This page was last edited on 28 January 2023, at 21:03. Korean director Kim Jee-woon's latest offering is another anime adaptation, this time in the form of ILLANG: THE WOLF BRIGADE. Running time: 138 MIN. Yet moving the story from Japan to a Korean peninsula which is on the point of reunifying in 2029 results in a film which is both over-plotted and melodramatic. 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 min read by Alex Khlopenko With Decay of Logos, Dark Souls affirms its role as the Diablo of 2010s. Reminder: Skip the convoluted plot and jump to 01:05:00 to watch the gunfight scene. 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. 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. If you haven't, go watch this film. Learn more about our use of cookies and information. Yes they've changed the setting but it's almost a shot to shot homage to Jin Roh in some parts, when Grace Omega started playing I immediately got frisson! Yun-hee tells him she saw a puppet show of Little Red Riding Hood, but a version without a happy ending. However, another enemy may be lurking nearby. After reluctantly giving up the directorial role, Oshii originally thought on Patlabor 2: The Movie animation director Kazuchika Kise, but he had no interest in chief direction at the time. Man I wish someone did a writing check on this bad boy film. This movie just damn. In 2029, the elite police squad Illang combats a terrorist group opposing reunification of the two Koreas. Aside from the blackouts and the demonstrations at the beginning, I didn't fully get a sense of the effects of the reunification process. Did the filmmakers forget, or did nothing new get produced after 2018? But there's always one guy whose conscience can't be stomped out and Lim is that soldier. In particular, the part where he jump-kicks the guy through the car window. I can't explain it, but it hit it's marks and hit them perfectly. Floor Coatings. All stories are accompa. I felt like the new happy ending didn't match up to the original ending in the anime movie. And it's a shame because the initial idea was not bad. It is a live-action adaptation of the Japanese animated film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. The Japanese preview of the film took place on June 19 in the Roppongi 20th Century Films theater. The film's musical score was composed by Hajime Mizoguchi. To make this more convoluted, he adds too many interested parties and secret organizations into his conspiracy (some of them appearing only in conversation and for 5 minutes), making it hard to keep track of who works for whom or what they want. 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. 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. It tries to keep that core, though it approaches it from a slightly different angle that, if this movie were an original, would probably work. It's not like it is not competently made, it just lacks that excitement off all those earlier movies. 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. (Also in San Sebastian film festival.) Fantastic and brilliant, with an intense and memorable ending. 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. EDIT 2: I have no idea why the numbers are screwy. If you have, I'm sure this will be less of a discussion and more reminiscing about how dropped our jowls were by the end credits. However, they can't get there because the soldier who was supposed to take them there was caught and killed by the state security. Due to civil unrest within South Korea (Japan in the original), an elite anti-terror unit is formed. He then surprises Yun-hee by informing her that Lim is not only a member of the special unit, but belongs to the notorious sub-organization Illang, the Wolf Brigade. The state security wants to disband the special unit. The music video brings together the best moments from Kim Ji Woon's fantasy action movie "Illang: The Wolf Brigade" (Inrang) of 2018. Inside, Lim discovers a poster of Little Red Riding Hood. [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. Jin-Roh (, Jinr, lit. After the attack (and the fun), the film starts getting complicated. The main characters, of course, are caught up in, and pivotal to, this inter-agency conflict. It seems the movie didn't work well in Korea, and I remember watching the Jin roh anim as a kid and didn't like it that much. + : Terms of Use and They provide Fuse with a full set of armor and weaponry, before leaving with Kei in tow. That being said, there were some big changes that made the film more enjoyable for me. 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. It is a live-action adaptation of the Japanese animated film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. Starring: Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung Watch all you want. 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. I give it a B-. Kei is eventually revealed not to be the suicide bomber's sister, but a former bomb courier coerced into acting on behalf of the Special Unit's rival division Public Security. Honestly, being released on Netflix is its best hope for reaching a wide audience. I would argue that the conflict between the special unit and the public security division isn't well established, as we just see this illustrated in people talking and a few shootouts. 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. One agent tries to kill Yun-hee, whereupon she joins Lim. 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. Hyo-Joo does a fantastic job bringing her characters confusion, conflict, and desperation to life, and her performance was by far the most enjoyable part of the film for me. About the Author Michael Kellichner is writer and poet from Pennsylvania currently living in South Korea. The film proceeds as the two develop a peculiar relationship. Inrang: A feast for the eyes, but not the mind. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. When she looks out the window, she spots Lim. 