Just so...so bad

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I really enjoyed this film up until a certain point, that's when I somewhat lost sympathy for the main character. It's easy to figure it out too without me spoiling it. However over-all I did feel it was a well made film and maybe I just disagreed with the direction it took for just that 1 part, well maybe a few more as well. Seems also they may have set it up for a sequel considering the conclusion. Worth seeing if you like crime dramas and thrillers.

Hawyi(Yeo Jin-goo) looks like a normal high school student on the surface, but he has a dark secret shared with his five 'fathers' in a nice house located in some country area outside Seoul, and the tense opening sequence shows us how his life got involved with these people when he was very young. I will not describe it in details, but let's say this taut moment has some good surprises under its suspenseful mood including where young Hawyi is kept by Seok-tae(Kim Yoon-Seok) and his gangs.They could kill young Hwayi after their plan to collect the ransom was botched in the end, but he was instead taken under their wings, and that was the beginning of a strange alternative family. 14 years have passed, and Hwayi is now their loving son, and all of them are his dads while Yeong-joo(Lim Ji-eun), Seok-tae's wife who was a captive just like Hwayi at that time, is like a caring mom to him. Although he has never gone through any proper education in their isolated world, Seok-tae and his gangs have taught Hwayi lots of things including driving and sharpshooting, and, as revealed later in the movie, he is a very good apprentice to make his criminal fathers proud.Because Hwayi is approaching to adulthood, Jin-seong(Jang Hyeon-seong), the thoughtful and sophisticated member of the bunch who manages their dirty business, thinks Hwayi deserves to have a life better than theirs. While he can lead a fairly good criminal career with his learned skills, Hwayi also has a considerable artistic talent(we see several good sketches in his notebook at one point), and Jin-seong is willing to help him in any possible ways.However, it seems that Seok-tae, the leader of the bunch(while casually calling other fathers 'dad', Hwayi always calls him 'father'), has the other idea. Hwayi was frequently terrorized by the monster in the basement where he was locked in, and, though it is apparently a pigment of his imagination possibly fueled by his horrible situation, the monster keeps haunting him, and Seok-tae takes a drastic measure to solve Hwayi's problem once for all; he is going to push Hwayi more deeply into the dark, ruthless criminal world of him and others.The movie gets darker and bloodier after Hwayi directly participates in his dads' works and then accidentally(or fatefully) learns about himself more than he imagined, and the movie drives its story to the destined point with a vengeance through its volatile mix of family melodrama and crime drama. Some of its surprises can be easily predicted in advance, but they strike us hard with emotional impacts, and that accordingly pushes its main characters to their inevitable conflict calling for blood and revenge.The director Jang Joon-hwan, who made a long-awaited comeback with this film, shows here that the potential shown in his exceptional debut film "Save the Green Planet!"(2003) is not eroded at all. While it does not have that loony raw power of his debut film, "Hwayi" is a compelling genre piece packed with good action/suspense scenes and accompanying gray ambiance. There is always a foreboding sense of fatalism at every corner of the screen, and it is effectively manifested through its gloomy spaces including the certain crucial characters' lone residence surrounded by demolished houses.Things get complicated as the police and other underworld figures come into the picture, but the movie stays focused on the love/hate relationship between Hwayi and Seok-tae, and the performances by Kim Yoon-seok and Yeo Jin-goo ably carry the movie even when the plot become shaky at times. As shown in "The Yellow Sea"(2010), another dark South Korean crime thriller drama driven by the darkness of human heart, Kim Yoon-seok is good at conveying the steely brutality behind his plain but commanding appearance, and young actor Yeo Jin-goo does more than holding his own place amid the adult co-actors. The movie is essentially his character's coming-of-age drama, and Yeo Jin-goo is believable in every step as his character is transformed from a boy fearing his own monster to a man finally engulfing it. In that aspect, the movie reminds me a lot of David Michôd's "Animal Kingdom"(2010), which was also about the sad loss of innocence in the criminal world.While it loses its steam around the ending, "Hwayi" is a gripping noir drama supported by its skillful direction and convincing performances. Like several notable South Korean films, the movie also reflects the dark sides of modern South Korean society through its gritty tale, and there is an interesting aspect associated with social class issues when hidden motives and connections are revealed during a chilling encounter between two contrasting characters. Its view on the modern South Korean society, which is still dominated by Confucian patriarchal ideas and haunted by the history of violence during the 20th Century, is ultimately pessimistic, but its somber ending comes with a small glimmer of hope none the less(There is a tiny but crucial scene after the end credit, so don't leave the screening room too early).

From the director who gave 'Save the Green Planet' was carved this action-thriller. It was a good comeback for the director to give such a great movie after a decade of the gap. Also worth waiting for us all these years to get a movie like this. It was the story of a teenager who begin to look for his true identity from what he was known as.I was so curious after reading synopsis which denoted a boy with the five fathers. Yeah, it is something I did not get at that point, once I began to watch it was convinced me. A boy was raised by the five criminals, later goes in search for the truth after he's forced to step into a killing spree. The more he goes deeper to find the truth the more he risks himself with the dangers ahead. One after another the truth come into the lights which shocks him as well as the audience.I thought it was another Korean gore movie with gangsters in it. I thought that way all the first half till the twist come into the play. But the real twist was in the last portion which totally blew me. It was attached to a flashback scene, that scene was the best turning point which flipped the movie from its originality into the new perspective.I am seeing possibly Hollywood remake here. Definitely other industries around the world will show interest in this. Because the story was very nice with excellent characters and twists. One of the best Korean action movie of the year. The cast was good and so the direction with strong scenes everywhere. A sequel could be possible, which may concentrate more on the romance side. You should have this if you love the Korean movies where men are seen with the guns.

Director Joon-Hwan Jang (''Save the Green Planet '') is characterized by two things: Excellent filmmaking and graphic violence. Hway is a drama/thriller , revolving about a boy raised by a gang of kidnappers/thieves/killers-in short: Not the most moral people of society. But it's not so simple- there is no black/white -only shades of grey. This is the cornerstone and what carries the film -complex characters and their relationship between each other. Brutality ,compassion , hate ,love , avengement, an so on. I won't go into detail here-see for yourself. All I can say is that this is korean filmmaking at its best- I almost shed a manly tear-isn't that proof enough-And I remind you: This is not some stereotypical sissy drama. Cinematography , acting , sound , action , plot- no shortcomings at all. Looking forward to more works of such an talented director 8/10 Would watch again