim Joong-kyung Han Hyo-joo as Lee Yoon-hee When I heard this movie was coming out this year, I was very excited since Kim Jee-woon is one of Korea's big-name directors, and I had hoped this would play in U.S. theaters like several Korean movies do (typically at CGV Cinemas). It has been relicensed in North America by Discotek Media, with a DVD released on April 29, 2014 followed by a Blu-Ray on January 27, 2015.[2][3]. The ending being the most disappointing part. Jee-Woon's films 'I saw the Devil' and 'The Good the Bad the Weird' are among my favorite Korean films (and favorite films in general). Some okay action and fighting scenes. Due to civil unrest within South Korea (Japan in the original), an elite anti-terror unit is formed. Three Crows Magazine Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine, REVIEW: The Game Weavers by Rebecca Zahabi, Tamsyn Muir Interview: There is a lot of blood on my dance floor., REVIEW: Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James, Marvel Presents Northstar Vs the Straight Gaze by O F Cieri, Screenplay: Kim Jee-woon, Jun Chul-hong, Lee Ji-min, Park Jong-dae (based on the oriinal story written by Mamoru Oshii and its animated feature Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade directed by Hiroyuki Okiura), Main cast: Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Mu-yeol, Han Ye-ri, Choi Min-ho, Heo Joon-ho. Privacy Policy, Now Playing: Best Netflix Releases Of October 2018: New Movies And TV Shows To Watch. Yun-hee tells him she saw a puppet show of Little Red Riding Hood, but a version without a happy ending. Get our latest news, giveaways, free subscriptions and more. That was satisfying. The opening sequence is straight out of the 1999 anime, with a confrontation between the Sect and the Special Unit inside sewer tunnels. That concept alone ought to make for a fascinating science-fiction parable, although its barely dealt with in any practical terms, other than to explain a wave of demonstrations that turn tragic on what comes to be known as Bloody Friday, when peacekeeping forces accidentally murder 15 schoolgirls, mistaking them for terrorists. That whole movie. The whole movie takes place in South Korea, and I was wondering when the North would be involved. He meets a woman claiming to be the girls sister, Lee Yun-hee (singer-turned-wooden-actress Han Hyo-joo), and theyll soon find themselves at the center of a conspiracy to disband the Special Unit--despite them already been disbanded after the opening scene. But another enemy may be lurking nearby. [Edit: typo due to puppy paws hitting my keyboard]. However, the film's "slow, deliberate pace" is criticised. I can't explain it, but it hit it's marks and hit them perfectly. While I do think that this Korean movie does work enough for me to give it a recommendation, at the same time I thought it had some issues, issues that might make some other viewers look on it less kindly than I am. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] "Illang aka JinRoh: The Wolf Brigade " is going to start shooting in the end of July, 2017, and is released in summer 2018. Each of them is a one man army, with heavy duty machine guns, steel shields on their forearms capable of resisting hand-grenades, and German war helmets with gas masks covering their faces. Jin-Roh (, Jinr, lit. Although currently living in Korea having served in the national army as well. However, due to negative reviews from both critics and audience members, the film screened for only three weeks, and ended up attracting a total of 897,254 moviegoers, grossing US$6.2 million. There are decent action scenes and some stunning set pieces. damn. These Wolf Brigade uniforms are truly terrifying, turning normal cops into what look like nightmarish Nazi cyborgs, at least in silhouette: Beneath German tank helmets, a pair or round red eyes glow inhumanly at any who cross their paths, while their standard-issue peashooters have been replaced with heavy-duty machine guns. The film stars Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, and Jung Woo-sung, and was released on July 15, 2018. The endingwell you will have to watch and decide for yourself. [27][30] After five days of release, Illang: The Wolf Brigade earned a total of US$5.29 million. "[27], As per Yonhap review, the film "spent so much time trying to recreate the world from the animated movie and remakes it into a big-scale action blockbuster that it never got the simple things right the film falls short of properly delivering the intense inner conflict felt by Joong-kyung. Secondary characters like Cheol-jin and Mi-kyung get thrown into the story and exit without adding any substance. In the last scene, Yun-hee's brother is seen sitting in a train looking out at a man sitting on a bench. [4][5], The film is set in 2029 where South and North Korea prepare for a unified government after a severe economic depression slams both countries. A Rare Dud From Kim Jee-woon. Perhaps not being aware of its background helped. Five years after The Last Stand Korean director Kim Jee-woons one-off attempt at American filmmaking, a throwaway shoot-em-up co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Johnny Knoxville Kim is back home, applying what he learned in Hollywood to anime adaptation Illang: The Wolf Brigade. An obsidian-black sci-fi thriller all but consumed with corruption of the state and of the soul, the film opens stunningly enough, reminiscent of such late-80s comics-to-screen transfers as Tim Burtons Batman and the