As the deceased soul Ja-hong and his three afterlife guardians prepare for their remaining trials for reincarnation, the guardians soon come face to face with the truth of their tragic time on Earth 1,000 years earlier.
This South Korean epic has every making of an epic. The plot is brilliant, character development is spot on, the fight choreography is brilliant and most of all the special effects are superb!
Let's start off with the plot and storyline concept; the movie narrates the trials of a vengeful spirit in the afterlife as he is led through the 8 trials of hell to determine his qualification for reincarnation. This storyline already makes it a complex project to pull of, and it would have sufficed if the production team had left it that. However, considering the wide acclaim the prequel received, the writers decided to make the plot a little more complex, thereby diversifying the conflict element. Thus, not only is the Soul of Ja-hong on trial, but the 3 afterlife guardians(Gang-lim, Haewonmak, Lee Deok-Choon) have to face the truth of their tragic times on Earth some very long time ago. While Gang-lim has the job of guiding Kim Soo-Hung through the 8 trials of hell as well as advocate on his behalf before the 8 gods of the 8 hells, Haewonmak and Lee Deok-Choon have the unenviable task of helping a frail old man ascend to the afterlife, who is being prevented from ascending by a household god Seongju. The reasons for Seongju's interference is based on good reasons, whereas the reason why the two guardians must help him ascend are also good and also desperation based. These two situations meant that there was compling conflict in the human world and in the afterlife realm.
The narrative techniques used by the producer to develop the characters of the guardians as well as tell their unfortunate story was brilliantly paced and at the conclusion was presented at the very best and opportune time. The way it was delivered to matched with the climax of the movie which fortunately tallied with the judgement of the God of murder hell.
To other aspects of the movie, mention must be made of the incredible CGI and the fight simulations. I will take these two aspects together due to the way the movie has been able to adopt the CGI to fit the fight scenes and simulations. The production unit invested a whole lot of money into special effects and it paid off pretty well. The special effects didn't end up looking too colourful as we had it A Wrinkle In Time, it was utilised in the proper manner and with the desired output.
Contrary to the expected pedigree of the movie, there was not much conflict and fight scenes as we would have hoped for. The CGI was mostly used to create special effects for the surrounding and CG creatures. Many would have hoped that the CGI would be utilised to better effect. The first fight scenes we saw definitely did wonders to keep us engrossed going forward. The scriptwriter came out tops here, as the movie went in the direction fo brilliant storytelling and amazing dialogues as against pure action and fight scenes. We would have hoped for more fight scenes, but I guess we can't complain. On our own part we derived our pumps from the court room action. The pure passion for advocacy and the strength of the case of the prosecution. Do not be misdirected, the court room action me refer to took place in the afterlife, in the various courts of the 8 gods of of the 8 hells.
In a nutshell, this is a movie recommended for the lovers of the epic, and the connoisseurs of incredible storytelling prowess. The movie has everything viewers are looking for in an action epic; incredible storyline, great plot depth and plot development, easily relatable conflict and above all a superb conclusion to the conflicts. The resolution of conflict is perhaps the most intriguing part of the movie and we could easily relate to it. For those who are followers of art and great designs, this is the movie for you. The costumiers and the make-up team have ensured that you are not disappointed. The make-up, the costume and the special effects result in the most incredible piece of cinema. It's a viewing spectacle and a creative marvel. Brilliant.
The beauty of the movie have also translated into incredible numbers. With a budget of just over 18million USD, the move grossed over 92 million USD at the box offices, and in the process surpassed Avengers : Infinity War a with the most viewership in a single day with 1,450,310 viewers as against Avengers: Infinity War that attracted 1,333,310 viewers in a single day.
Directed and Produced by Kim Yong-hwa Won Dong-yeon
Screenplay by Kim Yong-hwa
Based on Along with the Gods by Joo Ho-min
Starring Ha Jung-woo Ju Ji-hoon Kim Hyang-gi Ma Dong-seok Kim Dong-wo
FCA's AppR 8.2/10
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