Some of the same setups are in Illang, but they lost the threads throughout the film, and the payoff doesnt arrive with as much force. I think I prefer the wolf ending over this, but was hoping for something more substantial to tie it all together. When she looks out the window, she spots Lim. (Original title: "Inrang") Production: (S.. In 2029 an elite police squad combats a terrorist group that opooses the reunification of the two Korean states. site . Its only use is during the prologue to explain why the government would launch a Special Unit force to put an end to Sect. Kim Jee-woons script cant handle the mystery without a lot of heavy exposition and needlessly complicated doublecross-on-doublecross. If we cut off the narrations intro, the film could still be set in Japan and nothing would really need to be changed. Box 4666, Ventura, CA 93007 Request a Quote: comelec district 5 quezon city CSDA Santa Barbara County Chapter's General Contractor of the Year 2014! Didn't feel anything for the characters or their romance. While I am one of the first people to bemoan the seemingly endless cycle of remakes and reboots that seems to have seized the movie industry and would love to see that time, attention, and money diverted to new stories, ideas, and characters, I was still quite excited when I saw the first trailer for Illang: The Wolf Brigade, the live-action remake of the Japanese anime movie Jin-Roh. The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. However, they can't get there because the soldier who was supposed to take them there was caught and killed by the state security. Inside, Lim discovers a poster of Little Red Riding Hood. The production values are top-notch with excellent cinematography and fight coreography but the final product somehow feels like an unremarkable and hollow action movie without that spark that made Bittersweet life such an unforgettable experience. Illang: The Wolf Brigade picks up five years into the unification plans. In 2029, after the governments of North and South Korea announce a 5-year plan to reunify the country, strong sanctions by the world's powerful nations cripple the economy and lead to a hellish period of chaos. Fullmetal Alchemist The Final Alchemy. Later, Kei reveals her role in the deception and suggests they leave together, but Fuse decides to stay. 2. Nice action scenes. It has been relicensed in North America by Discotek Media, with a DVD released on April 29, 2014 followed by a Blu-Ray on January 27, 2015.[2][3]. that betraying sonovabitch Henmi ate shit. From his friend Han Sang-woo, Lim receives a diary that is said to have belonged to the deceased girl Lee Jae-hee. A trap is set by the local police forces and the Public Security Division intended to discredit the Special Unit with Kei as bait to catch Fuse, intending to show a terrorist passing a satchel bomb to a member of the Panzers. He meets a woman claiming to be the girls sister, Lee Yun-hee (singer-turned-wooden-actress Han Hyo-joo), and theyll soon find themselves at the center of a conspiracy to disband the Special Unit--despite them already been disbanded after the opening scene. Lucid Dream. The action scenes and practical effects are all quite enjoyable. However I really enjoyed this movie, yeah the romance part might a bit long but also has some purpose in building the final climax. A much-anticipated reunion between director Kim Jee-woon and Jung Woo-sung, featuring Minho from K-pop group SHINee. Trying to dip into both pools at the same time ends up with an enjoyable, but flawed, adaptation. During a large demonstration at Gwanghwamun Square, the sect shows itself by bombing the police. (Source: KoBiz). There is action in the movie, and the action scenes are (reasonably) well done, but there are large chunks of the movie where there's no action at all. From the very beginning the audience is thrown into a plot which is rather vague and confused. So I can't really compare the two versions, I just remember that I liked the animated version and I can say the same thing for the live action version. There's certainly a lot going on plot-wise, and the movie doesn't juggle the material well. But everything feels like it's in slow motion: the predictable love affair, the speech patterns, they way everybody has to make weird faces to show how important their emotions are. The film stars Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, and Jung Woo-sung, and was released on July 15, 2018. The Warner Bros logo is bright red against a black background. Fuse is horrified at his action, but now having sacrificed his humanity, he has no other choice but to remain part of the pack. Korean director Kim Jee-woon's latest offering is another anime adaptation, this time in the form of ILLANG: THE WOLF BRIGADE. Deep. Fearing the