talula1060 A lot of reviewers have mentioned the "social commentary" in this movie. Oh it's great because of the social commentary. Social commentary! Well that may be the subtext but the reality is that anyone who showed up at the gas station with a gun or even a knife would have gotten the best of these idiots in about two seconds. Better yet, anyone over 5'4, 150# could have just knocked any of them over. There's absolutely nothing scary about any of these characters who are either vainly tossing their hair around and playing bar 80s techno, misunderstood little boys lashing out because they miss their parents, hurting inside because their daddy didn't support their desire to be an artist, or preparing for a Karate Kid remake by screaming at everyone. It seemed like the actors had watched too many American movies and were trying to imitate characters they'd seen before. At times, it was so obvious it was embarrassing. One guy just had a long stick and yelled loudly which intimidated everyone. Anyone could have easily grabbed it from him and game over. One guy tried to pull the thousand yard stare on everyone which got uncomfortable because he's got nothing to back it up. The dumb blond guy with long hair is not at all intimidating but he's playing the unpredictable crazy role. Never know what this got will do. Ooooooooh. This movie seemed to be attempting A Clockwork Orange mixed with Warriors but in Korean. The main reason it wasn't successful was because none of their "hostages" seemed to put up any real fight. The owner of the place kept the money hidden even after being "tortured." None of these guys appeared tough or even scary. Nobody really tried to escape and they even intimidated the police successfully. With no weapons? Not bloody likely. It's beyond silly. The reason why a movie like Clockwork worked was because these were really intimidating guys who weren't afraid to kill or rape. They were genuinely not all there and showed that they could win in a fight. The gang in this movie win their fights with virtually no resistance and they do not come off as tough at all. There's nothing to recommend them and you are rooting against them throughout. Anti-heroes are perfectly ok but these guys didn't even have enough substance to be considered anti heros. The movie was too long and way too repetitive and boring. Nothing really happens and their lame attempt to inject humor into the situation was an utter failure. Social commentary or not, there are way better ways to show the disillusionment of Korean youth wrought by the Asian Financial Crisis. You would have a better time visiting a gas station than watching this movie.

markmovienerd A group of 4 dissatisfied and bored youths set out to smash up and demolish an all night gas station. They soon find that they can make more money if they pose as staff, fuel peoples vehicles and keep the earnings.The film is constantly amusing and entertaining with some great characters that, despite being nameless (except for 'Bulldozer') are still likable, regardless of their motives. That may sound odd, as after-all, the 4 lead characters are technically the bad guys of the film due to the fact that they are out causing trouble simply because they are bored. And yet you feel no animosity towards them and they are all likable and entertaining right from the start without any need to build up any sympathies for them. There are some tiny flashback moments, and while these may explain some of the characters motivation, the movie would of worked just as well without them.The movie is well shot and well acted and keeps up its amusing, entertaining pace throughout its almost 2 hour duration.There are many great moments littered throughout. I especially liked a scene where one of the characters breaks open a vending machine to steal the change, which he subsequently uses in another vending machine to buy a drink.Other highlights include things such as, the best way to get a bit of background music whilst they are working and why Pepsi might be Korean.The events that unfold at the gas station are a clever social commentary on the state of Korea, the gas station itself actually representing the country and the people representing the North or South and other nations.Those that don't pick up on the message (I didn't the first time I watched it), or don't care about the social commentary should still enjoy this as it is an excellent, funny and entertaining movie. The only downside for me is that the subtitles on my version seem to suffer from being poorly translated at times, but that doesn't detract from understanding events or from the enjoyment of the film overall.

Boba_Fett1138 I can definitely see the cult potential of this movie but is the actual movie itself being that good? Not really.Of course it's a very entertaining movie to watch but also a real simple and shallow one. It isn't being that terribly clever with its story and it mostly purely relies on its main concept of having a bunch of anarchist youngsters taking over a gas station, holding employees and costumers prisoned, while a whole bunch of other crazy stuff is happening. And yes, the concept of the movie does make this movie fun but in terms of being a comedy, this movie really isn't being clever or even funny enough.The movie doesn't do a very good job with fleshing out its characters or making them interesting or compelling ones. It makes the whole movie a quite distant one to watch and it also turns it a bit into a long sit, even though the movie itself is just under 2 hours, so nothing that long in itself actually.The story itself just doesn't ever take the trouble to take itself serious or believable. This is of course the right approach for a comedy of this sort to take but it actually more often comes across as some lazy writing. Seriously, these guys didn't even had real weapons but yet nobody attempts seriously to escape, even though the numbers are being heavily in their favor. And sometimes characters just disappear out of the story or add nothing to it at all. In the end, the movie does feel like an ultimately pointless one.It was also obviously a quite cheap movie to make, which can mostly been seen back in the entire way and style the movie got shot in. Most of the people involved with this movie come across as talented ones but they still made tons of mistakes with this movie. At multiple times throughout the movie its clearly getting day, while the entire movie is supposed to be set during one night and it shouldn't be in the morning till at the very end of the movie.So plenty of criticism about this movie, yet it was still one that I enjoyed watching. Despite everything, I regard this movie as a perfect one to kill some time with. It doesn't stand out in any way but it at least is something unlike anything else. Despite that the movie is not being really clever with its story or concept, it's still being an original movie to watch. This of course has also everything to do with the fact that you are watching a South Korean movie here, so it's unlike anything else that you would usually watch or would expect to see (unless you are Korean yourself of course). And yes, there are also definitely being some good and fun moments in this movie, that help to make it an entertaining one to watch.But in truth the movie did really seem to have far more potential in it. It seemed to try to make some statement regarding human/group behavior and it almost seemed to me as if it was going for a "A Clockwork Orange" done more comedy-style, like approach. Needless to say that the movie does not really work out as a social commentary but does this take away any of the fun of this movie? I think not.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

jditlev This is a rather mediocre film, that doesn't has a lot going for it. It taps into a kind of anarchic 80's sensibility, and that is it's only selling point. The leading quartet is not very likable, and their, at times, sadistic behavior towards their hostages leaves a rather crude impression of the filmmakers.The only ones who have a chance of really liking this film, are troubled teenagers at odds with the world. And even they could do a whole lot better.The plot goes nowhere really, and it doesn't help that you're stuck in the goddamn gas station for the whole movie. I know it is 'that' kind of movie, but it could be done more charming and interesting.