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. Although currently living in Korea having served in the national army as well. I can't explain it, but it hit it's marks and hit them perfectly. A must-watch! "[28], Jason Bechervaise from Screendaily wrote that the film "contains moments of stylistic brilliance through some compelling set-pieces. Theatrical poster. The new instruction is to go into the sewers together with Yun-hee. He stands up to instructor Jang Jin-tae. From his friend Han Sang-woo, Lim receives a diary that is said to have belonged to the deceased girl Lee Jae-hee. Three Crows Magazine is a reader-funded publication and your support keeps us operational and independent to continue paying our authors for the best fiction and non-fiction possible. The film stars Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, and Jung Woo-sung, and was released on July 15, 2018. The acting is decent, the effects and suits are quite good and the plot flows smootly until the end. Lim is supposed to take out the state security in the sewers. This leads to the emergence of a terrorist group named Sect, which opposes the joint government of South and North Korea. I'll call it resonance for now, but Jin Roh definitely has it. [6], The film was released on July 25, 2018. 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. No country needs a Special Unit as scary as this, but its a compelling starting point for an action movie that promptly disbands the group one scene after theyre introduced. In the last scene, Yun-hee's brother is seen sitting in a train looking out at a man sitting on a bench. damn. I can't explain it, but it hit it's marks and hit them perfectly. And the fact that they put in a special fight at the end that wasn't in the original was really cool, especially since it was the first time a member of the Wolf Brigade fought someone on their level in skill. But his greatest enemy proves to be his own pride. Fuse is horrified at his action, but now having sacrificed his humanity, he has no other choice but to remain part of the pack. Netflix and third parties use cookies (why?). He knows about Yun-hee's true identity and has expected that the state security would lead them to her. 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). Best PS5 Headset In 2023 - Top Options For PlayStation, The design of the Special Unit is the stuff of nightmares, Too many unnecessary factions to keep track of, Convoluted conspiracy that amounts to nothing, Threads and characters get dropped out of nowhere, A central romance with zero emotional depth. [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". Fantastic and brilliant, with an intense and memorable ending. That concept alone ought to make for a fascinating science-fiction parable, although its barely dealt with in any practical terms, other than to explain a wave of demonstrations that turn tragic on what comes to be known as Bloody Friday, when peacekeeping forces accidentally murder 15 schoolgirls, mistaking them for terrorists. I thought all of the fighting and firefights of the movie were incredibly unique and interesting as far as movies go, the setting was also something that I enjoyed. In any case, he focuses his style elsewhere, elaborating on the storys Red Riding Hood allegory (which also happens to be Yun-hees choice of wardrobe) in an endlessly complicated loop of whether humans are hiding in wolves clothing or the other way around. 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. The film's musical score was composed by Hajime Mizoguchi. Illang: The Wolf Brigade picks up five years into the unification plans. However, he refuses, seeing no need for her death. 3. 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. It was released on Netflix on July 25, 2018. Well unless you already know the Wolf Brigade because there was a Manga and an Anime. Interesting what the Korean Scriptwriters think about Super Powers meddling into Reunification of the Republic of South Korea and the Democratic People's Nation of North Korea. That whole movie. She detonates a bomb in front of him, but only kills herself. All Rights Reserved. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. The love story aspect of the movie just doesn't work, so it doesn't have an emotional crutch. Jin-Roh is the third film in Oshii's Kerberos saga and is primarily based on Oshii's manga Kerberos Panzer Cop. My excitement dimmed after I read about how poorly it was received in Korea this summer by both audiences and critics. 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. [6] Oshii, who characterized him as "allergic to computers", admitted that had he directed the film he would have relied in computer animation just as he did in Ghost in the Shell and no more than 30,000 cels would have been needed. (Source: KoBiz) Edit Translation, 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. Didn't get the emotional connection that Korean movies usually have. The soldiers survive, but Lim shows shock. Learn more about our use of cookies and information. Then he meets Lee Yun-hee (Han Hyo-joo, also wooden), who claims to be the dead girls sister. Whatever. The film proceeds as the two develop a peculiar relationship. The main male protagonist, Im Joong-Kyung played by Gang Dong-won, is your usual super-competent combatant, and theres never really any tension about whether or not he will succeed in overcoming the obstacles in front of him so much as how he will do it. As such, this movie exists in a sort of limbo. I'd only recommend it to those who are deeply into Asian and Korean cinema, and who also have a lot of patience. The film was financed by Union Investment Partners, with production being announced in 2013. It was Kim Jee-woon's second film to compete at the festival after I Saw the Devil in 2010. It is a live-action adaptation of the Japanese animated film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. 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. [24][12], A red carpet and showcase event for the film was held on July 18, 2018 at Times Square Mall in Yeongdeungpo-gu with the attendance of the director and cast. Korean director Kim Jee-woon's latest offering is another anime adaptation, this time in the form of ILLANG: THE WOLF BRIGADE. The Red Spectacles ( Akai Megane) is a 1987 Japanese science fiction directed by Mamoru Oshii and written by him and Kazunori Ito. It's not like it is not competently made, it just lacks that excitement off all those earlier movies. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. 