original RoboCop in its darkly atmospheric depiction of a grim near-future, but it gets confusing quick and never quite regains the promise of its first half-hour which accounts for a disappointing local performance (Illang did fewer than one million admissions last summer in South Korea). The main characters, of course, are caught up in, and pivotal to, this inter-agency conflict. Overall, though, if you have heartbreaking memories of the original, this one does not deliver the same emotional punch the original possessed. I was very excited for this film, but what a let-down! But the time we got to the bunker, the main character when from a vulnerable character we were rooting for into the predator. The stories focus on the aftermath of one of the unit's members who froze when confronted with a particularly young terrorist and couldn't perform his duty of killing her. This wasn't originally in Bandai's plans for the film, but Oshii expected Kazunori It, his usual screenwriter, to reject their offer as he had previously told him that he didn't want to write a story involving dogs following his work for Jin-Roh live-action prequel The Red Spectacles, and after he did so he was offered the role. To make this more convoluted, he adds too many interested parties and secret organizations into his conspiracy (some of them appearing only in conversation and for 5 minutes), making it hard to keep track of who works for whom or what they want. It certainly holds together better than other Netflix anime adaptations I've watched recently like FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST. He visits the ashes of the dead girl and meets Kei Amemiya, who claims to be the elder sister of the terrorist and they develop a friendship. The world seems to be overwhelmed by wars and political forces but during the moie none of them are desplayed or even implied a little. Like why can't you just flim everything the same as the originals? Anyone that has seen the original master piece before would find dissapointement in the last 15 min. The movie doesn't deviate that much from a possible reality of a reunified north and south korea. Fearing the possibility of war, North Korea and South Korea agree to re-unify for the sake of survival, with a five year interim put in place as preparation for the reunification. Yoon-hee claims a lot of things over the course of the movie, and sooner or later, one would do well to stop believing her, since shes the rebel/spy/love-interest/damsel-in-distress on whom the movies unnecessarily convoluted plot pivots at least three too many times. There are also some other surface changes to the film that, really, dont affect as much as they probably should. See production, box office & company info, Chief Presidential Secretary Park Jeong-gi. Indeed, those hulking red-eyed soldier-cops disappear for nearly 90 minutes, until such time that Lim puts his own uniform on again and faces off against corrupt Public Security honcho Han Sang-woo (Kim Moo-yul, the films most charismatic actor), who may also be a Wolf Brigade member. Netflix and third parties use cookies (why?). The windows in the car he hijacks are obviously easily smashed, but bulletproof when he reverses and gets shot at. Soldier Lim Joong-kyung of the Special Forces encounters a girl carrying a bomb and wants to make her give it up. The new instruction is to go into the sewers together with Yun-hee. Fullmetal Alchemist The Final Alchemy. His short fiction has been previously published in Three Crows Magazine, Black Denim Lit and Trigger Warnings: Short Fiction with Pictures. But there's always one guy whose conscience can't be stomped out and Lim is that soldier. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. A year after the formation of the Special Unit, an incident known as "Bloody Friday" occurs, in which the special unit mistakenly fires upon young girls in a suspected Sect compound. The Wandering Earth. Kang Dong Won looks out of place in such an action role. The majority of the story beats and the characters personalities, however, are lifted the whole cloth from the original. I felt like the new happy ending didn't match up to the original ending in the anime movie. There is action in the movie, and the action scenes are (reasonably) well done, but there are large chunks of the movie where there's no action at all. on October 24, 2018 at 3:41PM PDT. If you are someone who has only a passing knowledge of Jin-Roh (or better yet, no knowledge at all), you are set up to enjoy this film the most. Rafael Motamayor (@RafaelMotamayor) is a recovering cinephile and freelance writer from Venezuela currently freezing his ass off in cold, grey, Norway. As a Korean critic, I should have gave it a 10 but on a second thought The story breezes over the main conflict (special unit vs. public security) without really making it keenly felt. The special unit is able to track the fleeing members to the sewers and hunt down some members there. A must-watch! Decades later, he becomes a suspect again but is he still innocent? I've been waiting almost 20 years for this and thankfully it was not a whitewashed Hollywood disaster! Hachiroh Tohbe explains to Kei that the Wolf Brigade has used the Public Security Division's plan to flush out those who were most active in trying to eliminate the Kerberos Corps, and eliminate them in turn. I just hate Anime live series. That wouldn't be so bad had the dialogue been interesting or thought-provoking, but for the most part it comes across as really dull