Review of Typhoon: 2-Disc Special Edition

Introduction

Thanks to a major boom in the South Korean economy during the 1990s, it`s now possible for this formerly fledgling industry to make films which rival Hollywood blockbusters in terms of production values. If you didn`t twig after looking at the cover and reading the synopsis, a cursory glance at the trailer reveals `Typhoon` is just that; another example of the industry getting its big, dumb action groove on. Following in the footsteps of `Shiri`, a film which busted wallets and box office in equal measure, the big set pieces, the simple, memorable action score, the ostentatious, yet clinical cinematography and backseat characters are so reminiscent of the blueprint that served the likes of `Armageddon` and `The Island`, that perhaps it`s fair to say that Kyung-Taek Kwak does mid-level Michael Bay just as well as Michael Bay.

After his family are refused asylum in South Korea, North Korean Sin grows up to be a merciless and bitter sea pirate with plans of vengeance on the South Korea he believes ruined his life. After looting an American cargo vessel carrying a top-secret nuclear guidance system, Sin puts into action a plan of deadly revenge involving ex-Russian dirty bombs, a large freighter ship and his long lost sister. The South Korean government learn of his plans, and send an agent from their executive branch to stop Sin before the Americans and Japanese take drastic action that could seriously endanger South Korean interests.

(As much as the synopsis above this review may mislead you, Kyung-Taek Kwak was not responsible in any way for `Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War`, and the parallel drawn to Je-Gyu Kang`s critically acclaimed 2004 film is tenuous at best, although they both feature roles for popular Korean actor Dong-Kun Jang.)

Video

Near flawless, as you would expect for a 2005 film released by Contender on their Premier Asia label. Anamorphic 2.35:1, with no obvious problems in either the print or the digital transfer, although the blacks did seem a little on the light side during a few scenes, but that`s being pretty darned picky.

Audio

Excellent. A choice of Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 in Korean with English subtitles. Both are thick, booming soundtracks (although, as usual, with very little to tell them apart) with terrific use of the soundstage for both the score and the gunplay and explosions, just as it should always be to complement an action film. Interestingly, there`s an awful lot of English spoken because of its role as a mediatory language for the cast of characters, but some of the very thick accents make it hard to make out what`s being said. Typically, these segments aren`t subtitled.

Features

Premier Asia have a (welcome) habit of sticking all the extras on a second disc to keep the movie bitrate high, even though they may not at first glance warrant them. There`s only three real extras here, but their length certainly requires a second disc to avoid artifact city on the main feature.

Disc One:

A typical Contender `Further Attractions` segment, although this time it only houses a rather lonely looking trailer for `9th Company`.

Disc Two:

First is `The Making of Typhoon`, which opens with, of all things, the main theme from `The Rock`. It`s 50-minutes long (the feature, not the opening) and mixes on-set footage with cast and crew interviews. Interesting, but could be a lot shorter for what it is.

`Star Power` and `Production Diaries` are both essentially more of the same as seen in the making of, except one focuses more of the experiences of the actors, and the other the crew - set design, stunts, etc. Again, diverting enough, but with a little work, the entire set of extras could have been carefully edited into one long `making of`. As it is, together both run for around an hour and there are too many elements of overlap with the other bonus material on the disc.

Conclusion

Michael Bay`s credits as a producer rarely accompany great films and he has a proclivity for the overblown and slightly soulless, but `The Rock` is almost Jim Cameron-calibre as far as action movies go, and `Bad Boys` is a personal favourite. So when comparisons are made between `Typhoon` and the Bay, it`s the Bay on a bad day. Well, on an overcast-with-a-good-chance-of-rain day. `Typhoon` isn`t a bad film. It is, as inevitably follows the previous sentence, not a particularly good one either. With South Korea earning an unquestionable reputation for being one of the most exciting film industries of the moment, half-cocked action flicks which favour slapdash flash and bang over meat and potatoes just aren`t particularly stimulating. The plot certainly won`t win any awards for originality, but the one man and his bomb set-up may just nab the `Kevin Smith award for recycling old ideas`. Its characters, for want of a better word, are uninspired, its sagging middle-act destroys any hope of even pacing, and it climaxes with a somewhat predictable fizzle that`s played out far too long.

Kyung-Taek Kwak does at least show some skill in keeping the film lean - for the most part - as far as blockbusters go. But even this has its downfalls; Weighing in at mere seconds over the 100-minute mark, the set pieces aren`t overlong, in fact, most of them are surprisingly and criminally short. Characterisation is underdeveloped, with Jung-Jae Lee`s protagonist agent character - a pure cipher who`s there because law dictates a film like this needs a `good guy` - starts off as a fresh-faced Johnny Utah-type but soon becomes so insignificant to the story that`s actually unfolding before you, that you might even forget he`s there until he pops up for a 5-second shoot-out or 10-second car chase with bad guy Sin - the real focus of the film. Or he may just show up to stuff in some feebly ham-fisted sentimentality when we`re long past trying to invest in his character.

Sin, the antagonist, is essentially the main character, complete with backstory, flashbacks and superior screen time. Where usually the good guy has a personal thread running through the film juxtaposed with the main plot in order to make them more of a human character (pregnant wife, impending retirement, suicidal dog - whatever), here it`s Sin and his relationship with his estranged sister which serves as a break from the less-than-relentless action. Ingenious anywhere but here, this part of the narrative is unceremoniously squeezed into the second act, and forms part of the now ubiquitous comment on the North/South divide on the Korean peninsula, one of very few hallmarks that this is actually contemporary Korean cinema, Sadly, the themes of brotherhood and the `one nation divided by circumstance` level of balance aren`t only nothing we haven`t seen before in superior films, but almost feel like they were put in there because, hey, everyone else is doing it. In the end, there`s really very little here that doesn`t demand comparison to the far superior `Shiri`, and that`s just one of many modern Korean films, action-orientated or not, which casts a remarkable shadow over `Typhoon`.