Synopsis: Set in the distant future, where both North and South Korea have agreed to establish a joint government, rebel armies on both sides launch political uprisings and cause riots on the streets. A special police unit called The Wolf Brigade, is formed to handle to situation – taking no prisoners when confronted by the enemy. (139 Mins)

​

Views: This live adaptation of Mamoru Oshii's wonderful, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, swaps the setting of an alternate Japan for Korea in the near future (2029) where governments from the North and South are preparing to unify after many years of preparation. As their finalised date draws closer though, an anti-reunification terrorist group called 'The Sect' is determined to stop them from going further. After a series of violent attacks and explosions, the government launched a special unit known as 'Illang' (aka The Wolf Brigade) who are sent out to take down the rebels. Pushing forward like an unstoppable army, the Illang soon infiltrate the terrorists hideout, killing them off one-by-one in a blistering shoot-out. A young girl, who acts as a weapons mule for the group, tries to make her escape only to find herself cornered by Im Joong Kyung – a highly trained member of The Wolf Brigade who tries to talk her down. Reassuring her that she will be fine, Joong Kyung's progress is quickly interrupted with the arrival of a more aggressive officer. Knowing that she has nowhere to go, the young girl triggers an explosive device in her backpack – killing herself (and some soldiers) to avoid arrest. Shocked at what he just witnessed, Joong Kyung becomes emotionally conflicted about his role as one of the Illang and soon comes across Lee Yoon Hee, the older sister of the dead girl. After she helps him understand a few truths about what is happening, the soldier starts to have his loyalties questioned by those around him and soon finds himself fighting for his life (and hers), in a bid to stand up for what he believes is right!

​

I thought it was interesting that Illang: The Wolf Brigade was a bit of a bomb upon its release in South Korea, encouraged by negative reviews from both critics and audience members alike. Personally, I thought it was an incredibly well-made and entertaining film – albeit quite a lengthy and heavy journey at times with little moments of misdirection – but hardly enough to put me off. But that can be expected with such a strong story and subject matter, that Mamoru Oshii himself says, 'is a powerful movie that provokes lots of thought'. Perhaps the idea of combining both nations in this lifetime was a little too real for many people, with Kim Jee Woon presenting a rewrite of the classic anime that came across a little too realistic in some respect. At the same time, this may have been the kind of story that would have been best suited to a two-part film, allowing the narrative to feel a little less over-stuffed and less confusing at times. The incredible Kim Jee Woon had just come off the fantastic period-spy-thriller, The Age Of Heroes, which was no easy production in itself and I can only imagine had he taken another year before starting production for rest and focus, then Illang: The Wolf Brigade may have had its creases ironed out before they had started to shoot. Of course, not every film the man makes can be outstanding and with many hits already behind him – such as The Quiet Family, A Tale Of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life, I Saw The Devil, and many more – I wouldn't think that the poor box office performance of this title would be enough to stop him from getting back on top with his future productions.

