Charles Herold (cherold)
While Spaghetti Westerns were made by Italians but set in the American West, The Good, The Bad, and the Weird is a Korean western set in Korea, with cowboy-hatted Korean men on horses robbing trains. The movie has the classic western look down cold, with vast deserts and gorgeous sunsets and plenty of guns. It even has one group of colorfully-dressed bad guys that, when you see them from a distance, give the vague impression of being Indians.While the movie captures the look and sound of classic westerns, the movie has the pace and high style of an Eastern action flick. This is why I like this movie much better than most of the westerns I've seen, which tend to be slower and, for me, dramatically flat (excepting a view brilliant westerns like Shane and the Unforgiven). In American terms, this is the Western early Spielberg would have made if he'd been fonder of amorality and constant violence. It's funny, fast- moving, and full of beautifully shot set pieces.Overall, this movie is a blast, but it's an overlong and somewhat confusing blast. The story doesn't always bring the audience along with it, and the movie doesn't seem to know when it's time to bring things to an end, insisting on a final showdown that feels forced and is irretrievably stupid.
carbuff
Wow, Hollywood has a real problem here. This is the best big budget popcorn movie I have seen in a long time. I just watched "The Expendables 2," and if you are looking for that same kind of essentially simple action-adventure, this movie is vastly better. The plot is tight, it has far superior acting (admittedly, not saying much considering Stallone and company), and the cinematography is lush and excellent. Also, I don't usually comment on soundtracks, but this one is a new classic, an outstanding modern take on that of an old- time spaghetti western. This movie starts moving at the very beginning and never lets up, yet it doesn't degenerate into total mindless blood splattering like, for instance, "The Expendables 2" did. (Watch this movie into the credits or you won't see the entire ending.) This movie is subtitled, but it has an undemanding plot, so that shouldn't deter anybody. It's basically just a very well-made Korean spaghetti western with a lot of casual violence, but with profoundly better humor than most American movies of this kind are capable of nowadays. America might be in trouble here, first Korean automobiles go from junk to quality, and now it seems like their film industry is doing a repeat. About the only thing an American should know is that this movie is grounded in the history of Asia in the period right around the WWII, when Japan aggressively expanded its empire into large parts of the region. (If you are going to be a stickler, I don't really believe that those Jeeps, which I think are post-WW II license-built copies, really belong in this movie--I doubt there really should be Jeeps of any kind at all in this movie.) If the mostly cartoonish, but occasionally more realistic, violence doesn't bother you, then just sit back and enjoy the ride this Tarantino-lite movie has to offer (I don't personally much care for Tarantino-extreme anyhow).
jackasstrange
Forget the comparisons with The Good,The Bad and The Ugly because this film has almost nothing alike with the latter. Even ridiculous to compare. This film is a much more action guided one, and it has fairly different events which does not really corresponds to the ones in TGBU.I'll start talking about the technical aspects, the strongest area so far explored in this film. The cinematography is an aspect very strong in this film, it is obviously stunning, a quick example is the great shots of the train in a continuous and very dynamic 'flight' panoramic view. Fantastic scene. The use of colors is also something that i really appreciate in a film, and in The Good,The Bad and the this aspect the art direction don't disappoints. Thr plot though is too confused, it barely explains something, and when it does it is always in a short and fast way. Definitely not an example of character development either, since that we have no clue of what kind of persons were the characters. The end of the film just proves my point, the supposed twist just don't works, because we couldn't care less about anyone in the screen. And in certain sequences, the constant over the top action loses it's effect, much probably due to the frequent use of it, , then instead of being interesting, it just becomes silly and boring. But guaranteed: the last 30 minutes or so are one of the craziest that i've ever seen, a great climax to a film which relied very little in any build-up. The soundtrack adds a lot to this final sequences as well.It is a popcorn flick, so there is nothing to be expected in the end. May be a good choice for a Friday's night. 6.7/10
Leofwine_draca
THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD is an effective and fun-loving remake of the Sergio Leone classic THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, ably transplanted to early 20th century Manchuria and featuring a cast of lovable rogues. It tells a sprawling and elaborate, almost fairy tale, about the hunt for buried treasure and the bizarrely diverse characters caught up in the chase.Of the central threesome, Jung Woo-sung bags the least interesting role as 'the Good'; he reminded me of the bounty hunter from MILLIONAIRE'S EXPRESS, and has little to do other than point and shoot. As 'the Bad', Lee Byung-hun (A BITTERSWEET LIFE) fares better, playing up to his role as a slick character you love to hate. Inevitably, though, acting honours go to Kang-ho Song as 'the Weird', who is once again unrecognisable and completely compelling. Song is an actor who screams entertainment value whatever kind of film he's in, the camera loves him and his eccentric character is by far the most engaging part of the entire movie.On the whole, the whole eastern-western storyline works well and Kim Jee-woon's (I SAW THE DEVIL) stylish direction adds immeasurably to the experience. The movie is action-packed with lots of elaborately staged shoot-outs and crazy chase sequences that really work, none of them disappoint. And even if, come the end, you realise it's all been an entirely lightweight and inconsequential affair, then so what? THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD sets out to entertain and it does that in spades.
AD
