Movie Poster

Wait for me, and don’t you move a muscle. I’m going to drive this tank over there and crush your skulls.

# Review

This historical Korean drama covers the events of the 1979 Coup d'état of December Twelfth, when a military mutiny was carried out by a military political organization called Hanahoe led by Major General Chun Doo-gwang (played by Hwang Jung-min and based on the real-life Chun Doo-hwan), establishing a military dictatorship leading to events such as those covered by A Taxi Driver. The names of the real-life characters are changed in the story so I’ll refer to people by their film name.

This was the last film I watched on my flight from Taipei to Toronto and to say that I was exhausted would be an understatement. Furthermore, the film is a highly complex political drama with many characters, each with their own backstory and intentions. Surprisingly, the film manages to keep the chronological story clear and does a good job in differentiating and developing some key characters. In particular Hwang was an excellent charismatic and scheming Chun Doo-gwang while Jung Woo-sung plays excellently the selfless hero role in the story, as Chun’s opposition Major General Lee Tae-shin. The army of support cast were great in their roles as well. Overall the film tells an intricate political story with some dramatic moments, and the film illustrates the various frustrating failures of the South Korean bureaucracy in stopping Chun’s coup.

# Conclusion

Decent political thriller with many characters.

# Overall rating: 7.4

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