The plot starts off very slow and realistic but has plot twists within the middle of the movie. After that happens, the plot picks up and that's what makes you more interested in what will happen next.
As for the soundtrack/OST, not the most memorable. It just was okay. The acting on another note was beautiful. I love Choi Woo Shik, Kim Dami, and Go Min Si in this movie. I really think the cast was well picked and the actors did an amazing job with the acting and portraying each of their characters.
I would rewatch this movie if I wanted to, and I am really hoping and excited if there is a PART 2 to this movie.
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It's a mix of everything, but be warned it is bloody! When the movie started they all ready had me sucked into it. I had questions, was intrigued by the format and loved it all the way.
Why? It had serious dark vibes, I love movies that make you think and wonder, questioning the main leads every move. the scenery was well done, the build up was even better, but I do think they lost some of it during a too long scene in the movie which was quite bloody.
I do find that they have picked very well fitted actors for the roles, nobody seemed too out of place and I loved Kim Da Mi and this movie might be a step up for more roles for her, she did great!
What also helped the movie was the well fitted music. It was building the tension immensely!
Watch this: if you like thriller/action movie with a dark tone and a twist here and there.
Skip this: Only if you don't like blood, if not, just give it a try.
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If you've seen 'The Silenced' starring Park Bo Young, then you might find the synopsis similar, however this one is a more bloody, brutal version. If you don't like blood and gore, I suggest you don't watch it.
Kim Da Mi's acting in this movie was amazing, and I'm glad she's won so many awards for it.
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Derivative script for a so-so movie that put all their budget into the action scenes.
This is one of those movies where it's best to go in and turn off your brain so you can enjoy the ride. If you don't turn off your brain, you'll realize it is one of those stories where there are super powered genetically engineered "special" kids who have been experimented on and thus have violent tendencies. One of them escapes being killed and grows up, then things happen when "the Company" finds her. This is the same old plot done many times in many other movies, like the whole Bourne Series, Hanna, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Unfortunately it fails to add anything new to it or stand out in any way so the story wasn't great.There are 3 other places this film fails. First, it has GAPING plot holes. Many of them. Unrealistically stupid "doctors/researchers" plus ridiculously Overpowered Main Lead plus unforgivably bad employee security / army guys who are nothing more than cannon fodder. If done well, this may have worked (see Jason Bourne series). But somehow it kind of went overboard and strained all bounds of credibility. This is a pity because I really wanted to like it. Maybe it's because Korean cinema is normally so great I guess I was expecting better and ended up disappointed by the excessive Mary Sue nature of the heroine and a deus ex machina plot that leaves everything wide open for a sequel. I mean, as if the words "Part 1: Subversion" in the title weren't obvious enough.
The solution - try to turn off your brain, you'll somewhat enjoy the heroine's story and acting ... and her parents. The secondary male antagonist speaks English wonderfully, he must have had a lot of fun playing the douche bag second best experiment result. His interactions with the heroine are among the best in this movie. The action scenes are very, very well done. There's a ton of blood, a few parts seemed more like CGI video gamey, but the rest of it was hyper violent. I have no complaints about the quality of these scenes and to be honest they're the best reason to watch this movie because the rest is kind of insert "meh" emoji.
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“Spellbounding” Performances...
“ The Witch Part 1 ; Subversion” (2018) has been sitting on my “ To Watch List” for the past year or so , yet , I could never quite find the right opportunity to properly see it. By chance a couple of weeks ago, however, I finally had the opportunity to sit down and watch it properly, when a film channel in my country was airing the movie late one night .Having always been quite a big fan of Korean revenge thrillers and horror movies such as Oldboy (2003) and The Tale of Two Sisters (2003), “ The Witch Part 1; Subversion” lived beyond my expectations with an actually intriguing and grappling storyline by screenwriter/ director Park Hoon Young. This is because whilst the movie was brilliantly focused upon bloodthirsty violence, there was a good amount of time to see and understand our main female lead Ja Yoon ( Kim Da-Mi) through her interactions , as well as fairly difficult themes being tackled such as mortality, dementia and illness being shown throughout the movie as well.
On the other hand, I must admit that it did take me awhile to recognise that Ja- Yoon was being played by the same Kim Da-Mi from Itaewon Class , due to appearing strikingly younger without the makeup or hair dye. Yet as Da-Mi has proven before during her performances , she doesn’t merely act and her role here is no exception . In the movie, Da- Mi truly stepped into her character and her performance as Ja-Yoon; a seemingly naïve and talented schoolgirl with a secret which becomes more intricate as the duration of the film progresses .
Another immediate note of praise must be given to Da-Mi’s costar Choi Woo Shik. Admittedly, Woo Shik has always been under my radar as a good actor for awhile after seeing his lesser-known and brilliant performance as the seemingly innocent Male lead in Hogu’s Love and then his diverse roles across several Asian films and movies. Woo Shik’s role in “ The Witch” is no exception as the sardonic, near-psychopathic and ruthless physic
(referred to only as “ Nobleman” during the ending credits), determined to destroy any sense of Ja-Yoon’s normality by revealing her hidden secrets. Naturally Jo Min Soo and Park Hee Soon cannot be forgotten by animating the movie with being the seeming mysterious antagonists, Dr Baek and Mr Choi , and the underrated role by Da Eun as the mysterious accomplice of Woo Shik’s character, certainly shouldn’t be overlooked as well.