stuff you've heard in many other movies before. The only bright spot is newcomer Kim Moo-Jeol as the villain wearing a badass leather coat who manages to breath some fresh air into the mean economics of the movie. These are among the scariest non-Nazi soldiers ever to be put on screen. A drama series about the origins of the opioid crisis. The production values are top-notch with excellent cinematography and fight coreography but the final product somehow feels like an unremarkable and hollow action movie without that spark that made Bittersweet life such an unforgettable experience. There is also the weird use of the 2029 setting when the futuristic tanks and helicopters from the opening sequence are quickly abandoned in favor of modern technology. Yun-hee sits down with her brother as the train departs. That just eluded me. There is zero emotional depth to the characters (or actors who can convey any emotion), and together they make for a boring and shallow couple. After the event, significant opposition to the Special Unit forces the group to utilize their iconic gas masks, to hide their identity as well as provide use in case of bio-hazardous threats. Illang: The Wolf Brigade picks up five years into the unification plans. The film was financed by Union Investment Partners, with production being announced in 2013. The number of South Korean film admissions in July 2018 was the lowest since 2008. [17][22][23], The film was selected to compete at the 66th San Sebastin International Film Festival, which was held from September 2129, 2018. No country needs a Special Unit as scary as this, but its a compelling starting point for an action movie that promptly disbands the group one scene after theyre introduced. However, the intelligence service Public Security, which sees its own influence drop, hatches a plot to annihilate the Special Unit. Or maybe no new cars were made, buildings modified or fashions introduced after 2018. Kim knows how to direct and edit frenetic chase sequences but the narrative here is so unconvincing and bland that it is just not enough. Set in the distant future where both North and South Koreas agree to establish a joint government, which has been in preparation for a duration of 7 years, the plot focuses on political upri Set in the distant future where both North and South Koreas agree to establish a joint government, which has been in preparation for a duration of 7 years, the plot focuses on political uprisings on opposing sides which grow fierce when a special police unit is formed to stop the Set in the distant future where both North and South Koreas agree to establish a joint government, which has been in preparation for a duration of 7 years, the plot focuses on political uprisings on opposing sides which grow fierce when a special police unit is formed to stop the chaos. By The main problem with it is that two and a half hours it's much too overlong and could have done with some judicious cutting, but other than that this is a solid effort. Better simply to go with it, trusting that Kim can take whatever situation that arises as an opportunity to stage an exciting fight, chase, standoff or shootout like the one atop Seouls Namsan Tower, where an elaborate plan to capture and/or kill Lim goes awry, leading to a dazzling escape whereby our hero jumps out the window of the observation deck, scales a scarlet red fire hose the 440 feet to the ground, and proceeds to bash his way out of the parking lot in a stolen Mercedes. The main male protagonist, Im Joong-Kyung played by Gang Dong-won, is your usual super-competent combatant, and theres never really any tension about whether or not he will succeed in overcoming the obstacles in front of him so much as how he will do it. As more soldiers join in, the girl detonates the bomb in her hands. They changed huge plot points that destroyed the original theme and made it feel more Hollywood. Talk about the film. There's certainly a lot going on plot-wise, and the movie doesn't juggle the material well. The plodding pace does it a lot of favors, packing a lot of emotion into a relatively short film, but Illang breaks up some slower moments by adding in extra action scenes and extending others that existed in the original. Both are able to escape and are instructed by the special forces instructor Jang Jin-tae to go into hiding. Lim meets Lee Yun-hee at the Namsan Tower. This leads to the emergence of a terrorist group named Sect, which opposes the joint government of South and North Korea. The events prompt Japan to remilitarize, and the U.S. and Russia to ramp up military interests in the area. I never watched the anime so I can speak on how important those combat suits are other than looking super cool. Netflix acquired the international distribution rights of the film. However, Lim sees through the fact that State Security agents are present. [1][17] Filming began on August 16, 2017 in Studio Cube, a South Korean filming complex, and completed on March 23, 2018. I hope he makes a truly great film again, because I was disappointed despite going into it with lowered expectations. Read our extensive list of rules for more information on other types of posts like fan-art and self-promotion, or message the moderators if you have any questions. This movie just. [4], Okiura favored traditional animation, and thus the film was almost completely drawn by hand, requiring 80,000 cels. An incident involving the death of innocent teens causes the Special Unit to become ruthless killing machines, hiding.