The Good, The Bad, The Weird
What?
Directed by Kim Ji-woon, the Korean director who delivered 'A Tale Of Two Sisters' (a film that has recently been remade as 'The Uninvited'), The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a film that may not be on your "to watch" list but trust me when I say it is one that definitely deserves your attention.
I will admit to not knowing much about the director or the three main stars who are all extremely well known in their native Korea. I’m not even a huge follower of Korean cinema. Every so often a buzz surrounds a foreign film which makes you sit up and take notice. The last Korean film to grab my attention was ‘The Host’ which coincidentally starred Song Kang-ho, one of the stars of this film. I knew nothing about the film before receiving the press release and latterly, watching the trailer. An Asian Comedy Western doesn’t sound too appealing I agree, but hold on. Right from the kinetic, stylishly shot opening action sequence set aboard a moving train, I was hooked. The sequence, which centers on a train robbery involving multiple gang members and characters, grabbed me with the inventive way in which it was shot, the comedic touches and the surprising level of violence. This style was to continue until the very end. The plot is easy to follow regardless of the multiple protagonists involved. There’s a violent gang and their ruthless leader, a bounty hunter and a train robber, all of whom are after a mysterious map believed to hold the key to a stash of treasure. Numerous characters cross each others paths throughout the film, sometimes with comedic consequences, sometimes with violent results. The stylish direction makes for some stand out action sequences that any big name director working in Hollywood would be proud of. The pace is frantic from beginning to end with more shoot outs than a World Cup competition, lengthy chase sequences and a handful of laugh out loud moments thrown in for good measure. Sure some of the comedy misses the mark but the direction, madcap storyline and the performances from the cast make for a hugely over the top and enjoyable two hours. Fans of violent action films who fancy something a little out there, something a different to the usual, by the numbers rubbish we are fed these days will definitely enjoy this. I just hope a remake starring Jason Statham isn’t in the works.
Optics:
Hot off the heels of their very pleasing Transporter 3 transfer, Icon Home Entertainment has delivered another winner. Colour reproduction is the first thing I noticed. Colours are very natural yet certain shades jump off the screen and begged to be noticed. Contrast levels are absolutely spot on and definition is very pleasing indeed. The image looked sharp at all times and blacks remain strong no matter what the lighting conditions. I didn’t detect any edge enhancement or problems at all but grain haters may be upset at the odd scene which featured the slightest trace. Overall a very impressive image that really shines at times.
Sonics:
Surround lovers are going to love this DTS-HD track! I lost count of the amount of shoot outs in this film and the amount of different guns involved. Shotguns, pistols, sniper rifles, machine guns – all provide glorious ricochets, bullets whistling past your ears, debris snapping and shattering around you plus some nice moments of low bass. On the negative side, the score sounded a little on the ear piercing side thanks to a little too much treble and not enough bass but this is a minor quibble that is easily forgotten thanks to the great sounding action scenes.
Extras:
Five alternate endings. You read that right, five. Each have their own plus points and could all have featured instead of the actual ending, but personally, I’m happy with what we got. The fairly impressive set of extras also includes a few deleted scenes and a number of featurettes which cover the production design, the cinematography, the sound and the making of the film. Not a huge number but the content is actually of interest unlike the usual material found on many releases.
Well?
The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a film that I simply couldn’t help loving and is one that will be sitting on my shelf with the rest of my Blu-ray collection. Do yourself a favour and give it a chance.
Tom Day
Directed by Kim Ji-woon, the Korean director who delivered 'A Tale Of Two Sisters' (a film that has recently been remade as 'The Uninvited'), The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a film that may not be on your "to watch" list but trust me when I say it is one that definitely deserves your attention.
I will admit to not knowing much about the director or the three main stars who are all extremely well known in their native Korea. I’m not even a huge follower of Korean cinema. Every so often a buzz surrounds a foreign film which makes you sit up and take notice. The last Korean film to grab my attention was ‘The Host’ which coincidentally starred Song Kang-ho, one of the stars of this film. I knew nothing about the film before receiving the press release and latterly, watching the trailer. An Asian Comedy Western doesn’t sound too appealing I agree, but hold on. Right from the kinetic, stylishly shot opening action sequence set aboard a moving train, I was hooked. The sequence, which centers on a train robbery involving multiple gang members and characters, grabbed me with the inventive way in which it was shot, the comedic touches and the surprising level of violence. This style was to continue until the very end. The plot is easy to follow regardless of the multiple protagonists involved. There’s a violent gang and their ruthless leader, a bounty hunter and a train robber, all of whom are after a mysterious map believed to hold the key to a stash of treasure. Numerous characters cross each others paths throughout the film, sometimes with comedic consequences, sometimes with violent results. The stylish direction makes for some stand out action sequences that any big name director working in Hollywood would be proud of. The pace is frantic from beginning to end with more shoot outs than a World Cup competition, lengthy chase sequences and a handful of laugh out loud moments thrown in for good measure. Sure some of the comedy misses the mark but the direction, madcap storyline and the performances from the cast make for a hugely over the top and enjoyable two hours. Fans of violent action films who fancy something a little out there, something a different to the usual, by the numbers rubbish we are fed these days will definitely enjoy this. I just hope a remake starring Jason Statham isn’t in the works.
Optics:
Hot off the heels of their very pleasing Transporter 3 transfer, Icon Home Entertainment has delivered another winner. Colour reproduction is the first thing I noticed. Colours are very natural yet certain shades jump off the screen and begged to be noticed. Contrast levels are absolutely spot on and definition is very pleasing indeed. The image looked sharp at all times and blacks remain strong no matter what the lighting conditions. I didn’t detect any edge enhancement or problems at all but grain haters may be upset at the odd scene which featured the slightest trace. Overall a very impressive image that really shines at times.
Sonics:
Surround lovers are going to love this DTS-HD track! I lost count of the amount of shoot outs in this film and the amount of different guns involved. Shotguns, pistols, sniper rifles, machine guns – all provide glorious ricochets, bullets whistling past your ears, debris snapping and shattering around you plus some nice moments of low bass. On the negative side, the score sounded a little on the ear piercing side thanks to a little too much treble and not enough bass but this is a minor quibble that is easily forgotten thanks to the great sounding action scenes.
Extras:
Five alternate endings. You read that right, five. Each have their own plus points and could all have featured instead of the actual ending, but personally, I’m happy with what we got. The fairly impressive set of extras also includes a few deleted scenes and a number of featurettes which cover the production design, the cinematography, the sound and the making of the film. Not a huge number but the content is actually of interest unlike the usual material found on many releases.
Well?
The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a film that I simply couldn’t help loving and is one that will be sitting on my shelf with the rest of my Blu-ray collection. Do yourself a favour and give it a chance.
Tom Day
Director:
Ji-woon Kim
Starring:
Kang-ho Song
Byung-hun Lee
Woo-sung Jung
Best line:
"I'm only worth a piano?"
Tagline:
Description:
Icon Home Entertainment
UK
Region B
Rated 15
2Hrs 10 Mins
2.35:1
DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
Alternate endings
Deleted scenes
'Running Fast'
'The Good, the Bad, the Weird and the Vicious'
'Analogue'
'Space'
Ratings: (Out of 10)
Film 8.0
Optics 9.0
Sonics 9.0
Extras 7.0
Overall 8.0
