Oh, Kim Jee-Woon, what have you done? 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 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 uprisings on opposing sides which grow fierce when a special police unit is formed to stop the 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 uprisings on opposing sides which grow fierce when a special police unit is formed to stop the chaos. A man is convicted of a robbery he didnt commit and spends six years in jail. It received mixed reviews and under-performed at the domestic box office, selling around 897,000 tickets against its break-even point of six million tickets. That concept alone makes for a fascinating science-fiction film, but unfortunately, its all setup that is immediately abandoned. Suffice it to say, there is an elaborate conspiracy afoot to disband the Special Unit which is strange, since they seem pretty effectively disbanded 15 minutes into the movie. The incident damages the reputation of the unit and Fuse is reprimanded. There's certainly a lot going on plot-wise, and the movie doesn't juggle the material well. From here on out, Illang: The Wolf Brigade devotes much of its remaining runtime to a pointless attempt at inflating the runtime and creating intrigue when you dont care about the mystery. The film proceeds as the two develop a peculiar relationship. Human-Wolf; also known as Inrang) is a South Korean science fiction action movie directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. However, they can't get there because the soldier who was supposed to take them there was caught and killed by the state security. Although currently living in Korea having served in the national army as well. The sci-fi bit of the plot is merely veneer over the very Asian politicking. Yun-hee is a former member of "The Sect" who is supposed to trap Lim for the State Security. 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 Secondary characters like Cheol-jin and Mi-kyung get thrown into the story and exit without adding any substance. Running time: 138 MIN. The movie mentions at the beginning that the two Koreas are slowly pushing toward reunification and earning the ire of other countries, and then quickly explains what's going on internally. I genuinely enjoyed it. By . Want us to remember this setting for all your devices? 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. A South Korean live-action remake titled Illang: The Wolf Brigade directed by Kim Jee-woon updates the setting from Japan to a dystopian South Korea, where the plot revolves around plans to unite the two Koreas. I can't explain it, but it hit it's marks and hit them perfectly. Which is where, if you were looking for a movie inspired by, but uniquely different to, Jin-Roh, Illang will let you down. What is the English language plot outline for Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018)? [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]. But the fight ends quickly after a young girl detonates herself, and after spending the entire opening introducing us to this badass group of scary soldiers and showing how formidably effective they are, the film pretty much sweeps them under the rug for the rest of its runtime. 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. Illang: The Wolf Brigade picks up five years into the unification plans. The state security wants to disband the special unit. Ironically, that makes Illang a rather ideal project, at least on paper. Not worth watching. In 2029 an elite police squad combats a terrorist group that opooses the reunification of the two Korean states. But another enemy may be lurking nearby. [31], The film was made on a US$17.0 million budget and targeted to attract around 6 million moviegoers. There is zero emotional depth to the characters (or actors who can convey any emotion), and together they make for a boring and shallow couple. This movie just damn. [20], Webtoon writer Yoon Tae-ho penned a prequel titled Illang: Prequel, which took place five years before the events of the film. In return, she is promised remission of her prison sentence and an operation for her sick brother. Then over an hour of nothing and confusing story. 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]. Its only use is during the prologue to explain why the government would launch a Special Unit force to put an end to Sect. Quite a number of problems, but the biggest is the anime it is based on is flawed with great ideas but poor execution in the plot. A remake of the acclaimed japanese anime Jin-roh this new movie somehow fails to make the impact that one might expect from this director. The thing is like a wolf. They then are not bulletproof when he shoots from the inside. + : He stands up to instructor Jang Jin-tae. Also, Illang is based on a Japanese anime " The Wolf Brigade (1999)" of Mamoru Oshii . To be fair, part of my partial disappointment may be that the movie was more or less advertised as a full-on actioner, and that is what I was expecting. That just eluded me. The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. Amidst this bloody struggle between two ultra-powerful institutions, rumors emerge of a secret "Wolf Brigade" being formed within the Special Unit. The Red Spectacles ( Akai Megane) is a 1987 Japanese science fiction directed by Mamoru Oshii and written by him and Kazunori Ito. The main plots complexity makes early portions a bit sluggish but sets up for a lot of twists and betrayals later on. Illang the wolf brigade explained | Illang the wolf brigade korean movie#shorts #ending_explained #Illang_the_wolf_brigade #youtubeshorts #korean_drama #act. (Also in San Sebastian film festival.) Forget the special units you know - any of them. 3. The human weapons who are called wolves, "Illang" (The Wolf Brigade). The whole movie takes place in South Korea, and I was wondering when the North would be involved. He visits the ashes of the dead girl and meets Kei Amemiya, who claims to be the elder sister of the terrorist and they develop a friendship. 