Yet whilst the movie was undeniably brilliant by its transition from a seeming teenage comedy to horror over the gradual halfway point of the film, “ The Witch” was undeniably flawed from its lacking sense of greater purpose with its cliches. That’s not to say that these cliches didn’t add anything to the characters or storylines, however, there seemed to be too many loose ends with some of these flaws meaning that it took away a lot time from intriguing focus and the actions the storyline.
Overall the Witch; Subversion Part 1( 2018) wasn’t completely flawless ( from cliches that have been seen and done before to arguably some shakier performances by Go Mi Shi), however, the film was filled with an intriguing storyline, action and fairly spellbinding performances by the majority of the cast ( particularly Da-Mi and Woo- Shik) and definitely worth a watch.
Although Woo- Shik will be a sad loss to not being the sequel, so long as Park Hoon Jung maintains the quality of screenwriting , Part 2 will be equally brilliant with the added performances of Jin Goo, Park Eun Bun and Lee Jong Suk appearing in the next part.
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This is not a good movie.
So...This is not a good movie.
Things I liked:
The actors were very good, that wasn't really a problem. Who knows how unbearable this would have been with less talented actors. The sets where very good, as was the camera work. Some of the plot twists were very good ideas.
Things I didn't like:
Pretty much everything else. Here's the heart of the issue from my view: the writing was bad. For some unknowable reason the movie was very fond of showing something, then having dialogue explaining what you saw, then having dialogue explain to someone else again what was happening. The movie felt like 90% exposition. The movie thinks the audience is very stupid.
Because the movie thought that we were very stupid, the actors had a hard time conveying emotion in a way that didn't feel moronic after awhile. How long can one person smirk and seem too cool and above it, despite changing circumstances? How long can one person maintain a creepy smile with out it getting boring? No, I don't blame the actors, I blame the stubbornness of the choices made by the director, writer, whoever, in thinking that the emotions being conveyed made any sense after a certain point.
Then, editing wise, the movie kept cutting itself off at the knees, it was very frustrating. I understand there is a certain level of goriness it didn't want to go past, and that's fine, I'm not a huge fan of gore, but it's solution to that was to cut off right before the climax of certain scenes. There was only one scene where I felt like it executed the violence to the emotional climax of the moment. So somehow the movie, by cutting out the point of the violence, ends up making it all feel unnecessary.
Then there are the characters. Gah. Gah. Only the protagonist was interesting and the idea they had for her, the showing and development of her character could have been so. cool. But they butchered it. Just butchered it, which makes me angrier than if they had butchered a worse idea instead. I couldn't stand the crowd of smirking edge lord kids, don't even get me started on them. When you break it down, what was the point of them? What as the point?
I walked away from the movie angry, is how bad it was. Which is better than entirely indifferent, in someways, but still. Not recommended.
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This review may contain spoilers
It's okay, could've been better.
It's okay, borderline good.It could've been fantastic if it was shorter. The first hour was a bit of a drag but I get it because they had to set everything up. But even then, they didn't do a good enough job for me to gasp at the twist. A little too much exposition in the second half, the unfolding of her origins/back story felt messy...
I'm just mad because it had so much potential to be better, I mean even some of the fight scenes were we'll done and the acting. Crossing my fingers for a better part 2.
Anyway, Miss Kim Da Mi and Mr Choi Woo Shik I'm free whenever ?
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Before the whole world realized that South Korea can make a great movie after "Parasite" crushed it at the Oscars, S. Korea's film industry was already making good movies (that would have won awards already if those award shows weren't so biased). The Witch: Part 1 is one of these movies. It's a pure thriller with loads of action. I personally loved the movie but I'll still objectively review it.
Before watching this most of the korean movies I had watched were either rom-coms, mystery or action-comedies. The Witch was definitely a happy surprise. It was definitely not as dark as I had anticipated after watching the trailer but that didn't really disappoint me. The one thing that the producers could have improved was definitely the plot.
If you read the synopsis "10 years ago, Ja Yoon escaped from a government facility in the midst of an inexplicable incident by herself and lost all her memory.....blah blah blah.....A man named ‘Nobleman’ constantly roams around her, in addition to ‘Dr. Baek’ and ‘Mr. Choi’ who have been searching for her since her disappearance. Ja Yoon’s life falls into turmoil as they turn her seemingly ordinary life upside down in a blink of an eye", it basically explains the whole plot. It's just stretched over 2 hours with a lot of tense scenes and carnage but still, the whole movie is just that.
Despite the not very unique concept or the kind of boring plot, the movie holds it's own because of the great cast.
Kim Da Mi's transformation from a sick and confused high-schooler to a calculative killing machine was amazing to watch.
Choi Woo Shik's portrayal of a Genetically engineered killer with a goofy side (The Nobleman) was spot on and one of his best performances of all time.
