MovieChat Forums > Taegukgi hwinallimyeo (2004) Discussion > UNBELIEVEABLE.... its so overrated! *spo...

UNBELIEVEABLE.... its so overrated! spoilers

posted 18 years ago by finjan
43 replies | jump to latest

WARNING: SPOILERS incoming!!!!

I just watched the Film and im totally disopointed!

How can this movie get such a high rating? It's so full of cheesy stuff and it's not a bit realistic. I would not even give it a 6.0.

It's just horrible in my opinion. A superhero, who is obviously invisible for bullets, kill a whole army of northern korean soldiers. Even he gets some kind of a racist and kill an old friend. And than... suddenly he change the sides and fight for north korea. And of course he is welcome in there, althogh he got a medal for killing tons of northern koreans. But in the end he is just a kind and friendly man who cleaned shoes. And he did it always for his little brother...

I mean,... cmon!...

It's as bad as "Windtalkers"...

I just dont understand why you all love this one so much.

If you want to see a good war movie, than watch "Platoon", "Appocalypse now" or "Full Metal Jacket"...

[–] IcedCubivore 18 years ago

thanks for spoiling the whole movie.. maybe u want to put "warning spoiler" in ur title

[–] finjan 18 years ago

ah cmon...

You wouldnt read this comments, if you havent seen the movie yet. So dont say i spoiled you something.

[–] iggy_hates_spam 18 years ago

it really is the polite thing to do. most people do it. seems you have trouble empathizing.

[–] baeksu 18 years ago

I thought it was over-melodramatic and cliche, but there were a lot of very good aspects to it.

Jin-Seok asks some powerful questions about whether his life is more important than Yong-Man or Young-Shin, and questioning his brother's motivation. And, of course, the climax scene where brother is fighting brother is loaded with symbolism and irony. I thought the development of some of the support characters was interesting, too.

I can overlook the sappy score, over-the-top cliche'd hollywood direction and acting... as long as the storyline is still good and has merit.

Anyone who's spent much time in Korea and watched their TV will understand the melodrama of this movie. The masses in Korea eat that dramatic stuff up.

[–] rrpostal 16 years ago

Yes, he should have done it originally. But I also have trouble empathizing with someone who reads message boards about a movie they haven't seen and complains about reading about the damned movie. That's what these boards do! Isn't anything here a spoiler to some extent? Honestly people. Watch the movie then come talk about it. Otherwise you're just starting a stupid "will I like this movie?" thread or something equally annoying.

Yeah, it's just my opinion.

[–] IcedCubivore 18 years ago

uhm, im speaking for the people who haven't seen this movie yet .. tard

[–] stylesforfree 18 years ago

you're an idiot he did put WARNING: SPOILERS incoming!!!! at the top of his post. frigging idiot...

[–] IcedCubivore 18 years ago

you're the idiot he changed the title after i told him

[–] verity_farseer 18 years ago

"it's not a bit realistic"

And how the *beep* would you know were you there?

No i don't think so

And byt he way you got the plot wrong - its the younger brother who lives and becomes a nice old man - ever thought that the reason you don't like the film is becuase you don't understand it i.e thick as pig *beep*

BIGOT

"It is not heresy. And I will not recant."

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cubanoenkorea 18 years ago

i live in south korea and they act like this movie was made of god

[–] baeksu 17 years ago

you're the idiot he changed the title after i told him

Come on... you go onto imdb, look up a movie and read the message board at the bottom where people are discussing the movie, and then you get upset that there are spoilers in the discussion?

[–] delaraza8604 18 years ago

I saw Tae Guk Gi last year and I thought it was ok. I thought that the beginning and middle parts of the movie were very well done. The war segmants were very impressive and even reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. My main problem with the movie is the final 25-30 minutes of the film (whenever the main brother joins the North Korean red army and thereon after). I thought that this part was too cliche, unrealistic, and even a little predictable. If it were not for the ending, I would have given Tae Guk Gi a 8.0, but because of the ending I'll probably give it a 7.0 or 6.5. When it comes to Korean movies, I love the action and romance genres, but when it comes to dramas and war movies, I think they still need to work on it.