possibility of war, North Korea and South Korea agree to re-unify for the sake of survival, with a five year interim put in place as preparation for the reunification. "[28], Jason Bechervaise from Screendaily wrote that the film "contains moments of stylistic brilliance through some compelling set-pieces. Illang: The Wolf Brigade does have fantastic action sequences, especially the one involving the steel-clad unstoppable soldier killing his way through sewer tunnels filled with corrupt cops. As such, this movie exists in a sort of limbo. Rafael Motamayor It was Kim Jee-woon's second film to compete at the festival after I Saw the Devil in 2010. Of all the Kim Jee-woon films I've seen (The Quiet Family; The Foul King; A Tale of Two Sisters; The Good, the Bad, the Weird; I Saw the Devil; The Last Stand; The Age of Shadows), this is firmly his worst. JUNG_E. Illang: The Wolf Brigade 2018 | Maturity Rating: 16 | 2h 19m | Action & Adventure In 2029, the elite police squad Illang combats a terrorist group opposing reunification of the two Koreas. Good production value By After that I didn't care who was fighting who. Netflix acquired the international distribution rights of the film. That was satisfying. In particular, the part where he jump-kicks the guy through the car window. Illang: The Wolf Brigade [3] ( Korean : ; also known as Inrang) is a 2018 South Korean science fiction action film directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. Kim and lead actor Gang Dong-won were set to attend the event. . The film premiered on November 17, 1999, in France, and Bandai Entertainment and Viz Media licensed the film for an English-language release in North America and Europe. Jee-Woon's films 'I saw the Devil' and 'The Good the Bad the Weird' are among my favorite Korean films (and favorite films in general). Well unless you already know the Wolf Brigade because there was a Manga and an Anime. Email news@gamespot.com. She also cannot blame Lim for her death. Action comes easy to Korean director Kim; its actors that he doesnt always know what to do with. Yun-hee turns on the tracking device through which the state security can track them. The stories focus on the aftermath of one of the units members who froze when confronted with a particularly young terrorist and couldnt perform his duty of killing her. A man is convicted of a robbery he didnt commit and spends six years in jail. Soldier Lim Joong-kyung of the Special Forces encounters a girl carrying a bomb and wants to make her give it up. [32] The number of South Korean film admissions in July 2018 dropped by 21.4% from 2017, to 5.39 million, due to the sluggishness of this film and the absence of intermediate films to replace it. The following weapons were used in the film Illang: The Wolf Brigade: As a live-action anime adaptation, I'd give this a 9/10. 2023 GAMESPOT, A FANDOM COMPANY. "Frontiers of Total Filmmaking: Mamoru Oshii Creator of Jin-Roh." Instead of a badass group of killing-machines, we are stuck with the emotionless Lt. Lim (Gang Dong-won, with the charisma of a log), who is suffering from PTSD following the suicide bombing. I liked the quality of the movie action scene, simple and without CG. Netflix supports the Digital Advertising Alliance Principles. Read our extensive list of rules for more information on other types of posts like fan-art and self-promotion, or message the moderators if you have any questions. [1][17] Filming began on August 16, 2017 in Studio Cube, a South Korean filming complex, and completed on March 23, 2018. The majority of the story beats and the characters personalities, however, are lifted the whole cloth from the original. As interesting as perfectly remaking an old anime into a live action movie might be, I was more intrigued by what changes would be implemented and how the lens of a Korean movie team would affect the narrative. Five years after The Last Stand Korean director Kim Jee-woons one-off attempt at American filmmaking, a throwaway shoot-em-up co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Johnny Knoxville Kim is back home, applying what he learned in Hollywood to anime adaptation Illang: The Wolf Brigade. An obsidian-black sci-fi thriller all but consumed with corruption of the state and of the soul, the film opens stunningly enough, reminiscent of such late-80s comics-to-screen transfers as Tim Burtons Batman and the original RoboCop in its darkly atmospheric depiction of a grim near-future, but it gets confusing quick and never quite regains the promise of its first half-hour which accounts for a disappointing local performance (Illang did fewer than one million admissions last summer in South Korea). Due to civil unrest within South Korea (Japan in the original), an elite anti-terror unit is formed. 