I'll try to keep this review brief - you're encouraged to go see the film and judge for yourself;
The plot is simple - and in-debt man from a northern province of Korea travels to Seoul to assassinate someone to pay his debts; the result is utter chaos as he tries to escape back home.
Right, first off, if blood and gore scare you, this film is not for you - it's quite gruesome and relentless in the violence; The Yellow Sea does not compromise, does not glorify the hit-man (he's just a taxi driver), nor does it include any super-human feats of agility or other unlikelihoods in its plot. The roughness of the story and its characters is the real strength, and i have found myself watching intently (waiting for the usual ridiculous Hollywood stuff to happen) as i rarely do, but TYS continues to deliver without pause.
Unfortunately not all is well; good characters, good lead, good pacing but some truly horrid camera work spoils what would have been a great film in its genre. Why the Koreans must have learned the Blair Witch Shake because, while it's reasonable for the camera to shake during chase scenes, it's not acceptable that any movement on screen (be it a man's mouth opening as he eats, or a car passing by) must be mirrored by the camera making the same movement.
All in all, The Yellow Sea is gritty and dark like only the asians know how to make, but the camrashakey- end result is really bad, and makes this a film to recommend only to those who know what they are after.
My final vote: 7/10 and who knows .. if it had been made properly ...
The plot is simple - and in-debt man from a northern province of Korea travels to Seoul to assassinate someone to pay his debts; the result is utter chaos as he tries to escape back home.
Right, first off, if blood and gore scare you, this film is not for you - it's quite gruesome and relentless in the violence; The Yellow Sea does not compromise, does not glorify the hit-man (he's just a taxi driver), nor does it include any super-human feats of agility or other unlikelihoods in its plot. The roughness of the story and its characters is the real strength, and i have found myself watching intently (waiting for the usual ridiculous Hollywood stuff to happen) as i rarely do, but TYS continues to deliver without pause.
Unfortunately not all is well; good characters, good lead, good pacing but some truly horrid camera work spoils what would have been a great film in its genre. Why the Koreans must have learned the Blair Witch Shake because, while it's reasonable for the camera to shake during chase scenes, it's not acceptable that any movement on screen (be it a man's mouth opening as he eats, or a car passing by) must be mirrored by the camera making the same movement.
All in all, The Yellow Sea is gritty and dark like only the asians know how to make, but the camrashakey- end result is really bad, and makes this a film to recommend only to those who know what they are after.
My final vote: 7/10 and who knows .. if it had been made properly ...