Released: September 2020(South Korea)
Director: Jae-Hoon Choi
Not Rated
Run Time: 104 Minutes
Distributor: Well GO USA(United States)
Genre: Action/Thriller
Cast:
Jang Hyuk: Tae-yul
Man-Sik Jeong: Min Seung-ho
Joe Taslim: Gurutai
Hyeon-soo Kim: Tae-ok
You know what I love about companies like Well GO USA and Magnet Releasing? They have access to so many different kinds of movies from all over the world. They don’t necessarily have access to ALL of them, but the amount of movies that they DO have access to is astounding. You get movies from Indonesia, Thailand, and Hong Kong, obviously. But I’ve been seeing some really good stuff come out of countries like Russia, Vietnam, and Cambodia. It’s really impressive to see the stuff coming out of places like these. Funny thing is, one of the heavy hitters in the Far East is South Korea. I haven’t met a South Korean movie that I didn’t like yet. These guys have put out some stellar martial arts flicks like Shadowless Sword and Memories of the Sword. They’ve also given us some of the most brutal and hard-hitting thrillers the world has ever seen like Old Boy and I Saw the Devil. If you think the United States has a monopoly on dark thrillers, all you need to do is look at the movies I just mentioned. South Korean film-makers are not afraid to go to really dark places, and they don’t pull any punches. Well, I’m here to tell you that they’ve got another winner on their hands, and this one is coming from a first-time film writer and director: Jae-Hoon Choi. The movie? The Swordsman.
Set during the Joseon Dynasty in the early 17th century, The Swordsman tells the story of Tae-yul, a legendary swordsman in the service of the king. When Tae-yul’s king was being forced out of office, Tae-yul suffered a serious injury to his eyes. Taking the king’s infant daughter under his care, Tae-yul escapes into the mountains and raises Tae-ok as his own. Living in peace, Tae-ok realizes that Tae-yul’s sight is worsening because of his injury. Taking it upon herself to get medicine for her adopted father, Tae-ok offers herself to a local trader as a foster daughter. Unfortunately, she’s captured by human traffickers lead by Gurutai, a member of the Qing dynasty. Tae-yul unsheathes his sword once more to find his daughter and to take down those responsible for her kidnapping. If this story sounds familiar, that’s because it’s been told hundreds of times over the past 20 years. It’s essentially Taken, but set in 17th century Korea….and it’s with swords. Ultimately, the story is predictable and it goes exactly where you think it’ll go. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it eliminates the possibility of last-minute twists and overly complicated story-lines. Sometimes, you just don’t need all that jazz. All you really need is a movie about a guy that slices and dices his way to his kidnapped daughter, and The Swordsman provides that.
Before I get into specifics with The Swordsman, I have to say something about the film’s writer/director, Jae-Hoon Choi. I had never heard of this guy before The Swordsman. There’s a reason for that. He started out as a novelist. The Swordsman is his feature film debut as both writer and director. I tend to be very cautious about movies from first time directors, especially if they’re big-budget blockbusters. But every once in a while, you get somebody that will surprise you in the best way possible. I have to say that I’m incredibly impressed with what Choi has achieved with this movie. It looks amazing with outstanding cinematography and wide shots. You can see everything that’s going on here, especially during the action sequences. In an industry and genre where the shaky-cam is used excessively, it’s awesome to see a first-timer actually stage his shots so that the audience can see what’s happening. You rarely see that, especially in the west. Right now, The Swordsman is the only credit to this guy’s name on IMDB, but what a debut it is. Jae-Hoon Choi is a director that I’m going to be keeping an eye on from here on out.
The first thing that I have to say here is that The Swordsman takes it time setting up the world and characters before it gets to the action. In fact, outside of the opening sword-fight, it isn’t until the 50-minute mark that the action starts. Nope, Jae-Hoon Choi has the audacity to let the audience get to know some of the characters before putting them in peril. That allows the audience to give a shit when everything falls apart. Make no mistake, though: This is an action movie through and through. When Tae-yul draws his sword, the movie slams into 5th gear and it doesn’t let up. This movie has some of the best on-screen sword-fighting I’ve seen in years, and I’ve seen a lot of samurai movies. What I love about the sword-fighting HERE, is that there’s little in the way of wire-work. It’s there, but it’s kept to a bare minimum, allowing for more grounded battles. After the 50-minute mark, the battles keep escalating. One of my personal favorites is when Tae-yul takes on a small garrison of soldiers and a group of ninjas single-handedly. This movie is definitely violent, as there is plenty of blood-shed, but it’s not over-the-top gory. I have to say that the fight sequences are incredibly satisfying. The final battle between Tae-yul and Gurutai is one of the best one-on-one sword-fights put on screen, despite the fact it doesn’t go for very long. So, yeah, the action in The Swordsman is second-to-none.
The acting here is pretty decent all around with Jang Hyuk taking the lead as Tae-yul. He gives his character a very stoic and honorable quality, but at the same a degree of unpredictability that his enemies don’t see coming. Tae-yul himself is an actual martial artist so he’s extremely convincing during the action sequences. Man-sik Jeong plays Min-seung Ho, a high-ranking soldier/official. This character is responsible for Tae-yul’s injury as Ho is also a talented swordsman. Hyeon-soo Kim plays Tae-ok, Tae-yul’s adopted daughter. She’s pretty good, even though the character does come across as irritating at times, but the character is supposed to be a teenage girl, so that’s going to happen, and Kim does what she can with the role. Joe Taslim plays the slimy villain, Gurutai. Joe Taslim made his breakthrough performance in The Raid which came out back in 2011-2012, one of the greatest action movies ever made. Taslim has also made appearances in Fast and Furious 6 and Star Trek Beyond. He can be seen playing the character Sub-Zero in the upcoming adaptation of Mortal Kombat. This guy has got a real future in the business, and he’s also a fantastic martial artist. While he has trained in Taekwondo and wushu, his specialty is judo. You would never know that he never handled a sword before training for The Swordsman. He moves incredibly natural with a sword as if it was second-nature. That’s how talented a martial artist he is. Now, I don’t know if it was choice that he made or the director made, but his character of Gurutai is a very one-note villain. He constantly talks in a very low voice. Now, I’m glad Joe Taslim didn’t go over the top with crazy antics, but his constant sneering and method of speaking got on my nerves a little bit. He only has one fight in the movie, and it’s the final battle, but as I said before, it’s short but freaking awesome. I think Taslim is awesome, but I kind of wished for a more three-dimensional villain, but I can attribute that to Jeo-Hoon Choi as a writer.
All the negatives that I mentioned are nothing more than nitpicks. What we’ve got in The Swordsman is one of the best action movies in the last 5 years. The fact that this movie came from a first-time director and writer makes it even more impressive. The cinematography, the action, and a majority of the performances are outstanding. I would say that if you are a fan of sword-fighting in movies, this is a must-see. If you are a fan of Korean cinema, this is also a must-see. It’s not a perfect movie by any stretch, but considering what went into it and what we got out of it, The Swordsman is about as rock-solid as you can get for a straight-forward action film. I don’t think I can recommend this movie enough. It’s one of my favorites now.
My Final Recommendation: Don’t take on swordsmen that may be going blind. 9/10