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Too much of everything

It is a performances centric movie

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's a very funny cartoonish flick, nearly a good modern fairytale with all the cool Kung-Fu and the dexterous special effects, but this movie could, inadvertently, raise the predicament of the genre's holiness !Look at it, from the start it's nothing but the action comedy that close to visual farce, with all the lovely elements of fantasy. THEN suddenly, at the third act, it's the bloody violent action ! Where almost all of the nice characters of the old minters got killed, the last one got tortured, and a long sequence of one last, very serious and too rough, battle !! Is it a sin?, is it the way we used to watch? Is it a no no when it comes to renewal the genre a bit? Actually when they had done it in a way made the taste strange to weaken the movie as well as disturb its own condition, then something really is wrong. We've learned that mostly there is no killing at the comedy, so how about THIS comedy in particular which was apparently too light to be dark ! You'd sense oddity like being with unstable personality ! Moreover after being straight harsh at the climax, it returns at the anticlimax - irritatingly I think - to be that smiling childish venture again ?!!Just compare the beautiful intro scene (which's great and promising), or the droll sequence of training the hero, with all the body count, or the HEEE and HOOO of the end's fight to catch on that there was something unusual about it ..Or correctly badly unusual ! (Arahan) proves how the Korean cinema gets a lot of great potentials (wonderful action, big production, advanced technique, clever imagination..). But (Arahan) also suffers from being comic fantasy that skewed a little for tenebrous mood and drastic nastiness. As the script sorrowfully manipulated the whole thing not to shake the genre up !, but to make a statement about the capability of creating a strong action, yet inharmoniously.It was 2 unfinished movies, undoubtedly well-made, but you'd feel uneasy as the sweet becomes sour at times, and you'd be unsatisfying as none of the 2 was totally complete.

This is really the second Korean movie I saw after 'Shadow less swords' n I am amazed at the maturity of Korean Cinema.. Arahan really was a fantastic movie.. The acting of the lead actors was really good... really up to the standards. Seung-beom Ryu as a gawky policemen n ever so wonderful So-Yi Yoon. The treatment of the storyline, the direction n effects.. all fell in line.To say I am curious about Korean movies now would be an understatement... I am looking for more ...In fact I would welcome suggestions from some one who can guide me..Really a superb movie to watch.. just great.

As Eastern cinema grows more and more popular in the West, largely thanks to its being aped by such filmmakers as the Wachowskis and Quentin Tarantino, an increasing number of cinematic gems from across Eastern Asia are now arriving in the West. While films like Hero and House of Flying Daggers gain widespread theatrical releases, the more common place to find some of these films is on DVD and that's precisely where I found Arahan.Having never heard of it before I was struck by the synopsis on the back of the box that likened it to Stephen Chow's (he of Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer fame) manic output I took a chance on it and was mildly surprised by what I saw.Directed with confidence and occasional flare by Ryu Seung-Wan, Arahan tells the story of Sang (played Ryu Seung-Bum who you may recognise from Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), a somewhat goofy and ineffective cop who no one can seem to take seriously. After a disastrous attempt to ticket the local congressman's chauffeur for running a red light, Sang spies a purse-snatcher and promptly gives chase. Unknown to him the purse-snatcher is also being pursued by Eui-Jin (played by Yun Soy), a Tao master in training. When Sang is struck by her errant palm blast he finds himself in the care of the Seven Masters (oddly enough there are only five of them). Harbouring a crush on Eui-Jin and a strong desire to kick some ass, Sang begins training under the Masters in the hopes of Maruchi, or enlightened male master.One thing Arahan is not is slow. It moves at a brisk clip while at the same time managing to feel unhurried in reaching it's destination. It also boasts some fun characters. Seung-Bum is delightful to watch as Sang. The unusual combination of barrel bottom self esteem, stubborn pride and impatience is interesting to watch and Seung-Bum manages to carry it off wonderfully without ever letting the character descend into a mess of neuroses which could have so easily happened. Yun Soy makes a suitable foil and displays a lot of fire in her performance but her delivery sometimes falls a little flat. Admittedly she has less to work with as the slightly clichéd girl with great power and responsibility who just wants to lead a normal life has been a fairly common theme in recent years but all in all she acquits herself well. Jeong Doo-Hong is also well cast as the movies icy villain Heuk-Un, a former Tao Master with a neat line in martial arts moves and a PhD in not knowing when to call it quits.In terms of action (for Arahan is a Kung Fu movie so not to mention it would defeat a lot of the object in a review of the film) Arahan manages to pull out some neat scenes, using the full gamut of tricks currently employed in the genre including extensive wire work in some of the later battles, occasional use of CG and a nice mixture of sword and fist fights to lend the scenes some variety. It never truly raises the bar and on occasion the fights can be heavily edited, perhaps to cover some of the performers lack of skill. By and large though it gets the blood pumping and will make you wince at just the right moments, all the ingredients of some decent Kung Fu.Unfortunately Arahan does have one fairly large flaw. While billed as a comedy, Arahan can be surprisingly uneven in its tone. Much of the films humour tends to be slapstick although there are some knowing asides to Kung Fu genre in general particularly at the very beginning. The result of this somewhat broad humour combined with the manic performances will bring smiles to all but the most jaded. The downside to this however is when the film wants to get serious it pulls some nasty sucker punches that deaden the otherwise light and bouncy mood so suddenly you'll wonder if you're still watching the same film. Sang's ego destroying beating at the hands of a gang of thugs and any scene where Heuk-Un turns up are good examples of this and it's only toward the movies end that the two distinct tones of the movie begin to mesh any where close to successfully. It's a bit of a shame really. While the humour is welcome and largely on the nose (if a little broad at times), had it been reigned in slightly, perhaps been made a little more subtle, the films jarring changes of mood would have been less noticeable and the film itself doubtless would have been stronger for it.In the end Arahan overcomes its flaws to provide a largely entertaining and irreverent slice of Kung Fu with a sideline in unexpected brutality. It may not be able to go head to head with best of Chow's output, but that it can be mentioned in the same sentence is more than praise enough.

"Arahan" adds nothing positive to the Kung Fu genre. To compare this confused motion picture with the inspired craziness and quality of Stephen Chow's films is a mistake.Firstly the fight scenes are nothing new. All that is presented here has been done before and better by the likes of Yimou Zhang, Tony Jaa and Jackie Chan. Fights in intelligent Motion Pictures need logic. There seems no point serving blows that have no damaging effect as in the "Matrix" sequels.The attractive female lead So-Yi Yoon captivated the screen but she never convincingly conquered the physical demands of the role as Ziyi Zhang had done so easily in "House Of Flying Daggers". Having a Martial Arts background serves well in Kung Fu movies. To cast actors inexperienced in these skills is a serious mistake (See Aya Ueto in "Asumi") unless you are a very talented director which as "Arahan" proves Seung-wan Ryoo is not.