Desertman84 Swiri was the first Hollywood-style big-budget blockbuster to be produced in the "new" Korean film industry.It was created as a deliberate homage to the "high-octane" action film made popular by Hollywood.It stars Han Suk-kyu,Choi Min-sik,Kim Yoon-jin and Song Kang- ho.Also,it also contained a story that draws on strong Korean national sentiment to fuel its drama.It was written and directed by Kang Je-gyu.A dazzling action movie from South Korea, it follows two South Korean government agents, Ryu and Lee, as they pursue a female super-assassin from North Korea. Meanwhile, an elite paramilitary squad from North Korea has stolen a shipment of CTX, an undetectable liquid explosive of enormous power, which they've planted all over the city of Seoul. As their investigations are successively foiled, Ryu and Lee begin to suspect that there is a mole within the ranks of the agency it is believed that it may be one of them.The movie rips along as a smooth fusion of Hong Kong and American action movies that is both hyper-stylish and hyper-realistic.It's a post-Cold War action yarn with a nose for melodrama, and a loopy cop drama with undeniable entertainment value.

Meganeguard In the year 1999 the film that dominated most East Asian film markets was James Cameron's Titanic which would go on to be the highest grossing film of all time. However, in South Korea the film that was number one at the box office was Shiri, an action-packed film that would go on to set South Korean box office records and force the Hollywood juggernaut to take notice that films produced in other countries could compete with the likes of Titanic. In the end 1/7 of South Korea's entire population would go to the theater to watch Shiri and it also received accolades in other Asian countries and helped revitalize the South Korean film industry whose government imposed that South Korean films had to be shown at least 106 days a year so that it could compete with foreign films and it also put on the road to stardom Choi Min-sik and Han Suk-kyu.Shiri opens with scene after scene of the brutal training endured by those who wish to become members of the 8th Division, an elite force of North Korean Commandos. Amongst these individuals is a young woman named Lee Bang-hee who not only surpasses her male counterparts in fighting skills, but who is unmatched in her marksmanship. With her weapon of choice she perfectly severs the spinal cord with one shot and obliterates the heart with the next. Surviving her training, Bang-hee is sent to South Korea and assassinates several important political figures until suddenly disappearing. However, one day she returns and seems to be up to her old tricks again. Two special agents are assigned to her case, Yu Jongwon and Lee Janggil; however, she continues to foil them time after time. While searching for Bang-hee who has recently assassinated an arms dealer and a scientist who were working together under the table, Yu and Lee soon learn that the 8th division led by their old nemesis Park Mu-young is plotting to steal a new weapon called CMX which is ten times stronger than an average bomb, liquid, and virtually undetectable and are unable to stop Park when he successfully does steal the CMX. Park calls the agency and informs them that ten sites in Seoul are set to be destroyed by the 8th Division. If this scenario wasn't bad enough, it is taking place right at the same time the leaders of both South and North Korea are planning to attend a soccer match in which the North and the South play each other.Combining action, romance, and melodrama Shiri is quite an engaging film that can be appreciated on many different levels. Due to its success a number of clones were produced that did not quite live up to the original, but they helped revamp the slumping South Korean film industry to show the world that blockbusters do not only originate in Hollywood.