[–] utwo 18 years ago

totally agree with everything u said, the film may have looked real good it terms of filming but it was so corney

check out my dvd collection
http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?cat=1&id=truth1

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] skatersam0 18 years ago

jsut so you know this movie was based on a true story

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] scotishdevil82 18 years ago

come on... didnt you watch the movie? Jin-Tae was very lucky, he had a thing for the army, and he was very determined to do well so he could send his brother home. he fought for north korea because he thought the south koreans killed his brother and they did kill his fiancee, he loved them so much, and he thought they were killed by the people he fought for to get back to them. this movie was so sad, i actually have a brother, and i cant imagine anything like this. This movie was great.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ddanceitup 18 years ago

he's so welcome in there because he's a really good soilder. seriously how would you know?! were you there in the real korean war? we all loved this movie because it represented what really happened in the korean war. that's how bad it got.

and Appocalypse now and full metal jacket. god your so stupid! those are stupid movies this ACTUALLY happened.

and your kinda disrespecting me because im korean

go screw yourself

[–] ak726 18 years ago

I think that what should be mentioned to the "haters" is that, remember, this movie is not aimed at an American audience. The primary audience is Korean, and as a Korean-American I can recognize that there are some elements of this movie that would strike more of a chord with Korean audiences than with non-Koreans, especially Americans.

Koreans are a proud people, and at times can get quite emotional, especially when it comes to their family and sense of nationalism. Even I and other American born Koreans tend to have a small dose of that in our blood. Remember the scene at the train, with all the men going off to war and all the women and family members seeing them off? I know someone who called that scene cheesy and melodramatic, but I have actually seen old Korean women act like that during emotional times. This movie is a very effective representation of the kinds of feelings that this war brought upon my parents' and grandparents' generations.

On the other hand, I think that Americans in general tend to be more jaded and about irony and cynicism than Koreans, which is why I think people like the original poster find fault with the movie. The original poster calls the story unrealistic, but I think that the realism of the storyline is sort of besides the point. The movie isn't about plot, but about what Koreans went through emotionally as a result of this war, the Korean War.

Personally, I loved the film, but I have family members who lived in Korea in that era and no doubt the movie hit a little closer to home because of that.

For those of you who are non-Korean and can also appreciate this movie, that's great. But if you don't, well, I don't think the director was making the movie with you in mind in the first place.

[–] PunkCapitalist 18 years ago

well...thats actually not a bit important.
it might be a great movie for you koreans, but that doesnt mean, we occidentals, should judge it by its over-all, universal artistic merits. otherwise we should actually stop watching any old movies, because it wasnt made for us, right? i mean, we are a completelly diferent audience that the one in the 30's or 70's even maybe the 80's.
my personal opinion is that this movie is horrible...the melodrama just goes to far, dont give a f4ck what korenas think about that...i think its horribly melodramatic. the movie is auwfully manipulating the audience all the time...come on, no body else COMPLETELLY HATED THE MUSIC?
the movie was absolutelly cliche and i dare you to deny it...

...btw..." seriously how would you know?! were you there in the real korean war?" what if he did?, were you?, do you think we give a f4ck?

"and Appocalypse now and full metal jacket. god your so stupid! those are stupid movies this ACTUALLY happened."
...stupid movies??? ...right. hahaha you compare this vile pile of cliche *beep* with a masterpiece as apocalipse now?
anyway...do you realize most movies didnt actually happened?...do you realize, cinema is fiction?
now "go screw yourself", and i dont give a f4ck if i disrespect you for being korean or for being an a$$-h0le with *beep* for brains.

[–] ak726 18 years ago

Are you saying that "us Koreans are not judging it by its overall artistic merits?" This tone implying that you're right and "us Koreans" are wrong is really not fair.

It isn't to say that you should stop watching these movies, just that this movie wasn't made for you and keep the context of the culture for which it was created in mind. "Universal artistic merits"? Do these really exist? If they do, why bother having different opinions on anything? Some works of art are meant for people in a certain group, and if you're not in that group, you're not approaching the film fully informed.

Some films that were once thought of as good begin to seem dated as years go on. Does that mean they just stop being good, or is it simply that the perspective on the film changes as the audience changes? And other movies are considered failures on initial release but are looked upon later as classics.

Have your opinion, but keep in mind that that is all it is. Neither you nor I nor anyone is the ned-all, be-all of cinema knowlege. For you, it fails on its artistic merits. For us, it succeeds. Deal with it.