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Rowling More Grace and Listen to Her, Britain's $4 Billion Boss: ITV Chief Carolyn McCall Bets It All on Talent, 2023 Music Festivals: How to Buy Tickets to Coachella, Governors Ball, Lollapalooza and More. Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos. This could explain why Jin-Roh is much more grounded and easier to follow than The Red Spectacles and StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops, which don't really feature the iconic armor. They encounter the fully armored Fuse, who slaughters them all. Director: Kim Jee-woon Writer: screenplay by Kim Jee-woon adapted from Mamoru Oshii's Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. First, they get a chance to track down and all-but-eliminate a terrorist group called the Sect (although its never quite clear what these rebels oppose, or whether were supposed to be rooting for or against them), before an incident involving an underage suicide bomber forces the authorities to pull the plug on the program. The show started out fairly slow and then took off with some really fantastic action. [7][8][9] Distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, the film had cost 19 billion won (US$17.04 million) to produce. Im late to this, but I just wanted to add my thoughts. There are also some other surface changes to the film that, really, dont affect as much as they probably should. The action scenes themselves are decent for what they are. [10][11] The film competed in the San Sebastin International Film Festival for the Golden Shell, becoming the second South Korean film to do so.[12]. I've been waiting almost 20 years for this and thankfully it was not a whitewashed Hollywood disaster! That was satisfying! Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Read all Director Jee-woon Kim Writers The love story aspect of the movie just doesn't work, so it doesn't have an emotional crutch. It seems the movie didn't work well in Korea, and I remember watching the Jin roh anim as a kid and didn't like it that much. The sniper? Add to that the complete change of medium, and I was intrigued to see what the end result would be. Even though there are some modifications to the overall story, and one significant diversion, the characters, and story beats are heavily inspired by the original. Illang: The Wolf Brigade is a 2018 South Korean science fiction action film. The windows in the car he hijacks are obviously easily smashed, but bulletproof when he reverses and gets shot at. The unrest generated by the political tension in Asia, economic depression, and opposition to reunification results in a domestic terror group known as "The Sect" to form. I'd only recommend it to those who are deeply into Asian and Korean cinema, and who also have a lot of patience. With the exception of Kim Mu-yeol, the cast are about as stiff as boards, and I think it's because they have so little to work with their characters. It is also the only animated adaptation, the animation done by Production I.G.. Read Jin Roh The Wolf Brigade Blu . [4][5], The film is set in 2029 where South and North Korea prepare for a unified government after a severe economic depression slams both countries. The Korean police forces quickly become overwhelmed with the size and violence of protests in the regions, prompting the government to create a new, elite police force called the "Special Unit." Talk about the film. any information helps. Yes they've changed the setting but it's almost a shot to shot homage to Jin Roh in some parts, when Grace Omega started playing I immediately got frisson! This movie just. He inquires about Lim. The main problem with it is that two and a half hours it's much too overlong and could have done with some judicious cutting, but other than that this is a solid effort. I would argue that the conflict between the special unit and the public security division isn't well established, as we just see this illustrated in people talking and a few shootouts. Think of the T-60 Power Armor from the Fallout series, but make it 100 times scarier and more evil, and add terrifying round red eyes that glow with the intensity of nightmarish soldiers from hell, and you get the Special Unit soldiers. Actually, they come off like college art-house films, which is probably why these films aren't well regarded. The raw and "bestial" ending was changed for a more "humane" one. Amidst this bloody struggle between two ultra-powerful institutions, rumors emerge of a secret "Wolf Brigade" being formed within the Special Unit. At one point, I really wanted to find out what's playing behind the scenes politically, as we see the special unit troops storm a building and nothing else after that. The adaptation of Mamoru Oshii's "Jin-Roh" of 1999 is quite good, it retains the essence of