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. There are decent action scenes and some stunning set pieces. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Why? He likes writing about horror despite being the most scary-cat person he knows. While I enjoyed the film, I found myself caught between the contradictory feelings of wanting the film to have changed more while also wishing the film had adhered more to the original. [5] Oshii considered him the most able candidate among the younger staff of the studio and both Production IG and Bandai Visual, knowing about his directing ambitions and his interest in creating a serious drama, wanted him to do his debut for them. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site. [6], The film was released on July 25, 2018. Didn't feel anything for the characters or their romance. Kang Dong Won looks out of place in such an action role. Go behind the scenes of Netflix TV programmes and films, see what's coming soon and watch bonus videos on. Having just watched this, I can say that it's a relatively faithful adaptation of Oshii's source material, improving in some ways and worsening in others. 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. The world seems to be overwhelmed by wars and political forces but during the moie none of them are desplayed or even implied a little. I went into this film not quite sure what to expect, but with a lot of high hopes. In-between the action, there is a lot of talk. With the appearance of an armed anti-government terrorist group called The Sect which opposes reunification, the President creates a new police division called the Special Unit which amasses significant political power. 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. The stories focus on the aftermath of one of the unit's members who froze when confronted with a particularly young terrorist and couldn't perform his duty of killing her. Significant tariffs are imposed upon both countries, creating an economic depression for both, and weakening public support for reunification. If you are someone who has only a passing knowledge of Jin-Roh (or better yet, no knowledge at all), you are set up to enjoy this film the most. Writer/director Kim Jee-woon clearly has an eye for intriguing thrillers and electrifying action, but he doesnt seem to know what to do with the movie's bad actors, and his idea to take a relatively simple story and add 4 different subplots was misguided. I was very excited for this film, but what a let-down! Overall, though, if you have heartbreaking memories of the original, this one does not deliver the same emotional punch the original possessed. The film stars Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, and Jung Woo-sung, and was released on July 15, 2018. There, it may find a cult following, considering that the sharp-looking film boasts some of the most spectacular set pieces including a stunning climactic showdown in which a steel-clad killing machine blasts his way through sewer tunnels crawling with dirty cops that audiences are likely to find on the streaming service this fall. [1][17] Filming began on August 16, 2017 in Studio Cube, a South Korean filming complex, and completed on March 23, 2018. Reminder: Skip the convoluted plot and jump to 01:05:00 to watch the gunfight scene. 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. To take a beloved classic and make it a big budget blockbuster and then add 40 minutes to the runtime is an even worse idea. The majority of the story beats and the characters personalities, however, are lifted the whole cloth from the original. The Japanese preview of the film took place on June 19 in the Roppongi 20th Century Films theater. Director: Kim Jee-woon Writer: screenplay by Kim Jee-woon adapted from Mamoru Oshii's Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. They provide Fuse with a full set of armor and weaponry, before leaving with Kei in tow. But, it really feels as if the actions of any character become pointless, especially during the third act of the movie. That was satisfying. sorry to be that guy, but does anyone who has seen the movie know what is the origin of the art from the Red riding hood scene, I am fascinated by the artwork and am looking for prints of it and was wondering if they are original to the movie itself or from an outside source? But there's always one guy whose conscience can't be stomped out and Lim is that soldier. Korean director Kim Jee-woon's latest offering is another anime adaptation, this time in the form of ILLANG: THE WOLF BRIGADE. Better simply to go with it, trusting that Kim can take whatever situation that arises as an opportunity to stage