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Powerful

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Having been a long time fan of Asian films within multiple genre, I found this title to be a great example of Korean sci-fi perspective finely wrought. Though some might focus on flaws in minute detail, this reviewer is rating this film on a comparative basis. No need to list other K-movie titles here as that would detract from my intent. Suffice to say that many lesser craft were floated in the sea of Korean science fiction films.I read reviews here comparing this to the fine Phillip K. Dick adaptation titled "Bladerunner" and agree there are many parallel themes. Given current global trends, this reviewer feels that Natural City is a natural expansion on the ideas incorporated in the original fiction story.Well produced with an eye for detail by both director(s) and editors, as well as seemingly terse but at times poignant acting, this is a title well worth a second look.I read someone here say the acting was wooden. Hmmmm. Perhaps that poster does not understand Asian demeanor nor the intent of the director to display the dislocated environment within which these characters live. Science-Fiction is extrapolation. No less and no more. If one expects ideas and human elements combined with adequate acting and direction, then this product will entertain.Derivations aside, (even "Bladerunner" was an adaptation) some critics may perhaps broaden their climes and see that imitation is both flattery and homage to thought and endeavour. Enough said.This is my first review here as I was piqued by some of the critics.In summary...good acting and direction, detailed and well shot. Hope to see more from these players all.

When the movie was over, I did end of liking it. But before that, it was really hard to get into. The story jumps around a lot and is missing many pieces. But by the end, it does come all together. The film is Sci-Fi, but really just ends up being a love story in a way. All about a man and what he will do to keep his love for a cyborg. Ji-tae Yu is the main character and he is in love with a robot played by Rin Seo. Rin Seo was a little off on her acting skills, but I did enjoy Ji-tae Yu's performance. Jae-un Lee plays the other big part and she is decent. Now the movie has a couple fight scenes and they were pretty intense. They were all in bullet time slow motion and it really gave a stronger feel to them. The only problem was that you wanted more, and there just wasn't enough. There is a great fight scene between Ji-tae Yu and Doo-hong Jung though. It was not that long and I really wanted to be. But it was still great to watch. So very interesting story, just not all there.

Several times in my comments i've said how i'm getting more and more interested in korean current cinema (i still don't feel comfortable to investigate its past). In later years, i think some of the best films coming out are korean. Among their vast production, we have two directors with whom i commit seriously. Because i have this interest, because korean films appeal to me, even when they fail, i've been wondering of the reasons for this. So far i think korean cinema reflects their culture. And that culture is a thin balance between west and east values. Korea is, in most aspects, apparently a country ruled by western principles. Yet, at root, it is an eastern country, coming from the same cradle as Japan and China. So these films i enjoy, beyond their own characteristics, reflect this balance, reflects the essence of two opposed visions of society.Sometimes the film presses more on the spiritual construction of koreans, which i think still remains oriental in its core. Other times it marvels at topping western narrative structures. Kim Ki Duk and Wook Park are the best in each case. The reason why i mention all this is because this film is totally inserted in this context. But here the balance falls totally for the western side, and is not at all satisfactory in it. The film tackles Bladerunner in its cosmology, in how the world works, in how people in this world face their reality, and even in the physical shape of that world. But where Blade Runner was a matter of memories, dream-real, parallel versions and constant redefinition of realities, here all this is exchanged for a pure "love" story. None of that Dick ambiguity, instead a plain soap operish story about how a man overcomes rejection and compromises to save his forbidden lover, a 'replicant' who will die soon. There is no trick in how the story unfolds, there is no surprise to amaze us, there is no origami in this one. Anyway we don't have that grand scale eye Ridley Scott placed at the service of Phil Dick's vision. We have a mere celebration of huge sets, strange worlds (which are not that fascinating , by the way), and Matrix based slow motion. We have few things to see here.My opinion: 1/5 http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com

I found the similarities to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner refreshing.I believe that Director Byung-Chun Min succeeds, like Scott, in giving the sci-fi cyborg theme a new spin that will stand the test of time. And the fact that the film is Korean in all its attributes adds positively to the innovative treatment of that theme. For those of us who don't speak Korean it may be more difficult to follow the story, and disappointing, even frustrating, to know there are nuances in the characters' interactions that we are missing. But this is not the film's shortcoming.However, if you own the DVD, keep it: this movie will become a classic.