Dr. Baek and Mr. Choi were characters with great potentials but limited screen time. Ja Yoon's bff Myung Hee did have quite a bit of screen time but wasn't really relevant to the story.
The Nobleman's posse of other Genetically engineered killers were entertaining by adding to the thrilling action sequences.
The ending was pretty open ended and left the audiences with a lot of questions as well as expectations from it's coming sequel. If you are fan of thrillers with fast paced action sequences or K-movies in general, this movie is a must watch.
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''The Subversion'' got me hooked from the first minute and I was totally invested in it till the last one. The movie is very thrilling, very intense and hella gory! I don't recommend it to anyone who can't stand gore. People are saying that is predictable because there are a lot of movies with the same storyline and twists, but personally, I find some parts of it very shocking and unpredictable. Perhaps I haven't seen enough movies, especially similar to this one.
The acting was top-notch! Kim Da Mi was brilliant as Ko Ja Yun and I was so shocked by her acting in the second half! Choi Woo Shik was absolutely perfect playing a total psycho! I've never seen him playing such a role and I was so so surprised! He gave me all the chills!
The directing was also very good. The problem that I usually have with movies like this was present here though - the people's voices were too quiet, while the sound effects were freaking loud! Helloo, my ears don't deserve this!
Overall, ''The Subversion'' is a brilliant movie that will keep you at the edge of your seat till the end. I'm looking forward to the second part!
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Talk about a Shocker
I can't believe it took me until 2020 to watch this movie & they are coming out with a part 2.My only issue with this movie is there's a lot of dialogue before getting to the meat and potatoes of the actual story. But, once you get to the meat and potatoes boy is it WORTH IT!
The actress in this movie is GREAT at making you believe her every word and action. To say she SHOCKED ME at the end was to say the very least! I love Choi Woo Shik and his bilingual banter in this movie <3 but then again he's such a multifaceted actor!!
There is action, mystery, and there some thrill. THE CAMERA WORK IN THE LAST 30 MINUTES OF THE MOVIE
AB-SO-LUTE-LY IMMACULATE!
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This review may contain spoilers
Predictable "genetically engineered kids" plot with a douchey and OP protagonist
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion has the same old redundnatly predictable plot of "genetically engineered kids" which are used in superhero fiction. Logan's X-23 comes to mind when you think about the plot of this film however, unlike X-23, Ja-yoon turns into this unlikeable and arrogant villain by the end of the film which makes you feel unsatisfied by the end of the film at its conclusion. What I don't get is why they had to call this film "The Witch" because it has nothing to do with witches in the first place. "The Witch" is just a nickname they give Ja-yoon in the film. Not to mention how the title makes it sound like a horror film. The action has a lot of cuts which pretty much lets you know as a viewer that these actors aren't trained in doing convincing action scenes. Not to mention how Ja-yoon shoots with one hand without even taking proper aim or looking while aiming. Its like she's shooting on autoaim like they do in videogames. Lol And how can we forget the cliche villain monologue that the female scientist makes. I still don't know why she injected her with that serum that lets her accelerate her powers for one month. That has to be one of the stupidest thing I've seen a villain do in fiction. XDI know these type of "genetically engineered kid with special powers" stories aren't exactly realistic but these guys aren't leaving one ounce of realism in this film. There's a reason why Logan was better (hell, its screenplay got oscar nominated) than this because not only are the characters better written and grounded on realism along with their "mutant abilities" but you feel a sense of danger for the Logan and X-23 as they are fighting off the villains in that film. Here, Ja-yoon is so overpowered to the point that you don't even care about the fight scenes because you know she's gonna predictably win by the end of the fights which she was dominating. Anyway, I would have liked this film better had there been any sense of unpredictability or danger with our main character Ja-yoon. Not to mention how much of a dick she turns out to be by the end of the film that you feel unsatisfied that she's still alive by the end of the film. Huge thumbs down from me.
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That said, I had lots of fun for the majority of watch time. They committed to the gruesome and violent scenes and questionable/ evil characters. I watched it and asked - is this really Korean? Where they censor and blur knives from scenes?
Editing was spectacular, except for some special effects, but I'm picky about these. Most people would probably love them. The fighting scenes were well choreographed, but it was the editing that added that special and unique edge to them. And the violence was... well, violent. Ain't some random few punches here and there.
The acting was for sure the strongest aspect after the directing and editing. Kim Da Mi's performance truly amazed me, especially closer to the ending. She showed a lot of skills and duality in her acting. Truth to be told, the whole cast did an amazing job. I was frustrated with the random English lines here and there, especially since Netflix does not provide subs for them, and as a not native speaker, with the accent, I did have some problems with understanding some of them...
So what went wrong?
The reasoning, explanations and motivations of the characters were all over the place. I enjoyed the movie up till the moment they tried to explain what exactly is going on. Why? Coz the explanation was simply dumb. They gave the same excuse many low sci-fi movies give, which was proven false countless times. Still using it, in my eyes, means lazy and unoriginal writing.
Was it a good movie? Yes, just do NOT think as you watch.
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