Michael_Elliott Tidal Wave (2009)** (out of 4) This South Korean disaster picture deals with a wide range of people who at first are trying to deal with their personal lives but this all changes when a tsunami hits and they must fight for their lives. Apparently this film had the biggest budget for anything to come from South Korean and in fact I thought the special effects of the disaster looked pretty good but more on that in a bit. What really kills TIDAL WAVE is the first eighty-minutes, which is the time spent with the characters. It's clear that this film is just like so many American films in that we spend the majority of the running time getting to know the characters so that when the disaster does hit we care for them and want to see them survive. The problem here is that the majority of this is built around a bunch of comedy bits that simply aren't funny and in fact they really take you out of the movie. I'm really not sure what the purpose of these comedy scenes were but they should have been in a Laurel and Hardy movie and not something like this. Even the personal drama was pretty predictable as we are given the same stereotypes and same clichés that every disaster movie has followed since the 1970s. The film certainly does come alive once the tsunami hits and I thought the special effects were extremely good on the whole. Yes, there are some shots that are obviously fake but I enjoyed the imagination that went into them and we do get some pretty intense scenes. Still, after these scenes we fall back into the cliché routine with way too many scenes where someone is giving their live for someone else's and it just gets a bit repetitive after a while. TIDAL WAVE, on the whole, is a disappointment but fans of the genre will still want to check out the actual disaster bit.

BA_Harrison I experienced quite a range of emotions whilst watching Haeundae (AKA Tidal Wave): the first hour, which is spent introducing its various clichéd two dimensional characters, was tedious in the extreme and I found myself impatiently urging the cataclysmic forces of nature to get a move on and wreak some havoc, thus putting an end to my misery; however, when the mega-tsunami finally hit, I felt rather guilty for having been so keen to see some death and destruction, the horrific sight of the massive wave crashing down on the helpless people of Korea immediately bringing to mind the very real scenes of destruction from the tsunami disaster of Christmas 2004.So I'm sitting there feeling morose, reflecting on the real-life horror of such a phenomenon—how terrifying it must be to be confronted by an unstoppable wall of water—when the film slips into cheesy post-tsunami mode, and I'm presented with umpteen tried-and-tested disaster movie clichés as the survivors face further danger amidst the floods. These include the obligatory 'electrical cable in the water' routine, a well executed scene with a little girl being swept out of the window of a high rise building, and an awful slapstick moment that sees the film's comedy relief dodging metal containers as they fall from an upended freight ship. I'm now feeling much better, having a blast with what I realise is cornball blockbuster material of the purest kind.And then a second wave hits the city, killing even more people, including the little girl's parents, and it's lump-in-throat time again!Although Haeundae doesn't qualify as an essential disaster flick in my book, the build up being overlong, the characters not all that memorable, and the formula predictable, the special effects are much better than I expected and the mayhem is spectacular enough to make this film worth a go if you get the chance.5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Paul Magne Haakonsen I found this movie to be a good attempt at a disaster genre movie to come out of Korea.The movie had a good story, and had enough interesting side stories to keep you compelled. It is good to have several story lines that work well to come together for a good wholesome story.The characters in the movie were good and believable, though some of the dialogue were cheezy at times.The effects of the movie were adequate, but of course you can see it is not a multi-million dollar Hollywood CGI fest going on. But with that in mind, they made the effects work well enough.This movie is a good alternative to the usual comedies and horrors movie that mostly come out of Korea. It also takes up some real life issues about tsunamies.In overall I think this movie is a good choice if you like disaster movies, and if you are tired of big Hollywood movies with superstar cast listings.

alienworlds I have seen quite a few Asian films from many different countries in Asia and this one was by far the worst one I have ever seen. Seriously marred by bad acting over 75 percent of the time, the concept of a Tsunami movie was buried beneath ten feet of choppy unrelated inconsequential events. I was not sure if it really was about a Tsunami until near the end-it seemed to be mostly about nothing but a raving alcoholic imbecile with a little boy. I would not recommend this film to anyone.Compared to The Host, a recent Korean horror-Sf film, Heaundea, comes off like a terrible commercial for international travel, as in, this is one vacation you would not want to take.