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 action scenes and practical effects are all quite enjoyable. He ultimately still found the experience frustrating both through the tiping ("The moment you write, you want to direct") and after realizing the result would unavoidably be much different from what he pictured in his head. Amidst this bloody struggle between two ultra-powerful institutions, rumors emerge of a secret "Wolf Brigade" being formed within the Special Unit. Netflix supports the Digital Advertising Alliance Principles. Netflix acquired the international distribution rights of the film. He praised it for the beauty of its animation and character designs and the "subtle and crafty twists" in the story, and commented that the differing approaches to production meant directors were freed from needing to appeal to a wide target audience and allowed have a much greater creative control than in Hollywood animated features, favoring the sophisticated productions anime was known for. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site. Who killed her at that moment? The opening sequence is straight out of the 1999 anime, with a confrontation between the Sect and the Special Unit inside sewer tunnels. Two things right off the bat: Wow. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. 2. Why do so many Korean movies feel like they're in slow motion. Lim is supposed to take out the state security in the sewers. I love every movie I've seen from director Jee-woon Kim and the fact that bring back the iconic action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger in his American debut The Last Stand (2013) so when I heard he about to direct the live action adaptation of Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade I can only imagine how awesome the famous incident in the sewers scene on the big scene or the special police unit armor would look like with real people but what I don't know is Jee-woon Kim also bring back home the Hollywood treatment for foreign movies for Illang.I don't mind the change in the story for it to fit the current state of North Korea and South Korea but what I do mind is how much different the two main characters in Illang to their Japanese counterpart in Jin Roh.There so much more action in Illang so for people that think Jin Roh is boring without the action it definitely a plus but for me the four short action scene in the original are still superior thank to how emotionally attached I am to the characters and the ending make me have no desire to watch it again. There are also some other surface changes to the film that, really, dont affect as much as they probably should. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris) onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy. 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. After the event, significant opposition to the Special Unit forces the group to utilize their iconic gas masks, to hide their identity as well as provide use in case of bio-hazardous threats. About that car and the rest of the surrounding production details: Despite all the energy spent establishing how much Korea has changed between now and 2029 (a vision that calls for customized cars and tanks early on), about half an hour in, Kim either forgets that the film takes place in the future, or simply assumes that audiences will just carry on believing that premise, reverting back to what looks indistinguishable from the present day. Lucid Dream. Genre: . Thank You! Taken on its own, its a decent action movie with a little near future science fiction flavor. [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. 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. Deep. The main plots complexity makes early portions a bit sluggish but sets up for a lot of twists and betrayals later on. Imo, the movie was doing so great as just a double agent action thriller. 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. "[29], On the first day of its release, the film attracted 274,525 admissions. People just want to the see the armor suit fighting. The action scenes themselves are decent for what they are. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade is the third film adaptation of Mamoru Oshii's Kerberos Saga manga, released in 1999. And, in truth, this was my biggest disappointment with the film. Didn't feel anything for the characters or their romance. All Rights Reserved. But, it really feels as if the actions of any character become pointless, especially during the third act of the movie. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Talk about the film. Kim and lead actor Gang Dong-won were set to attend the event. 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. As interesting as perfectly remaking an old anime into a live action movie might be, I was more intrigued by what changes would be implemented and how the lens of a Korean movie team would affect the narrative. 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. He likes writing about horror despite being the most scary-cat person he knows. However, Fuse sneaks in, seizes Kei, neutralizes the Capitol Police agents and they escape. Still had a good time watching it, mostly because of where it came from but unfortunately this pretty much murdered any chance to see Jin-Roh content ever again. 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. The endingwell you will have to watch and decide for yourself. I was 100% on-board with this movie until about the last 15 minutes or so. In 2029 an elite police squad combats a terrorist group that opooses the reunification of the two Korean states. That was satisfying! Lim meets Lee Yun-hee at the Namsan Tower. [27][30] After five days of release, Illang: The Wolf Brigade earned a total of US$5.29 million. The acting does no favour either as Gang Dong-Won and Han Hyo-Joo come off as boring protagonists. Not worth watching. 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. Netflix and third parties use cookies (why?). Press J to jump to the feed. After the Dragon King steals his staff, the Monkey King sets off on a mission to get it back. [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. Actually, they come off like college art-house films, which is probably why these films aren't well regarded. 