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. However, Fuse sneaks in, seizes Kei, neutralizes the Capitol Police agents and they escape. Even the action scenes all feature some guy thinking a lot before getting shot stupidly a second later. Perhaps not being aware of its background helped. 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. I was 100% on-board with this movie until about the last 15 minutes or so. To revamp the family business, a young entrepreneur sets up a bold yet risky plan of importing soil from Morocco to bury his communitys deceased. Illang: The Wolf Brigade. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] In the sewers they meet Jang Jin-tae. He likes writing about horror despite being the most scary-cat person he knows. He uses mostly tracking shots, following each of the players involved, highlighting the fear and desperation in the eyes of the terrorists (though the film never makes it clear if we should feel bad for them or not), and the cold, heartless dedication behind the cyborg-like the Special Unit. Thankfully, though, this is not something they abuse, and Illang does look different, though perhaps someone not well versed in the differences between Korean culture and Japanese culture might easily overlook a lot of the small nuances. [21], Illang: The Wolf Brigade was released in South Korea on July 25, 2018. 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. When I heard this movie was coming out this year, I was very excited since Kim Jee-woon is one of Korea's big-name directors, and I had hoped this would play in U.S. theaters like several Korean movies do (typically at CGV Cinemas). Then over an hour of nothing and confusing story. Reminder: Skip the convoluted plot and jump to 01:05:00 to watch the gunfight scene. Cast: Gang Dong-won as Lim Joong-kyung Han Hyo-joo as Lee Yoon-hee I am a big fan of Korean films and still possess vivid memories of my reaction to Jin-Roh back in college. But another enemy may be lurking nearby. When your consent is required, you can accept, refuse or personalise your choices. Public Security agents follow a tracking device in Kei's bag and make their way into the tunnels. Overall, though, if you have heartbreaking memories of the original, this one does not deliver the same emotional punch the original possessed. However, the intelligence service Public, Security, which sees its own influence drop, hatches a plot to annihilate the Special Unit. And, in truth, this was my biggest disappointment with the film. The issue is that there are only two action scenes, and they are buried beneath 139 minutes of convoluted storylines and melodrama. Email news@gamespot.com. [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". It is a live-action adaptation of the Japanese animated film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. Illang: The Wolf Brigade picks up five years into the unification plans. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site. From the very beginning the audience is thrown into a plot which is rather vague and confused. These Wolf Brigade uniforms are truly terrifying, turning normal cops into what look like nightmarish Nazi cyborgs, at least in silhouette: Beneath German tank helmets, a pair or round red eyes glow inhumanly at any who cross their paths, while their standard-issue peashooters have been replaced with heavy-duty machine guns. Good production value I watched Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade a few months back, and I'm not a fan of it. This wasn't originally in Bandai's plans for the film, but Oshii expected Kazunori It, his usual screenwriter, to reject their offer as he had previously told him that he didn't want to write a story involving dogs following his work for Jin-Roh live-action prequel The Red Spectacles, and after he did so he was offered the role. Amidst this bloody struggle between two ultra-powerful institutions, rumors emerge of a secret "Wolf Brigade" being formed within the Special Unit. Action comes easy to Korean director Kim; its actors that he doesnt always know what to do with. Add to that the complete change of medium, and I was intrigued to see what the end result would be. Based on Mamoru Oshiis Kerberos Panzer Cop manga whose 1999 anime adaptation, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, serves as a direct blueprint for this films stunning opening and climax Illang transposes the story from Japan to Korea, where political and economic pressure have forced the divided country to consider reunification. In return, she is promised remission of her prison sentence and an operation for her sick brother. The raw and "bestial" ending was changed for a more "humane" one. Even if the film managed to balance the romance, sci-fi, action, and political conspiracy, it wouldnt change the fact that the two have the least amount of chemistry in a couple since Anakin and Padm in Star Wars. I genuinely enjoyed it. She also cannot blame Lim for her death. (Source: KoBiz). Ironically, that makes Illang a rather ideal project, at least on paper. 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. "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. Illang: The Wolf Brigade is a (Korean: ; Hanja: ; RR: Illang; lit. This movie just. Decades later, he becomes a suspect again but is he still innocent? 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. Now we do get the live action version of it. The biggest improvement in this regard is Han Hyo-joos character, Lee Yoon-heeIllang takes Jin-Rohs Kei Amemiya and does a better job of getting into the characters backstory. Just wow. The sequences are clean, and for the most part, dont fall prey to my biggest pet peeve of actions movies which are when theres a lot happening but I have no idea how to even begin to tell what is going on. 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. South Korean police launches a special unit, known as "Illang" (The Wolf Brigade), in response to the rise of an anti-reunification domestic insurgency called "The Sect". 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 film picks up five years later, as conditions have drastically worsened. 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. I am so glad that betraying sonovabitch Henmi ate shit. It was not to hard to follow but could have been a bit more solid. 