an exciting fight, chase, standoff or shootout like the one atop Seouls Namsan Tower, where an elaborate plan to capture and/or kill Lim goes awry, leading to a dazzling escape whereby our hero jumps out the window of the observation deck, scales a scarlet red fire hose the 440 feet to the ground, and proceeds to bash his way out of the parking lot in a stolen Mercedes. Korean director Kim Jee-woon's latest offering is another anime adaptation, this time in the form of ILLANG: THE WOLF BRIGADE. [8], Hyper commends the film for its "art direction and character design which are beautiful examples of hand-drawn animation and the music fits the action (or lack thereof) brilliantly. People just want to the see the armor suit fighting. Or maybe no new cars were made, buildings modified or fashions introduced after 2018. The animation is good for its time, and while it flirts with interesting ideas, it moves at such a slow pace and features such a dull main character that I found myself frequently bored. It was released on Netflix on July 25, 2018. Trying to dip into both pools at the same time ends up with an enjoyable, but flawed, adaptation. Im late to this, but I just wanted to add my thoughts. JOIN NOW 2023 GAMESPOT, A FANDOM COMPANY. A lot of changes to the story made it worse. 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). The original Jin-Roh is a slow movie. But Illang: The Wolf Brigade isn't an addition . The film follows Kazuki Fuse, a member of a special police unit set during an alternate history of 1950s Japanese riots. Both are able to escape and are instructed by the special forces instructor Jang Jin-tae to go into hiding. I'm glad I wasn't the only one looking for where North Korea fit into the plot. Illang tries for a slightly different emotional tug, but it didnt quite take the time to build it up for me the way the slower, more plodding Jin-Roh managed. However, due to negative reviews from both critics and audience members, the film screened for only three weeks, and ended up attracting a total of 897,254 moviegoers, grossing US$6.2 million. A Rare Dud From Kim Jee-woon. Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? From the very beginning the audience is thrown into a plot which is rather vague and confused. When Lim leaves, Han from State Security seeks out Yun-hee. The number of South Korean film admissions in July 2018 was the lowest since 2008. I highly recommend this film for action lovers, asian cinema enthusiats. The movie tries to go about the ending differently, but I just rolled my eyes at it because it doesn't add anything meaningful. "Werewolf"), also known as Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade in its American release, is a 1999 Japanese action political thriller[1] anime film directed by Hiroyuki Okiura (in his directorial debut) and written by Mamoru Oshii. Well unless you already know the Wolf Brigade because there was a Manga and an Anime. This movie missed the whole point of the original like alot. While I am (sort of) glad I watched the movie, I can say with confidence that it isn't for everybody. The action scenes themselves are decent for what they are. Man I wish someone did a writing check on this bad boy film. Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos. The training part in the building was also lackluster, the action was more over the top but there was no strategy to it, no teamwork and we didn't get to see Fuse (Lim) get re-trained like he did in the original. The director of this movie is one of my personal favourites who previously made such modern classics as Tale of two sisters, Bittersweet life and I saw the devil. Her death as she recited the story of little red Riding Hood stuck with me for a long time, and having it altered here didn't sit right. I thought the escaped Sect leader would play a major role in this story, but that gets quickly wrapped off at the end (on a news channel scene). [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. Anime adaptations are rarely a good idea in the first place. Hachiroh Tohbe explains to Kei that the Wolf Brigade has used the Public Security Division's plan to flush out those who were most active in trying to eliminate the Kerberos Corps, and eliminate them in turn. [11] Helen McCarthy in 500 Essential Anime Movies called the anime "a must-see" and praised the score and the design, commenting on "some breathtakingly composed scenes". Even worse, Kim Jee-woons decision to give away with the original films bleak ending in favor of a happy and commercially friendly ending betrays the only interesting themes in this underwhelming Korean sci-fi thriller. 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! site . Add to that the complete change of medium, and I was intrigued to see what the end result would be. Sorry, but you can't access this content! Rafael Motamayor Soldier Lim Joong-kyung of the Special Forces encounters a girl carrying a bomb and wants to make her give it up. However, mostly the change just allows for a more fully rounded explanation of why there are protests and how the anti-terror unit came to be formed in the first place. A drama series about the origins of the opioid crisis. I guess we can just say this movie stories is base in another world or dimension. Archived post. Being a huge Kerberos fan (went as far as spending two whole month salaries to buy a full size set of armor back in the day) my expectations were really high By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. But another enemy may be lurking nearby. This was not the movie that I ended up watching. He then committed Jin-Roh as a debut film to a trusted young collaborator, Hiroyuki Okiura, who had worked on animation movies such as Ghost in the Shell (character designer) and Patlabor 2: The Movie. 