​

While Illang: The Wolf Brigade may suffer from a little too much melodrama and a slow middle section, there is still enough going on that kept me entertaining. The cast is pretty strong, although many critics have complained that they deliver uncharismatic and fairly flat performances. I would disagree with the fact that Kim Jee Woon is not the kind of director that would accept that, considering the number of incredible performances we've seen in his previous films. There's also the fact that Illang is not set in a light and happy period, so it actually suits the film more given how stoic and uncharismatic these characters actually are. I can only imagine how odd and out of place it would look if everyone had a spring in their step and were delivering lines in a more upbeat tone. Gang Dong Won plays conflicted soldier Im Joong Kyung, the eventual hero of the story who gets in on a hell of a lot of action during the course of its running time. I first saw Gang in the stunning 2005 film, The Duelist (which I highly recommend) before catching him as the titular character in the wonderfully fun, Woochi: The Demon Slayer. Although he had starred in a number of great titles before and after the aforementioned, it would be a number of years before I saw him once again in the action-packed zombie sequel, Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula, which was his follow up project to this. As Joong Kyung, I felt that Gang did a pretty good job in offering enough emotion when called for but ultimately, showing what a bad-ass action hero he can be in the movie's amazing action scenes. Popular television and film actress Han Hyo Joo stars as Lee Yoon Hee – the Sect member and potential love interest to the soldier. Although I haven't seen much of her, Lee has been jumping between the small screen and big screen for almost 20 years now and does a decent job as the damsel in distress, finding herself in many dangerous situations and often in the thick of the action. Han Sang Woo, the former member of the Wolf Brigade who quit after the massacre of Bloody Friday, is played by Kim Mu Yeol – now the deputy head of the Public Security Department who has it in for Joong Kyung and any members of the Sect. Relatively new to the scene, Kim has climbed the ladder fast appearing in some great titles such as The Scam, War Of The Arrows, Warriors Of The Dawn, and the epically fun Space Sweepers, to name but a few. Kim delivers a great performance as Han, and like his co-stars, gets in on the action including a great face-off against Gang towards the end. The popular Jung Woo Sung, who appeared alongside the great Andy Lau and Leslie Cheung in Poon Man Kit's Shanghai Grand, played the lead in the epic Musa: The Warrior, and a memorable role alongside Michelle Yeoh in John Woo's Reign Of Assassins, joins Kim Jee Woon once again a decade after working with him on the fantastic Western action-comedy – The Good, The Bad, The Weird. Here, he gets to play Jang Jin Tae, the chief trainer of the Wolf Brigade and does a great job as the menacing ex-boss of Joong Kyung who eventually has to go up against one his number one soldier. A host of other recognisable faces help flesh out things, such as Choi Jin Ho, Heo Joon Ho, Han Ye Ri, and Shin Eun Soo as the little girl in the red cape that changes Im Joong Kyung's path.

​

The stunning cinematography is captured by the wonderful Lee Mo Gae, the award-winning DOP who started his career shooting for Kim on A Tale Of Two Sisters. Returning to work with him on The Good, The Bad, The Weird, and I Saw The Devil, Lee delivers a constant array of gorgeous visuals that make Illang: The Wolf Brigade worth watching. Of course, these are even more impressive when the Wolf Brigades armoured suits are brought into play – utilising the glowing red eyes with some great lighting and shadows, which makes for many incredibly memorable scenes and some highly stylised cinematography. Composer Mowg (Lee Sung Hyun) returns to work with Kim once again after providing some award winning scores for the director on titles like I Saw The Devil and The Age Of Shadows, and covering Kim Jee Woon's Hollywood debut on The Last Stand starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. With a lengthy filmography behind him as a composer, Mowg continues to entertain with his work on Illang: The Wolf Brigade creating some haunting tracks that really fit the piece beautifully. Between them, both Lee and Mowg (along with Kim) give the very best of Hollywood, something to be concerned about – backed by some great CGI and VFX shots that ramp things up and make this production an incredibly stunning piece...

​

Although Kim Jee Woon has based the story off the original Jin-Roh, he has definitely brought more than enough alterations and changes in that was undoubtedly one of the main complaints with fans of the anime. One of these changes would be with the action, something that was lacking somewhat in the original material. And although that's not necessarily a bad thing, I always felt it would have been great to see those soldiers in more action with that cool armour and glowing eyes. Thankfully, Kim Jee Woon does just that and offers up a healthy dose of incredible battle scenes – mixing martial arts and gun-play that would make John Woo himself envious. The highlights for me would be the opening attack on the Sect members base, an epic set-piece in and around the Namsan Tower in Seoul, and the final 30 minutes which includes an epic shoot-out in the sewers as well as Joong Kyung facing off against his old boss! All in all, Illang: The Wolf Brigade may not be perfect, but it still has more than enough great moments going on to keep it in line with Kim Jee Woon's track record of highly entertaining movies

​

Overall: Although it may prove a little complicated to follow at times, Illang: The Wolf Brigade is still hugely ambitious with plenty of gorgeous visuals and amazing action to keep you watching!