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. That was satisfying! [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] The only one good thing are the action moments of shooting and fights which keep the audience awake. 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). Director: Kim Jee-woon Writer: screenplay by Kim Jee-woon adapted from Mamoru Oshii's Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. Kim Jee-woons script cant handle the mystery without a lot of heavy exposition and needlessly complicated doublecross-on-doublecross. GO AND DOWNLOAD WINZI NOW:https://winzo.onelink.me/gu8K/cbd64d7f#WINZO #ENMAY-----. I am so glad that betraying sonovabitch Henmi ate shit. Some of the action was too over the top for the serious type of movie this was trying to be. Trying to dip into both pools at the same time ends up with an enjoyable, but flawed, adaptation. Lim is ordered to kill Yun-hee for being a Sect member and spy for the state security. 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. After hesitating to shoot the girl responsible for the blast, Lt. Lim (Gang Dong-won, the rare live-action star whos less expressive than his hand-drawn equivalent) is publicly reprimanded and sent to re-education whatever that means (other than a chance to feature a flashy training sequence in which he shoots his way through an abandoned building). Want us to remember this setting for all your devices? 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. [17][22][23], The film was selected to compete at the 66th San Sebastin International Film Festival, which was held from September 2129, 2018. This. This is bright and vibrant action movie, filled with decent special effects and appropriately entertaining fight and chase sequences, mainly utilising super technology in the form of massive shoot-outs and the like. From the very beginning the audience is thrown into a plot which is rather vague and confused. 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. 3. Though the plot gets convoluted with interagency disputes, leading to a few slow scenes where people are mostly sitting and talking to ensure we understand what exactly is going on, the aforementioned actions scenes do enough to break this up. The storyline was a little sketchy with some holes and jumps. Some of the same setups are in Illang, but they lost the threads throughout the film, and the payoff doesnt arrive with as much force. I watched Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade a few months back, and I'm not a fan of it. The film follows Kazuki Fuse, a member of a special police unit set during an alternate history of 1950s Japanese riots. any information helps. Nice action scenes. An incident involving the death of innocent teens causes the Special Unit to become ruthless killing machines, hiding. However I really enjoyed this movie, yeah the romance part might a bit long but also has some purpose in building the final climax. I was very excited for this film, but what a let-down! EDIT: cause I screwed up my numbers, apparently. Also, Illang is based on a Japanese anime " The Wolf Brigade (1999)" of Mamoru Oshii . It was not to hard to follow but could have been a bit more solid. Some okay action and fighting scenes. 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? As the filmmaker wasn't able to produce two films in the same time but didn't want someone else to direct his final episode, Oshii decided that the third episode would be an anime instead. 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. "Illang aka JinRoh: The Wolf Brigade " is going to start shooting in the end of July, 2017, and is released in summer 2018. At first the new ending started making me think they were going to tie the plot into something regional/macro, but instead it was some happy ending crap. 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. 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 She also cannot blame Lim for her death. 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. [33][34], San Sebastin International Film Festival, 66th San Sebastin International Film Festival, "KIM Jee-woon's Sci-fi Action INRANG Starts Shooting in August", "(Yonhap Interview) Director Kim Jee-woon: Che Guevara inspires me to constantly challenge myself", "Warner Bros. and KIM Jee-woon Team Up Once More on JIN-ROH Remake", "Summer box-office preview: the 5 most highly anticipated Korean movies", "KIM Jee-woon's Sci-fi INRANG Arms Up for July Release", "Director Kim Jee-woon's 'Inrang' unveiled to media", "Hotshots in film industry team up in sci-fi-themed 'The Wolf Brigade', "Korean cinemas earned more despite fewer admissions this summer", "How 'Illang' went from blockbuster to major box office flop: Warner Bros. Korea's summer release failed to please audiences", "Kim Jee-woon's 'Wolf Brigade' advances to San Sebastian film fest", "The English Cast and Crew of Illang: The Wolf Brigade, the South Korean live action remake of #JinRoh, now available English dubbed on Netflix", "Rookie Ok Ja-yeon to star in "Illang: The Wolf Brigade", "Netflix Picks Up Kim Jee-woon's 'Wolf Brigade', "KIM Jee-woon's Sci-fi Action Drama INRANG Completes 8 Months of Filming", "S. Korea's largest film studio opens doors to support 'hallyu', "Korean special makeup artist works for 'Darkest Hour', "MOSS, INSIDE MEN Writer Pens ILLANG: PREQUEL Webtoon", "Netflix Picks Up Kim Jee-woon's Action Thriller 'Illang: The Wolf Brigade', "Netflix acquires distribution rights of South Korean action-thriller", "Gang Dong-won and Han Hyo-joo to make public appearance next week after dating rumors", "Despite star power, 'Illang' can't meet high expectations: Local adaptation of a Japanese hit film fails to satisfy movie critics", "(Movie Review) 'Illang: The Wolf Brigade' eventually loses its way", "[fn ] "'', .. ", "Korea Box Office: 'Mission: Impossible' Beats 'Wolf Brigade', ""'' "..7 10 ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Illang:_The_Wolf_Brigade&oldid=1135526482, This page was last edited on 25 January 2023, at 05:34.