SchmoCro The true story, directed by John H. Lee (A Moment to Remember) about South Korean student unit of 71 soldiers who was left to defend the girls middle school during the Battle of Pohang during the peek of North Korea's invasion of South in 1950. That 71 students defended that position for 11 hours against a North Korean army brigade and the film was inspired by the letters of one of that soldiers. Out of 71 members of the unit, only three had combat experience, while others have not undergone any training before the battle, which makes their resistance unbelievable.The story focuses on two soldiers, Oh Jung-Bum, frightened and lost commander of the unit who only got the position because of his experience that was minimal, and Ku Kap-Jo, convicted of murder who enlisted in the Army to avoid jail. A good part of the story rests on their conflict and on development of their relationship as well as their relationship with the rest of the unit. Character development is uncommonly done. Oh Jung-Bum changes from a scared kid who couldn't even shot from the gun to brave commander absurdly fast, while Ku Kap-Jo's path is approximately opposite and just as fast, if not faster. In this context, we can mention the North Korean captain Park Mu-Rang which is extremely difficult to characterize as he's almost like another character in almost every scene, while only he's egotism stays.Performance is standard Asian, full of melodrama, highlighting the pride and courage, and a somewhat caricature acting that is pretty solid here. Cha Seung-won is far form being brilliant in lead role of Oh Jung-Bum, almost completely without emotions, as if he was forced to act in this movie. The rest of the acting team did a solid job. The pace of storytelling is perfect, not one scene is redundant, although movie could work without humorous parts they deliver, alongside humor, additional characterization of the characters. It's a simple, dynamic story with which time goes by quickly. There's no objections to the visual part of the film. A solid budget of 10mil dollars was well used, the effects look almost authentic. Final battle looks really impressive, although it can not be overlooked that it was somewhat idealized.Film lacks historical context which is not surprising given that, as usually happens with Far Eastern cinema, it's made for their market so they didn't feel like it's necessarily to explain situation, but however, it does not affect much on the experience of the film since the theme is universal, and 71: Into the Fire is one of the better war movies lately.

intelearts As I know little about the Korean War apart from MASH I didn't really know what to expect. I was very impressed and surprised at how good 71 is. The true story of the 71 students who defended their line for 11 hours against the might of the communist North is told with passion, humor, and action. It is somewhat clichéd - but this works in its favor - what we get is a Braveheart feeling for a small but very well-made war film.The two main leads are competent, if a little OTT in their roles, but again by the end this pays off and I really have no complaints - if moving, and exciting war films are your thing then this is definitely worth viewing.

namjihoon Great movie. It depicted the struggles of South Korean student soldiers so well. They were very patriotic, especially in the times of the major battle where the student with round glasses drove into the tank with missiles. Another where the guy drove himself into the machine gun mini tank thing. Another one was when the almost dead South Korean turned oil on and burned the place. A lot of NK soldiers died during that part. Also, when Gapjo (Gwon Sangu) was shot by a pistol by Park Murang(Cha Seung Won) he tried to stab him but failed. The Jungdaejang(T.O.P or Choi Seung Hyun) loaded one last bullet when Murang tried to shoot him, and they shot themselves at the same time. It also depicts the love of Koreans to each other. They have a close bond, and they love themselves as soldiers. Just simply great but could have been better. I don't see Staff Sergeant Jones. Where is he? I only saw the Major or someone who gave the super bazookas. The graphics were very superb as well. Great war movie to watch if you want some laughs and tears(last part) where (Kim Seung Woo) hugs (T.O.P). Fantastic movie.

wolverine34 I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I do enjoy watching war films, especially true stories, as they generally depict the horrors of war. Right from the start I was hooked, and was not disappointed.It is a pity films from Korea, Japan, China, and other oriental countries are not included in the Oscars or bafta awards, but then America and Britain wouldn't have so many winners.This film is typical of this as it has some great acting and is filmed extremely well. It also shows you don't need a budget like that of some Hollywood movies. The biggest thing for me is that it is a true story and is dramatised well. Without being too political, with the ongoing problems in Korea, they could have made the North out to be animals, but they don't.For a film that probably wont be mentioned at the big ceremonies, it is a loss for film-making. I would highly recommend this film if you haven't seen it yet. Would love to see Britain make films as good as this, but I haven't seen many, recently, that comes close. That is just my opinion though.As with all films though, don't go by opinion, watch it and decide by yourself, but I think you will enjoy the movie.