|
Manchuria, the 1930's: Outlaw Park Chang-Yi (Lee Byung-hun) and bounty
hunter Park Do-won (Jung Woo-sung) raid a train at the same time to get
their hands on a certain (treasure-)map, but as fate has it, petty thief
Yoon Tae-goo (Song Kang-ho) has been there before them and has already
stolen the map as they arrive - and even though he's not sure what the map
actually means, he hangs on to it makes a swift getaway, and eventually he
decides to go and unearth the treasure on the map - which he still hasn't
fully figured out. Park Chang-Yi - who just happens to be Yoon Tae-goo's
arch enemy since Tae-goo cut off his finger - and Park Do-won though are
far from beaten and pick up Tae-goo's trail in no time, and temporarily,
Tae-goo even becomes Do-won's captive - yet somehow, both Chang-Yi and
Do-won become convinced as well that it would be best to unearth the
treasure themselves. Soon, the Japanese and the Korean army and a gang of
outlaws join in on the treasure hunt, and during the chase, pretty much
everyone but Tae-goo, Chang-Yi and Do-won is killed. Finally, all three
arrive at the location on the map, to find no treasure but an oilwell, but
by now that is of minor importance since the three got so heated up by the
chase that they decide to have a shootout right here and now - a shootout
in which Do-won is left the last man standing ... but once he's gone,
Tae-goo comes back from the dead as well, having worn a metal plate on his
chest to stop the bullets ... and soon enough it seems the hunt is on
again ... Ok, so there is little doubt that Sergio Leone's The
Good, the Bad and the Ugly has served as a template for this film,
even the title suggests as much, and in direct comparison, The Good,
the Bad, the Weird does not live up to Leone's masterpiece. That's not
to say that it's necessarily a bad film though, as the filmmakers of The
Good, the Bad, the Weird were wise enough not to try to improve on a
film that needs no improvement or make a (pseudo-)clever commentary on it,
they merely took the story to make an incredibly fast-paced and kinetic
action movie that might not be especially intelligent (and it even
features quite a few plotholes), but it's full of incredible stunt
sequences, inventively directed shootouts, hilarious chases and the like
... and what's maybe most important, the film doesn't take itself
seriously, in all the bloody fight and action scenes there's an abundance
of humour. Add to this a slick directorial effort, great sets and
locations, and you've got yourself an anjoyable feature. Only the running
time (2 1/4 hours) works against the film here, because even if the fast
pace is held throughout the movie, it gets somewhat tiring for the viewer
for the last half hour or so. Still, great fun, that's for sure.
|
Flix.com
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find The Good, the Bad, the Weird at adultvideouniverse.com
