During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island ("Hashima Island") to mine for coal, attempt to a dramatic escape. Movie: The Battleship Island (15)<br/><br/>Rating: 4.5/5<br/><br/>I'll be straight: the film was breathtaking. I started watching and didn't realise when 2 hours passed away. It was really engaging, and well executed. Visually it looks like a fantasy. Ryoo Seung-wan's recent release THE BATTLESHIP ISLAND is a well made action film that never gets too melodramatic and the entertainment quotient remains quite high throughout. <br/><br/>It's another time I'm impressed with Hwang Jung-min. He delivers another great performance as he did in ASURA. So Ji-sub was decent in the action sequences, but one would wish his character got a proper scope in the second hour. Song Joong-ki's character was extremely well written and he delivers a great performance. Kim Su-an does another mindblowing job after TRAIN TO BUSAN. One can only wish she does more such roles because she really acts well. Same for rest of the cast. <br/><br/>The screenplay is excellent: it stays focused and never deviates from storytelling. The action sequences are jaw-dropping and mindblowing: make sure you watch the film in a very high quality so as to appreciate the film even more. The cinematography is excellent and captures the eye-catching visuals very well. The editing is decent and really, I didn't wish the film was shorter.<br/><br/>THE BATTLESHIP ISLAND turns out to be a terrific action film which should be seen not just because of its high quality technical values but also to know about this extremely well-narrated tale of survival. The three lead actors are among South Korea's most talented and loved, and the story of what Japan did to Korea is true (enslavement, rape, and mass murder, just as they inflicted on Nanking, China), a story that many Americans don't know about our ally. Though there are some plot gaps and sequencing gaffes creating a cut and paste effect in a few scenes, the film is well worth watching because of its themes, both historic and dramatic, and because of the twists, intrigues, betrayals, and heroism of this Korean story set in the face of the horrors of war and occupation. The film opens and closes in black and white, except at the end a spectral bit of horrifying color followed by the anguished face of the child. It follows a thrilling yet heartbreaking action sequence and closes with an elegiac triumph soaked in grief. This is, after all, a war story. There is a reason why Asians, especially the Koreans, have captured the world's attention while Hollywood continues to slide. They have tremendous talent, imagination, brilliance, and expertise along with a thousand-year history of culture, ideas, and experience. And because they are that good. Though Mr. Ryoo’s taste for heightened theatricality threatens his story’s credibility at times, there is no denying his skill with a large-scale action set piece.
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