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Directed by: Tae-gyun Kim Starring: Hyuk Jang, Min-a Shin, Su-ro Kim Whasango, or Volcano High is a rather original South Korean take on the teen high school genre by making it an action flick with a quirky sense of humour. In 2003 it was also screened on America’s MTV with hip-hop stars such as Andre 3000 and Mya dubbing the original actor's voices but in this review I will be looking at the original Korean language release. Seemingly spoofing all those Japanese manga/anime/video games where high school kids fight each other all the time, Volcano High follows the misadventures of a new student by the name of Kyeong-su (Jang Hyuk), as he soon gets caught up in turf war of sorts between Volcano’s various sporting clubs, who prefer to settle their differences by beating the crap out of each other. Although blessed/cursed with incredible power, Kyeong-su tries hard not to fight, but when the school’s new super-powered teachers start oppressing the student body, he feels he must stand up for what’s right for the students… Volcano High begins somewhat confusingly by quickly setting up the main characters of the tale and the film’s McGuffin: a secret manuscript that everyone wants to get their hands on whose disappearance eventually sets the main plot into motion. Although the characters' identities are quickly settled through narration and captions, ultimately the importance (or perhaps lack of) surrounding the manuscript is never really resolved leaving it a weakly defined catalyst to the action ahead. Although more fantasy wirework fighting than true martial arts, the action sequences in Volcano High are well shot and exciting, with the final battle, in my opinion, even giving The Matrix Revolutions a run for its money in the category of “awesome superhuman fights in the rain”. The final fight is made even more compelling by giving the film a lot of “false starts” along the way, increasing the anticipation level for the audience. Backing this up is an interesting and definitely quirky strand of humour throughout the film, with jokes that at times come so quickly you have little time to do anything but laugh. It’s also used to great effect in lightening the tone of the film, such as a serious “origin” flashback made trivial by presenting it as a sepia toned newsreel called “The Boy Whose Power Makes Him Sad”. The film is also carried by great performances from Jang Hyuk, who switches between angst and silly humour with ease, as well as those from the supporting cast with Kim Su-ro’s boastfully arrogant Ryung, Kyeong-su’s rival being the highlight. The cinematography is good though it suffers from a very muted look, while the film’s CG effects also usually come off quite well. The original musical score however, is somewhat forgettable since I can’t remember a drat thing to write about it. So if you’re looking for a solid night’s entertainment that’s just a bit different from the rest with a little humour and some wirework thrown in, give Volcano High a try. You might like it. 3.5/5 PROS: A pretty cool final fight. CONS: Plot is a bit confusing in start up mode. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301429/ mrkillboy fucked around with this message at 15:54 on May 9, 2004 |
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May 9, 2004 15:51
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 13:38 |
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I've never seen the MTV re-dub (just the Korean), but I was really let down by this movie. It was recommended to me by a friend who described it as "way better than Versus," but it's anything but. There are two memorable scenes in this movie: the very very beginning (which had me psyched up to watch the rest of the movie), and the aforementioned fight in the rain near the very end. Between those two scenes though is about two hours of mostly nothing. There's not a whole lot of action in the movie, and most of the supposed comedy that is present must have gotten lost in translation or something. If you ask me, this movie could have had a few more fight scenes spliced into the film in place of seeing the main character allow himself to get beaten up YET AGAIN. As for the action scenes, the choreography leaves something to be desired. For example, there's a scene where two characters stand at opposite ends of a hall and exchange fighting words. They run towards each other, then start running along the walls before striking one another upon collision...except the "strike" is more of a "high-five." That SEEMED like it could have been pretty neat, but the payoff wasn't there. Is that supposed to be like that? Is it a joke I don't get? Because that sort of thing sums up the entire movie. I was greatly let down by this movie and I'm utterly baffled as to why it gets as much praise as it does. It's impressive visually though. Those two sentences incidentally sum up my feelings on Wonderful Days, another major Korean movie release. 1.5/5.
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May 9, 2004 17:10
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