[–] cooked-1 18 years ago

I watched this movie last night and totally loved it. I thought the story was facinating and well told, ( i mean, who actually knows much of the history of the Korean war).
I also found it much more interesting than the, waaay overrated, Full Metal Jacket, and it goes on to my list of best war movies along with Come And See, Lawrence and Das Boot.

Bwaah!

[–] kcinar 15 years ago

Isn't that a bit ant-foreign. Come now on it's only a movie,true or untrue, if you don't like it why argue on here? Why not write on something you like? Im English born Turk and I liked the movie because Turks are emotional people just like the Koreans.

[–] irish9891 17 years ago

I'm surprised it cost 13 million considering all it is is a shaky camera and some blood. How can it be better than Saving Private Ryan, when it steals so much from it?

[–] tomx1000 16 years ago

Its a war movie. Of course its going to seem similar to Saving Private Ryan. However, the stories and plots of both films were completely different. In Saving Private Ryan, a group of seven major characters go out looking for one man. In Tae Guk Gi, one soldier is looking after his brother. I think both movies were great but I didn't see any overt comparissons between the two.

[–] Desertman84 16 years ago

The only comparison between Saving Private Ryan and this film is that both tackle the atrocities of war.

[–] npetrie76 16 years ago

I agree with everything you said. I like this movie a lot. I'm not Korean, nor do I live there, so I'm making a pretty big assumption when I say that Taegukgi is South Korea's Saving Private Ryan. A few non-Americans will certainly miss things in SPR that American's wont, it strikes more of a chord as you said. Vice versa works for Taegukgi, though like I said I'm not Korean but definitely appreciate this movie.

To the OP: If you're going to criticize a movie, try to do it a bit more intellectually, not just in spelling and grammar, but in your argument as well, oh and learn to type FFS.

[–] LedHendrix 15 years ago

"I think that what should be mentioned to the "haters" is that, remember, this movie is not aimed at an American audience. The primary audience is Korean, and as a Korean-American I can recognize that there are some elements of this movie that would strike more of a chord with Korean audiences than with non-Koreans, especially Americans.

Koreans are a proud people, and at times can get quite emotional, especially when it comes to their family and sense of nationalism. Even I and other American born Koreans tend to have a small dose of that in our blood. Remember the scene at the train, with all the men going off to war and all the women and family members seeing them off? I know someone who called that scene cheesy and melodramatic, but I have actually seen old Korean women act like that during emotional times. This movie is a very effective representation of the kinds of feelings that this war brought upon my parents' and grandparents' generations.

On the other hand, I think that Americans in general tend to be more jaded and about irony and cynicism than Koreans, which is why I think people like the original poster find fault with the movie. The original poster calls the story unrealistic, but I think that the realism of the storyline is sort of besides the point. The movie isn't about plot, but about what Koreans went through emotionally as a result of this war, the Korean War.

Personally, I loved the film, but I have family members who lived in Korea in that era and no doubt the movie hit a little closer to home because of that.

For those of you who are non-Korean and can also appreciate this movie, that's great. But if you don't, well, I don't think the director was making the movie with you in mind in the first place. "

LOL I stopped reading the thread after THIS post... not that the other one's were any better beforehand...

But yeah, I'm American, and I was amazed at how this film got me to cry.. (I don't EVER cry lol)

And then I come on here and people say it's bad and I'm like "what?" and then I read how non-Koreans, "especially Americans", wouldn't get this movie and I'm like "what?" and then I see that Koreans are all "quite emotional" when it comes down to family and nationalism...

No attacks here, but saying this film is good or bad is about as factual as saying all Koreans give a sh*t about those things.... I am saying, for those of you who don't get me, that the above poster is wrong, that not all Koreans even care in the least bit about family and their nationality (I'm sure, as humans, they are diversed) and that a great amount of the Americans that saw this enjoyed it and that, finally, STEREOTYPING IS BULLSH*T

What's REALLY funny about this is that this was A MAJOR PLOT ELEMENT of the FILM. STEREOTYPING IS BULLSH*T.

k, class is out, pce guys :D

UNBELIEVEABLE.... its so overrated! *spoilers*

UNBELIEVEABLE.... its so overrated! spoilers