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. Illang: The Wolf Brigade (sometimes known as Inrang: The Wolf Brigade, which has been used at least once) is a 2018 Korean science fiction dystopian movie directed by Kim Jee-woon.It stars Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. [4], Okiura favored traditional animation, and thus the film was almost completely drawn by hand, requiring 80,000 cels. I give it a B-. Learn more about our use of cookies and information. 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. Rafael Motamayor (@RafaelMotamayor) is a recovering cinephile and freelance writer from Venezuela currently freezing his ass off in cold, grey, Norway. Either one of these, dedicated to complete, I think would have made a fantastic film. I liked the quality of the movie action scene, simple and without CG. I hope he makes a truly great film again, because I was disappointed despite going into it with lowered expectations. Disappointing & Forgettable. Honestly, being released on Netflix is its best hope for reaching a wide audience. But the time we got to the bunker, the main character when from a vulnerable character we were rooting for into the predator. But it's been quite a while so I don't remember it that fondly. In 2029, the elite police squad Illang combats a terrorist group opposing reunification of the two Koreas. 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. EDIT 2: I have no idea why the numbers are screwy. See production, box office & company info, Chief Presidential Secretary Park Jeong-gi. When Lim leaves, Han from State Security seeks out Yun-hee. But another enemy may be lurking nearby. 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 . I was very excited for this film, but what a let-down! 6 min read by Alex Khlopenko With Decay of Logos, Dark Souls affirms its role as the Diablo of 2010s. [Edit: typo due to puppy paws hitting my keyboard]. Illang: The Wolf Brigade Photos View All Photos Movie Info. JOIN NOW 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. [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. Fuse confronts his own humanity when he fails to shoot a young terrorist that his unit traps in the storm-water tunnels. "Frontiers of Total Filmmaking: Mamoru Oshii Creator of Jin-Roh." Jin-Roh was first seen in the early 1999 film festival circuit, including the 49th Berlinale and the 19th Fantasporto in February. Entertaining and quite intelligent combat and action sequences throughout the movie; however, remarkably dumb reasons provided by the plot to explain the purpose of this combat. While there are some franchises that I have completely abandoned because I dont want to watch another origin story and meet the same cast of familiar characters all over again, a twenty-year gap between the original incarnation and a remake seems like a fair enough deal. That just eluded me. [12], 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. 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. Lim is ordered to kill Yun-hee for being a Sect member and spy for the state security. 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. Starring: Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung Watch all you want. Which is where, if you were looking for a movie inspired by, but uniquely different to, Jin-Roh, Illang will let you down. I liked every aspect of this movie minus all the times that anyone was in the combat suits it was so rigid and didnt add any value to the characters. Lucid Dream. Also, there is so much talk, the movie runs for about 139 minutes, which is way too long for this particular story to be told. Yun-hee sits down with her brother as the train departs. As more soldiers join in, the girl detonates the bomb in her hands. The action in this film is so intense and epic! Sorry, but you can't access this content! [20], Webtoon writer Yoon Tae-ho penned a prequel titled Illang: Prequel, which took place five years before the events of the film. In those finals moments, they manage to seemingly invalidate the rest of the film; it's quite literally the complete opposite of the anime. 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. They then are not bulletproof when he shoots from the inside. Later, the Wolf Brigade meet in a junkyard and Fuse is ordered to kill Kei to ensure she is never recaptured by Public Security. 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. The sci-fi bit of the plot is merely veneer over the very Asian politicking. But another enemy may be lurking nearby. The only bright spot is newcomer Kim Moo-Jeol as the villain wearing a badass leather coat who manages to breath some fresh air into the mean economics of the movie. I'm glad I wasn't the only one looking for where North Korea fit into the plot. A year after the formation of the Special Unit, an incident known as "Bloody Friday" occurs, in which the special unit mistakenly fires upon young girls in a suspected Sect compound. 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. The following weapons were used in the film Illang: The Wolf Brigade: Kim Jee-woons script cant handle the mystery without a lot of heavy exposition and needlessly complicated doublecross-on-doublecross. [7][8][9] Distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, the film had cost 19 billion won (US$17.04 million) to produce. The story breezes over the main conflict (special unit vs. public security) without really making it keenly felt. Two things right off the bat: Wow. The film follows Kazuki Fuse, a member of a special police unit set during an alternate history of 1950s Japanese riots. befitting to our Korean situation and what not Perhaps if I had seen the anime version the other raters talk about, I would have understood what was going on. It's a futuristic fable in which a new Cold War leads to a reunification attempt between North and South Korea. 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. A good movie if you don't know about Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Could've been so much better if it wasn't for the convoluted plot. That being said, there were some big changes that made the film more enjoyable for me. 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 The story of the original is more or less the story of the remake. What is the English language plot outline for Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018)? Jin-Roh (, Jinr, lit. [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. However, the intelligence service Public Security, which sees its own influence drop, hatches a plot to annihilate the Special Unit. Like why can't you just flim everything the same as the originals? 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!
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