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. [21], Illang: The Wolf Brigade was released in South Korea on July 25, 2018. "[27], As per Yonhap review, the film "spent so much time trying to recreate the world from the animated movie and remakes it into a big-scale action blockbuster that it never got the simple things right the film falls short of properly delivering the intense inner conflict felt by Joong-kyung. Thank You! Illang: The Wolf Brigade is a (Korean: ; Hanja: ; RR: Illang; lit. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. All stories are accompa. Floor Coatings. Released October 19th, 2018, 'Illang: The Wolf Brigade' stars Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Kim Moo-yul, Jung Woo-sung The R movie has a runtime of about 2 hr 20 min, and received a user score of 63 . Fuse is horrified at his action, but now having sacrificed his humanity, he has no other choice but to remain part of the pack. The film picks up five years later, as conditions have drastically worsened. 4 min read Rebecca Zahabi sets her gripping debut in a future Britain of much darker times. Just wow. In those finals moments, they manage to seemingly invalidate the rest of the film; it's quite literally the complete opposite of the anime. I liked the quality of the movie action scene, simple and without CG. Inrang: A feast for the eyes, but not the mind. She says he didn't even shoot her and they were just opponents on different sides. 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. As the credits were rolling, I realized what I had really wanted was to see a Korean take the Jin-Roh idea, the extrapolation from the same starting point but divergent from the original in a way that the new film would only make sense to set it in South Korea. Behind all of this, frequently peeking through to the forefront, is an almost political thriller of two government agencies trying to discredit and overpower the other. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. While Illangs additions are generally good, the film chipped at the originals emotional core to make the film have more action. Rafael Motamayor (@RafaelMotamayor) is a recovering cinephile and freelance writer from Venezuela currently freezing his ass off in cold, grey, Norway. Yun-hee tells him how her sister joining "The Sect" destroyed her family. A must-watch! He inquires about Lim. An incident involving the death of innocent teens causes the Special Unit to become ruthless killing machines, hiding their faces--and the last traces of their humanity--behind elaborate steel-plated armor and helmets. Fantastic and brilliant, with an intense and memorable ending. Director Kim Jee-woon transplants the Japanese anime to a unified Korea, where steel-plated super-cops make a strong impression, then disappear for most of the movie. The only one good thing are the action moments of shooting and fights which keep the audience awake. However, the film's "slow, deliberate pace" is criticised. [9], An early comment on the film was given by Blue Sky animator Andr Mazzone, who was shown the film in May 1999 as part of a delegation from the studio to Production IG's headquarters. It focuses on Kazuki Fuse, a member of the elite Kerberos Panzer Corps, a metropolitan counter-terrorism unit. Anyone that has seen the original master piece before would find dissapointement in the last 15 min. But another enemy may be lurking nearby. The original isnt great but the script is thight and know exactly what it is and how to tell it but the new one is just a mess. The human weapons who are called wolves, "Illang" (The Wolf Brigade). Contents 1 Summary 2 Plot 3 Cast and Characters 4 Awards In the sewers they meet Jang Jin-tae. I'd only recommend it to those who are deeply into Asian and Korean cinema, and who also have a lot of patience. It was Kim Jee-woon's second film to compete at the festival after I Saw the Devil in 2010. The film does include a few scenes that were faithful recreations of scenes from the original animation, and they were quite interesting to see and can really get a fan of the original excited. Kim knows how to direct and edit frenetic chase sequences but the narrative here is so unconvincing and bland that it is just not enough. [17][22][23], The film was selected to compete at the 66th San Sebastin International Film Festival, which was held from September 2129, 2018. [8] It was subsequently shown in Cannes' March du Film, which presumably netted its early French theatrical release on November 17. GO AND DOWNLOAD WINZI NOW:https://winzo.onelink.me/gu8K/cbd64d7f#WINZO #ENMAY-----. The film's musical score was composed by Hajime Mizoguchi. The movie looks great, from the cinematography to the locations, so there is some eye candy to savor during the slower moments. However, the intelligence service Public, Security, which sees its own influence drop, hatches a plot to annihilate the Special Unit.