Andy (film-critic) Typically, I hate American Hollywood action films. Nine times out of ten you will find yourself immersed in the same plot, the exact same characters, and an overabundance of explosions when the focus should be on learning more about the characters. Our focus when making Hollywood action films is completely skewed. We could take a page from the ways that other countries make action films. While most will think that they are all made the same (conflict, girl, explosion, tense ending), I witnessed a completely different representation of the action genre with Swiri. While it wasn't perfect, it was a stride in the right direction giving us human characters, realistic tension, with a plot synopsis that may make any teacher think it was plagiarizing a film called The Rock. While the similarities may be great, where The Rock missed, Swiri gladly picked up and ran with it creating a challenging film that was two parts intense drama, one part action … a great recipe never used in Hollywood action.Swiri takes amazing strides towards redefining the action genre by giving us flawed characters. This is a concept missing in Hollywood action films. When I think of movies like Air Force One, Armageddon, or The Rock (aka Michael Bay-isms), you typically have a centralized character that could be shot at a million times, but never be hit. Who else is tired of these films? In Swiri, thankfully, we are granted a rare opportunity to see actual heroes that are flawed. Heroes that either have 1) emotional baggage or 2) more trouble in their lives than just bullets whizzing in their direction. Heroes that actually make us perpetuate some form of emotion at the end of the film, not just the hidden Hollywood "hurray for America" subliminal message. Heroes that make us stay on our toes wondering if they truly are as "good" as we have conceived them to be. Again, in your typical Hollywood film, if Harrison Ford is your heroine and top billing, you already know he will survive the end and be the ultimate "good" guy. In Swiri, director Je-gyu Kang keeps us second-guessing ourselves. Who is the "mole" in the system? Until the final, explosive moments of the film, we honestly have no clue, which leads us to a very emotional showdown at the end. It is these types of characters that keep us glued to our films, instead of getting a bite to eat in the middle and still visualizing how the ending will conclude.With such strong characters, you honestly didn't need a detailed story with Swiri. From the music to the indiscreet plot, many cinephiles will argue that this was nothing more than a completely plagiarized version of The Rock. In some cases they will be right, but in others they will be utterly wrong. Outside of the characters (which are the staple of this film), the less CGI graphics really keep you focused on the human drama surrounding this picture. The conflict between the two countries is a dominant element surrounding these characters. It isn't just terrorists trying to disrupt peace, it is a cause … a reason for the destruction. The action is suspenseful and tactfully realistic. I enjoyed seeing blood whenever villains were shot, I thought that the "gore" factor in this film was a cut above your normal Hollywood film. There is a scene when one of the "terrorists" is captured and she chooses suicide instead of capture, which is nearly unheard of in the American action genre. Swiri oozed with the type of action I only imagined I would find in The Corrupter.Swiri caught my attention on several levels, most of which I have already mentioned, but there was a missing element that I just couldn't put my finger on until I began this review. I remember when I first started this film I was confused. I had trouble seeing the characters, their stories, and their connections with each other. The violent introduction pulled me in, but as we became more developed, I felt lost and confused for about forty minutes, then I was able to find my footing. I don't know if it is just the rocky beginning, but I just thought that the first couple of instances when we get to see Hee in action were cheap. It could have been developed stronger. I wanted to know more about the CTX, more about it's destruction. As our terrorists begin announcing their plans, I felt there was quite a bit of waiting around and hoping the "good" guys would discover the truth and save the day. The sense of urgency was definitely lacking from some of the crucial moments of the film. If I had to name three things that I think were a downfall to this film they would be 1) pacing 2) confusing development and 3) Hee's true powers. I felt there was a whole hour that could have been dedicated to learning about the horrors that Hee had done prior to going into hiding. I needed more Hee! Overall, through all of this bantering, I thought that Swiri was a decent film. It was better than any action film that American Hollywood has to offer, but I think I need to see more work from Korea to fully grasp the ability that they have. It is always good to support the film that overtook Titanic at the box office. It is always good to support a film that gives you equal parts realistic human drama and explosions (which were kept to a minimal). Finally, it is always good to support a film that uses fish in a genuinely interesting, and mind-bending, way. I loved the twists and turns (reminded me of a great car chase), but I hated the confusing introduction. I needed more Hee, less random targets.Grade: *** out of *****

evilasahobby I'd heard a lot about "Shiri" (aka "Swiri") and how this Korean action film compared favourably (or perhaps even exceeded) recent US action films. So it was with high hopes I sat down to watch this movie.Perhaps it was a result of the hype, but I came away feeling very disappointed in this film. There are some very strong scenes in this film, don't get me wrong - the training sequence at the start, the suddenness of the assassinations, for example - which help add something different to this movie, and the technical aspects of "Shiri" are definitely better than average, but in many ways this film falls short.The big issue for me was the disconnect between the 'realistic' political aspect that provided the motivation for the movie and the over-the-top gun play in the action sequences. At the very start, the training sequence makes the movie look like it will have a more realistic portrayal of violence, but this dissipates in a hail of bullets during the shoot-outs. Apparently the South Korean Special Forces suck, because they put thousands of rounds from MP5s in the direction of their heavily outnumbered North Korean adversaries and continually miss, while the North Koreans just need hand guns (Berettas, possibly) and one shot to gun down large numbers of armoured opponents.I don't mind cartoon-ish violence in live action films, but it has to be kept consistent. The ability of the North Koreans to avoid large numbers of South Korean bullets exceeded my suspension of disbelief and undermined my acceptance of the political motivation. I can handle the plot holes and the bad science, but just can't reconcile the supposed realistic political themes with the absurd action sequences.As for the love story aspect - well, it was something a bit different for this genre of movie (especially the phone message at the very end of the film - that would have been heartbreaking for the characters involved), but not enough to make this film any more than a curiosity for those who want to see what Korean action films are capable of.