After the film Parasite directed by Bong Jon-hoo won an Oscar in 2019, the Korean film industry began to be highlighted by the world. Filmmakers from the country of Ginseng began to produce quality films. In 2020 one of the films that was highlighted was The Swordsman . The reason is, both the audience and critics gave good reviews on the film The Swordsman which director Choi Jaehoon worked on.
Not only was it successful in its home country, the film The Swordsman itself captured the attention of the world community, including . Especially in our country, people are curious about this film because it features the famous actor Joe Taslim in it. Well, this time Popculture.id had the opportunity to write a review of the film The Swordsman, which was released on October 28, 2020. Is this film worth watching?
Plot Too Simple
The Swordsman is a film that takes the colossal theme of the era of the Korean kingdom of Joseon. Simply put, The Swordsman tells the story of a young swordsman who is a guard of the royal family who flees to the mountains when the king is overthrown. He got a wound in his eye that made him almost blind.
Years passed after the coup, the Joseon kingdom had invaders from China who came from Ming-Qing. They intend to control the kingdom and kidnap citizens to become slaves. Conflict occurs between the Joseon kingdom and the Ming-Qing army. Apparently, the Joseon kingdom has an army that lacks combat experience. Joseon had no hope of winning until finally the main character came down from hiding and got into conflict with the Ming-Qing troops.
The plot of this film is quite simple, with a linear plot, The Swordsman applies the formula for action films in general. It's not bad, it's just that it's too common and has been used a lot. Even so, as viewers we can still enjoy every premise, conflict until the climax of this film. The ending of this film is also very touching, how a dying person can inspire people to dare to free themselves from all forms of oppression.
Return of the Classic Villain
Although the plot and storyline are too simple, this film can cover it with the development of the characters in it. Two important characters who are very central in this film are Tae-Yul and Gurutai; the protagonist and antagonist.
Actually, The Swordsman developed more Tae-Yul's character as a great swordsman. We are brought into the story of the character's past, his life principles to the reasons why he can't smile. The main character who acts cold always has his own charisma, a classic formula in action films. Just like the characters John Wick, Leon or Max in the Mad Max franchise . They don't say much but always manage to solve problems.
When the main character is developed, the main villain, starring Joe Taslim, remains consistent and stays in the corridor. Joe Taslim remains a ruthless leader who is full of calculations and a fight madman. Until the end, this film does not try to show the good side of the antagonist. He remains an evil figure until death picks him up.
This is a pleasure in itself, considering that today many films always show the good side of the villain; either through flashback scenes or through the words of the main character. Villains who have a good past are not bad, they're just too overused . These days, action movie audiences want to see a villain who is purely evil.
Great Fighting Scene
Judging from the title, everyone who watched this film would want to see a beautiful and brutal sword fight scene. Luckily, The Swordsman can show cool fight scenes. The choreography is not random, the angle of shooting is quite good and every slash of the main character's sword has its own emotion. Plus, every weapon held by the characters in this film is very detailed and has its own characteristics.
It's like watching a colossal version of the John Wick movie . When one person who is almost blind can win against dozens of full-power and fully armed people. The most interesting thing about this fight scene is the alternate point of view. My favorite is when the camera takes the main character's point of view and it turns blurry due to blindness. The choreography is also very cool and has emotions, yes, after all, the ability of a Joe Taslim can't be doubted. There are a lot of fight scenes in this film, but the last two fights stand out.
Apart from the brutal and wild fight scenes, this film does not eliminate the essence of the drama. Even The Swordsman concludes his story in a touching way; the main character becomes blind and returns to the mountains where he lives. In short, The Swordsman closes the film with a happy ending that is not cheap.
So that's the review of the Popculture.id version of The Swordsman . We recommend this film for you to watch because it is very good. The Swordsman is not only entertaining but also inspiring and touching. This film also brings us to the memory of watching classic action films with happy endings.
