disaster movies are hit and miss..... if you have the disaster too soon, it ruins the possability of a build up.... if you wait too long, you lose the audience.... but if you build it up to where you care about the characters and place the disaster at just the right place and have follow up in the aftermath, they can work.... 'Tidal Wave' was the later kind of movie.... granted, it wasn't Shakespeare.... but it set it to do something and it accomplished it.... i found myself caring about the abundance of chracters that were introduced throughout the movie.... and there were a lot of them to give back story on and the director was able to make each ones story interesting and not overwhelming.... it was an movie with a lot going on and at a mere two hours it accomplished a lot.... not to get too deep into the story as it's extremely complex with all of the people involved.... it deals with a scientist who is trying to prevent what he calls a 'Mega Tsunami' from destroying Korea.... after the wake of a major one in 2004, that's been his lifes work ever since.... however, most people won't listen and just take him as being a bit over the top and over cautious.... meanwhile, everyone elses lives are intersecting and setting the stage for what happens in the last 45 minutes of the movie.... which is pretty intense....
i felt this deserved 4 out of 5 stars.... i was a little suprised at the ending being a bit too 'neat'.... but i wasn't expecting the perfect movie.... but they did an amazing job with the special effects during the Tsunami.... and everyone was so well cast in their roles that i really got involved in the story.... i found myself on the edge of my seat during the entire 3rd act.... if you enjoy a good disaster movie.... and don't mind subtitles.... this Korean movie is one that might have slipped under your radar and you should consider blocking out some time to enjoy a summer blockbuster that isn't from Hollywood.... yes, i thought it was that good.
if you like foreign films like this or movies with lots of stuff blowing up, consider: 'The Host', 'Cloverfield' and 'The Day After Tomorrow'
It's amazing what the Korean film industry has been placing out there the past few years. In fact my favorite Korean film to date is still Peppermint Candy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of disaster flicks, but I'll probably check this one out. :-)
i agree with you about the Korean film industry....
ReplyDeletebut foreign films in general are offering a lot of great stuff that the American cinema just wants to copy....
not that i hate the American cinema....
you understand.