the original animation film directed by Hiroyuki Okiura. This time however he disappointed me even if his new feature is not nearly as bad as its initial korean reputation would suggest. EDIT: cause I screwed up my numbers, apparently. The film attempts to convey a message about following orders blindly and becoming an emotionless beast--theres a recurring allegory to Little Red Riding Hood and the idea of a wolf in human clothing, with the films title of Illang being a combination of human and wolf in Korean--but it tries to juggle too many things while focusing on the most boring element, the romance between Lim and Lee. The premise was funny in the beginning about reunification. But, it really feels as if the actions of any character become pointless, especially during the third act of the movie. If you haven't, go watch this film. That being said, there were some big changes that made the film more enjoyable for me. Visually, I get that director KIM JI HOON had deliberately or not payed a successful hommage to its Japanese predecessor albeit bit of twist in scenario to make it more [27][30] After five days of release, Illang: The Wolf Brigade earned a total of US$5.29 million. Yoon-hee claims a lot of things over the course of the movie, and sooner or later, one would do well to stop believing her, since shes the rebel/spy/love-interest/damsel-in-distress on whom the movies unnecessarily convoluted plot pivots at least three too many times. They changed huge plot points that destroyed the original theme and made it feel more Hollywood. The Wolf Brigade is a high powered, deadly force of men whose job it is to crush the sect opposing reunification. damn. Kim Jee-woon knows what the hell he's doing when it comes to staging and shooting action, and the action sequences here are fluidly shot and feature some really neat choreography. It focuses on Kazuki Fuse, a member of the elite Kerberos Panzer Corps, a metropolitan counter-terrorism unit. Gay rights have, 23 min read TAMSYN MUIR is the bestselling author of the Locked Tomb Trilogy, which begins withGideon the Ninth, continues. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Running time: 138 MIN. This page was last edited on 28 January 2023, at 21:03. If you have, I'm sure this will be less of a discussion and more reminiscing about how dropped our jowls were by the end credits. You can also change your preferences at any time by clicking Cookie Preferences in the footer of each page. Honestly, being released on Netflix is its best hope for reaching a wide audience. [10], The following month the film shown in Cannes' March du Film, where Variety's Derek Elley noted it for pushing cel animation to its limits in the action scenes and for Okiura's focus on stillness in between while considering it a less complex work than its predecessor Ghost in the Shell lacking its "stomach-churning, visionary moments". A very confusing movie. Disappointing & Forgettable. While it's better paced and isn't as boring, it doesn't make its characters any more emotionally involving, and I don't think it takes full advantage of the world it tries to portray, instead relying on a more expanded yet overplotted story. Furthermore, Illang is not a direct remake of the animation and is rather an adaptation that borrows heavily from the original. It had the chance to take the core concept of the original and remake it with more Korean influences and depart into a similar, but uniquely different, film or to recapture the original with live action and a few more action sequences. That wouldn't be so bad had the dialogue been interesting or thought-provoking, but for the most part it comes across as really dull stuff you've heard in many other movies before. The original Jin-Roh is a slow movie. Then over an hour of nothing and confusing story. The project was originally pitched as a six-episode OVA as he knew Bandai Visual was interested in having him do a series for them and his original Kerberos Panzer Cop manga was formed by six chapters. The Wandering Earth. Set in the distant future where both North and South Koreas agree to establish a joint government, which has been in preparation for a duration of 7 years, the plot focuses on political upri Read allSet in the distant future where both North and South Koreas agree to establish a joint government, which has been in preparation for a duration of 7 years, the plot focuses on political uprisings on opposing sides which grow fierce when a special police unit is formed to stop the Read allSet in the distant future where both North and South Koreas agree to establish a joint government, which has been in preparation for a duration of 7 years, the plot focuses on political uprisings on opposing sides which grow fierce when a special police unit is formed to stop the chaos.