D-WAR(or DRAGON WAR)

[venoms5]

Does anyone have any additional info on this title? I heard it was coming simultaniously in Korea and the US in September. I couldn't view the trailer but was able to see some footage in an interview segment with the director and it looks awesome. From the footage shown, it appears to show what REIGN OF FIRE never showed. There were gigantic snake creatures wrapping around skyscrapers, Apache helicopters dueling with dragons and dinosaur like monsters with laser cannons on there backs destroying civilization. It looked really well done. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Jay]

Okay, it's two years later, but what the hell....

It's the latest travesty by the director of 2001 Yonggary aka Reptilian. You've probably watched the R1 release of this by now, and if you haven't, well... don't bother. Imagine Uwe Boll making a CG kaiju movie, and well, you wouldn't be far off.

See this thread (http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1151) for more details.

(And yeah, I missed the other thread before I posted.)

[Tosh]

Imagine Uwe Boll making a CG kaiju movie, and well, you wouldn't be far off.



It's that bad huh?

[gfanikf]

It's that bad huh?

No quite good :)
http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2007/09/hkcfns-d-wars-podcast.html

[thekfc]

It's that bad huh? uhhhhh, Yes.

[AlbertV]

If you're in the mood for a cheesy film, then I would recommend this. It should have been an all-Korean cast IMO. From their performances, Jason Behr and Amanda Brooks seemed like they didn't want to be there.

I did like the appearance of Jackie Chan Stunt Team member Park Hyun-Jin in the flashback scene. He played Naram and was credited as just "Hyun Jin", but that is the one they call Mong Cha Cha who doubled Andy On in New Police Story.

[venoms5]

Here's a review I did for it when I caught it in theaters shortly after its release. I was almost convinced at the time that the old Korean magical kicker guy was Hwang Jang Lee! It sure looked like him at least to me it did.:)

DRAGON WARS 2007 aka D-WAR

Jason Behr, Amanda Brooks, Robert Forster, Aimee Garcia, Chris Mulkey, Mathias Hues

In Korea in the 1500s, a young woman possesses a power called a Yu Yi Joo which is coveted by two mythical snake creatures (Called Imoogi's). One good, one evil. The evil snake, Buraki, sends his armies of warriors and assorted creatures to find the girl who has this power. Once sacrificed, the Yu Yi Joo will allow the gigantic serpent to become a celestial dragon. Of course, if the good serpent wins, it will ascend into heaven and become mankind's protector but if the Buraki wins, evil will thrive. The fight carries into present day LA as the reincarnated souls of the doomed lovers are again tracked by the villainous Buraki and is his monster armies.

The biggest budgeted Korean movie of all time shockingly gets wide release in America. Shaved of over 15 minutes of footage, the film is uneven in places whether this be from the trimming for its US release or if the 107 minute original still retains the major plot holes is unknown to me at this time. The film is not nearly as bad as many people make it out to be. This was a very good popcorn movie and the films selling points are the jaw-dropping battle sequences.

I'm a bit perplexed why so much hate is thrown at this film. It seems to be another case of cinematic racism from American critics and moviegoers who cannot or will not accept a film from a foreign country made by foreigners. Sure, some of the dialog is bad and the performances are not that great, but the opening battle and the final 40 minutes kick some major ass. A lot of people complain about the muddled storyline. I had no problem following it. It was fairly straightforward. Maybe it was because the film was taken from Korean legend and most Americans had trouble keeping up with the various types of creatures integral to the plot? Or it just seemed plain silly? Which it is, but the kid in me loved it just the same.

As much as I loved REIGN OF FIRE (even paying to see it 3 times), it never showed you the dragons destroying civilization. Here, you get what that film should have given you. The 25 minute destruction of LA is one of the best sequences I've seen in a long time. I'm not a great fan of CGI, but it's great to see it done as well as any American film as it is in this movie. The bits with the Apache helicopters firing their guns and missiles on the Buraki can and does compete with any recent US action film in its excitement. Also the Buraki slithering its way around the Liberty Building is very well done. I can't say enough good about this sequence.

This explosive selling point reminded me so much of a modern day STAR WARS with the Apache's and the smaller flying fire-breathing dragons giving chase through the winding array of tall buildings. The foot soldiers and the gigantic slug-like monsters with their rocket launcher weapons and the Raptor creatures with their riders attacking tanks and soldiers was also reminiscent of some of the big battle scenes in the STAR WARS sequels.

The finale involves the villains capturing the girl and preparing to sacrifice her when the good Imoogi finally shows up. There's a big snake duel amidst an elaborate set of an ancient fortress adorned with giant Korean warrior statues with black, ominous clouds in the sky. Again, the monster action impressed me to no end.

The bad bits were mainly the performances which were fine here and there but everyone seemed lost most of the time save for Forster who seems indifferent but tends to take his role seriously. I was blown away when I saw what appeared to be one of my favorite kung fu stars, Korean super kicker Hwang Jang Lee as the old teacher during the big flashback scene at the beginning. If it is in fact him, he gets to show off his still impressive skills. It looks an awful lot like him, though. There is an actor listed in the credits as Hyo Jin Lee so who knows? The plot holes also present a minor problem but a major one if you are a stickler for your films making complete sense from beginning to end. Once I see the complete film I can speak more on this.

The other negative is the seemingly disjointed flow of the film from one scene to the next. Some dialog scenes are broken up and edited into another scene for no apparent reason apparently to give the impression that said scenes are happening concurrent with one another. With an action sequence, this would work but here it seems very awkward. When the monsters aren't onscreen (which isn't very often) the film seems lost.

Director Shim (a former comedian in his home country) has come a long way from his previous movies, the execrable YONGARRY remake and TYRANNO'S CLAW. D-WAR has been in production since 2002 so to finally see it now it's worth the wait in regards to the action scenes if nothing else. Korea's first stab at a film of this magnitude, it is set to surpass the profits of the similar Korean blockbuster THE HOST which is also a monster movie but with more substance to go along with its flash. If Shim could have only matched the acting and story mechanics on the same level as the special effects, he would have finally had a complete success which has eluded him critically since he began making movies.

However, I had a great time watching it, and for all the bad reviews, there sure are hundreds of people talking about it, good or bad. IMDB has over 146 reviews of it. If you enjoy monster movies you should enjoy this. But if monster flicks are not your thing, you should probably give this one a pass.

[AlbertV]

Excellent review venoms5. I thought it was campy but fun at the same time. I was happy to see that Park Hyun-Jin was given quite an important role (the warrior the old man trains in the flashback, Naram) instead of just seeing him double for someone or getting his butt whipped. I remember reading on Jackie Chan's website that when Park goes to Korea, he is always talking but when he is Hong Kong or anywhere else, he tends to be more shy and quiet. He tends to walk in a daze sometimes, hence his nickname of Mong Cha Cha.

[venoms5]

Thanks, I just wish the complete film would get released here. I wonder if it improved the human interaction scenes any?

[JET LEE]

Thanks

[littlefuzzy]

Does anyone know the original language(s) on this? I would have assumed Korean, but after reading that some of it takes place in LA, and there are American actors, I'm confused.

Does the US DVD contain the original soundtrack?

[Jay]

Does anyone know the original language(s) on this? I would have assumed Korean, but after reading that some of it takes place in LA, and there are American actors, I'm confused.

Does the US DVD contain the original soundtrack?

It was shot in English, with bits in Korean. The Korean bits are still in Korean, and subbed.