Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Weird

This film's title, The Good, the Bad, and the Weird, announces itself as a western, and also perhaps a bit of play on the genre. South Korean director/writer Ji-woon Kim brings forth a tale from the wild East, set in 1930's Manchuria. It stars, gauging from the reactions of many of the hyped-up Korean fans in the audience, three of the biggest stars in Korean cinema today: Woo-sung Jung (the Good one), Byung-hun Lee (the Bad one), and Kang-ho Song (the Weird one).

The three Korean bandits chase around Manchuria after a map, working their way in and out of scrapes with the Japanese army and both Korean & Russian bandits. The Bad one is being paid to retrieve it, though eventually his motivations change. The Good one isn't necessarily all good. He is a bounty hunter by trade, but in comparison to the Bad one, he's squeaky clean. The Bad one is a gang leader who enjoys killing people, and he's good at it. Suggest that he might not be the best, and those will probably be a few of the last words you utter. The Weird one, a talented and quirky train robber, provides much of the comedy relief, preferring a motorcycle for the horse chase scenes.

As the movies winds down its complex path, we find that there is history interwoven among the three of them. There are a few twists, turns and surprises, but the real ride is all about the action and comedy. And what was the map for? It's revealed in the final scene, with perhaps a wink to modern-day problems.

This movie has about everything you'd want in a big American box office smash, with the exception of the English language. There are guns, fisticuffs, espionage, chase scenes, a PG-13 rating, comedy, twists & turns, star performances from all three leading actors, and huge budget. I think they got their money's worth. My imdb rating: 8/10.