The Good, The Bad, The Weird (Kim Jee-woon, 2008): South Korea

Reviewed by Jason Sanders.  Viewed at the ArcLight, AFI FIlm Festival.

When it comes to foreign films with sub-titles, it is a difficult thing to attract the attention of Americans who are used to English films.  The Good, The Bad, The Weird delivers an adventure story that no matter what part of the world you are from, you will be entertained and on the edge of your seat through out the whole film.  With Homage to old time westerns to new creative ways to portray a story, this film literally has something for every type of movie fan: adventure, comedy, drama, and most of all, a compelling story line to keep you interested and your heart pumping.

The story starts with the classic train robbery gone wrong, with the introduction to the three main characters of the film.  At first, the only thing we are aware of is that there is a treasure map on the train, and the character of The Bad, needs to retrieve it.  As the train is going to it’s destination, the Weird progresses to the front of the train, in a very amazing scene of showing each class, to retrieve anything he thinks is valuable.  Then the gang of the Bad also arrives, and starts to shot up the train and stop it.  At this time, the protagonist of the film is revealed simply trying to help the train and its passengers.

As the story revolves around the map, we start to slowly find out each of the character’s motives, and different secrets or their past revealed.  Each character was perfectly casted as they seemed to fit the roles as if it were their own personality.  If the actors were not compelling enough, the film would have been just another foreign film.  

One thing that would always catch my eye, were the sets. They were very vibrant, elaborate, and very believable.  Each set gave a sense of realism and did not leave anything to the imagination due to the fact of such dedication from the crew.  As I found myself more and more drawn into the Korean western aspect of the time era.  I would highly advise anyone who loves great stories, love for film, and simply any movie fan who likes action and adventure.