Homebrew Dragon Wars
Dragon Wars is a personal movie for me. Some of you may already know that I'm Korean and that Dragon Wars too shares the same origin, so this may not come as a surprise. And let's be honest here: there's no way for me not to favor something Korean over something that isn't. Of course, oftentimes this may be so insignificant that it doesn't affect anything fundamental, but being minuscule shouldn't negate it.
What really makes this movie personal for me, however, is the fact that I've seen it with my mother. I can't forget the look on my mother's face when she stared into the half full (notice I'm being positive here) theater with flashing faces eagerly awaiting for the movie to start.
(You may be wondering, "Shouldn't this be in the blog section?" Well, yes, and no. Reviewing movies, for me, is an exercise I rarely do, and whenever I do get the chance to do so, I try to write sincere responses to them. This tends to become impure or altered when I try to mix in too much critique. This is especially true when reviewing movies like D-War. Some movies are just not meant to be critiqued, unless they focus on more non-textual elements such as financing or technology.
Indeed, those were the only kinds of writings that could be considered critiques I could find of this movie. Others that attempted it failed miserably because it provided nothing worthwhile or new to the readers. Everyone, except for maybe children under the age of 13, knows the limitations of D-War: it's an independent Korean blockbuster film that fails badly in many, if not all, things it attempts to do. It is also because I'm not a professional critic, and I don't intend on pretending to be one. So, bare with me even if this sounds like a blog entry in places.)
What Director Shim brought with him to the States is a nice chunk of Korean culture, albeit done crudely. It was quite refreshing, actually, to see the movie hammer down Korean names and legend like they're everyday American fair. Those things are usually handled by so called art films or "Asian Extreme" themed titles. It was fun, even surreal, to see it happen in a blockbuster film aimed at English speaking audiences where participation, rather than observation of something foreign, was clearly being elicited.
My mother obviously appreciated this much more than I did as she brought a bigger chunk of Korean heritage than I had to Houston. And so, when we got to see the final scene with the dragon disappearing into the night sky, I'm sure she felt something much stronger. It's sort of like taking someone out to a new restaurant and hoping she/he likes the food there. As far as I know, she very much enjoyed her meal, even though it was more like pizza with kimchi (in place of jalapeño) than kimchi with bread sticks.
Overall, it is a far better movie than I've expected it to be. And unlike what some disappointed reviewers are claiming online, there clearly is a narrative, however simple or rough around the edges it may be. The simple narrative actually seems to work at times due to the nature of its genre, but as many have pointed out (with "I found a movie to bash!" enthusiasm), its execution is messy and abrupt throughout. On that ground, what it really comes down to is who you go see Dragon Wars with, whether you have a good attention span, and whether you're willing to use some of your own imagination to fill in the many gaps. Dragon Wars paces along pretty quickly (this could be good or bad), so short attention span could give you the hindsight that nothing makes any sense. I can say it's at least worth a rental, because I've seen much worse with greater budget and talents. Jurassic Park: The Lost World and Chronicles of Riddick comes to mind.
- Posted by chanhee
- September 21, 2007
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