This evaluation comprises slight SPOILERS for the Badland Hunters film on Netflix.
Badland Hunters
Directed by Heo Myung-haeng
Written by Kim Bo-tong & Kwak Jae-min
Starring Ma Dong-seok as Nam-san, Lee Hee-joon as Yang Gi-su, Lee Jun-young as Choi Ji-wan, Ahn Ji-hye as Lee Eun-ho & Roh Jeong-eui as Han Su-na
Set simply a few years after the cataclysmic earthquake proven within the movie Concrete Utopia; Badland Hunters follows a group of survivors who should return to the fated Hwanggung condominium complicated to confront a group of army personnel conducting inhuman experiments to evolve the human race.
If you’ve seen 2023’s Concrete Utopia, watching Badland Hunters makes you do a double take relating to how totally different it feels regardless of happening in the identical universe. While Utopia is extra of a psychological thriller that confronts the evils of humanity on a private degree, Hunters is an action-packed sci-fi romp that confronts the evils of humanity with exhausting punches.
Badland Hunters works as a standalone
If you haven’t seen Utopia, Hunters additionally works as a stand-alone. It doesn’t require any information of its predecessor to observe it. Their connection is downplayed of their releases, as Hunters is on Netflix and doesn’t appear to be marketed as a part of Utopia‘s larger cinematic universe, so that you won’t concentrate on that element when you determined to stream Hunters through a Netflix suggestion.
However, there are very actual connections throughout the movie itself, equivalent to confirming that the earthquake proven in Utopia was a worldwide phenomenon, the Hwanggung condominium complicated as the first setting in each movies and the blink and also you’ll miss it Easter egg in Hunters that exhibits one of many pink X’s smeared on a number of condominium doorways in one in all Utopia‘s key scenes.
What is Badland Hunters about?
The movie facilities on a man named Nam-san (Dong-seok, Marvel’s Eternals), his steward Choi Ji-wan (Jun-young, former singer for U-KISS and UNB), and a younger woman, Han Su-na (Jeong-eui, The Day I Died: Unclosed Case), who is kidnapped by a group of people that declare to be run a college, but really run a entrance for an operation by army survivors and a mad scientist that experiments on youngsters to attempt to construct reptile-human hybrids. Nam-san and Choi, together with the assistance from a former soldier, Lee Eun-ho (Ji-hye, Slate) should then rescue her.
The scientist, Yang Gi-su (Lee Hee-Joon, The Man Standing Next), is a survivor of the cataclysm and is pushed to save lots of his daughter by any means crucial, even when which means being a by-the-numbers dangerous man whose motivation is all we study who he is as a individual. Indeed, lots of this movie’s characters play a singular half, usually not branching out past the three-dimensional. Nam-san, as an illustration, is hinted at having a previous status by those that concern him, however we don’t usually see that explored.
In sum, Nam-san is our good man, and he’ll get the dangerous guys it doesn’t matter what. Despite a lot of this film not rising above the floor degree, I nonetheless loved watching it. Nam-san is a power to root for, and his actions are brutal and sometimes hilarious—a steadiness well-played by Ma Dong-seok, who appears to be having a lot of enjoyable. Lee Jun-young as Choi additionally seems to be like he’s having a blast because the lovable loser who can’t fairly get the woman to note him and may’t dwell as much as the identical moniker as Nam-san.
Emotional performances and stand-out motion
The shining efficiency, nonetheless, goes to Jeong-eui as Han Su-na, who will get a lot of the particular emotional beats within the film. Forced to attempt to outsmart Yang Gi-su and his males whereas nervous about her grandmother, who’s supposed to fulfill her on the condominium, Han Su-na is the glue that binds this whole affair collectively, although everybody does a great job with their elements on this film (there’s nobody I’d say is a weak hyperlink, and that’s good to see).
One component of Hunters that’s worthy of reward is the motion. This is a tough-as-nails film; the hits are available in quick and exhausting, and you may nearly really feel the damaged bones when contact is made. The combating is well-choreographed, and plenty of heads are exploding, so if that isn’t your factor, possibly keep away from this film. However, it added to the cheese issue for me, and I used to be consuming whereas watching this film.
VERDICT: If you watch Concrete Utopia and Badland Hunters back-to-back as a double function—I watched them months aside—it is going to end in an unbelievable expertise of tonally disparate movies. However, it actually gained’t end in a dangerous time, as each movies do a nice job with what every of them is attempting to do. I don’t know if Hunters wanted to exist in a longtime world, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a good time, and I can simply suggest it.
Concrete Utopia is obtainable for hire on Viki, whereas Badland Hunters is obtainable globally on Netflix.
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