Fabricated City (2017)

Fantastic movie! Didn't know what to expect but it had a great story, good pacing and spot-on acting by Ji Chang Wook and the rest of the cast. The movie definitely has its serious moments which I personally think was necessary to invest the audience with the sense of justice that Kwon Yul, the protagonist, feels is due to him. Great edge of your seat action, right amount of suspense to make you wonder about what will happen next, at times laugh-out-loud wit and comic sense, and great acting by the cast. And of course, all of this brought on by great execution by director Park Kwang Hyun.

Movies like this make me think positively about the future of Korean cinema because outside the smoke and mirrors of domestic and international awards, what Korean cinema lacks is tight execution and good old storytelling of otherwise creative concepts. Sometimes I feel Korean movies focus too much on sensationalism (be it gruesomeness or eroticism bordering on pornography), technical camera work and production value rather than storytelling, character development and execution. It's nice to see a movie that is well-made and reminds us of the fun of going to the movies. Nicely done.

Leggi di Più

An extravagance of fast paced visually appealing action

Whelp...I watched this cause I'm a fan of the lead actor, especially in action dramas, he puts so much emotion into most of his roles and he's a total hottie. I really didn't expect much more than some late night eye candy, but this Movie definitely did not disappoint. This movie combines the "gamer friends meet up IRL to battle bad guys" theme with the "wrongly accused and fight to prove your innocence" theme. To be fair, I'm probably predisposed to liking this movie because I'm a gamer chick and anything where gamers kick ass is a 10 in my book (plus, let's be honest, I'd really like to think the dudes on the other end of my Discord calls are as hot as Ji Chang-Wook).

The movie itself is a fire hose of action and splashy high-tech concepts all sort of projectile vomited at you while Ji Chang-Wook sprints and spins across your screen. The lead antagonist is essentially a serial killer whose turned his passion into his occupation. At first, I wasn't sold on the actor choice for the bad guy or his acting, but as the movie progressed I ended up 100% on board with hating his rotten guts. Dude has an outburst at one point where he's so excited and pissed off at the same time that he's literally drooling on himself while he grins and flops his inept body around a kitchenette. He looked legitimately evil and I was pretty impressed by his performance from that point on.

The biggest downside to this movie is that it tries to do SO MUCH in such a small amount of time (vs a 16 hour drama setting). So whereas in a drama like Vincenzo you'd see them pull off crazy shit and then they'd backtrack to show you the setup, in this much shorter platform they've basically kept the "pull off crazy shit" and just not bothered with the how of it all. That leads to some pretty sizeable plot holes where you have to suspend your disbelief a little bit. But then...it doesn't seem like they were really going for in-depth cerebral mind blast so much as pure action badassery.

One scene I really enjoyed was a fight scene in a pitch dark room between the hero and a group of bad guys. He cuts the lights and throws grains of rice to hear from the sound where the bad guys are. The way they've depicted that scene is pretty cool, the sounds are represented by sort of splashing paint on objects in an fluorescent aqua light. It was pretty well done and looked incredibly sick. I appreciated the typical Korean storytelling mastery of taking an innocent seeming object (in the case the rice) and planting it earlier in the movie with an innocuous scene and then tying it back in as a key plot point later on.

Overall I'd give it a pretty high rating as a fast paced action with extravagant fight/car/tech scenes. I'd for sure rewatch it, but mostly because the lead actor is legit badass.

Leggi di Più

Not Worth Watching

This was pretty bad. I found it on Tubi and was so excited because I have always wanted to watch it since watching Ji Chang Wook in The K2, but I was so disappointed. It felt like it was so rushed. It fell into the same issue of Korean entertainment seeming to only be capable of writing shows and not movies. The only movie I've loved that's Korean is The Dude in Me, and that remains to be the case still.

I loved Ji Chang Wook in this still because, I mean, he's one of the best actors out there, period. But, even he could not save this movie. It felt like it lacked an actual story. The progression felt stunted and some people seemed to die for no reason. Several actors in this did a great job, it's just that their characters needed to be fleshed out more. It felt like it needed to be a short series with more character development and explanation. As it was, it was just a rushed production where the story fell flat and the characters didn't make much sense. They basically did the "tell, don't show" instead of "show, don't tell."

Well, I won't give up on the Korean movies, but the latest two that I watched did nothing to fuel any desire to pick up another movie anytime soon.

Leggi di Più

keeps you on the edge of your seat as if you are waiting for football player score a winning goal!

Overall - 9/10

It was an extremely fun film to watch. It kept me on the edge of my seat praying that Kwon Yu would make it through his next obstacle. The plot has a lot of potential for a sequel, or trilogy, or even better - a drama. I am desperately hoping for a second film!

Cast - 9/10

The cast was the highlight of this film for me. Everyone played their parts very well. Ji Chang-Wook embodied the metamorphosis of his character. I could see Kwon Yu’s journey clearly from a unemployed gaming addict who became a powerless victim to a strategic fighter for revenge and justice. I enjoyed the age and personality diversity within the gamer team! Their team chemistry was great. Most importantly Ji Chang-Wook never disappoints especially in the action genre!

Story - 8.5/10

The story was enjoyable and easy to understand while keeping the tension strong. The gaming world touch to the film made it unique and added to the enjoyment. I would have enjoyed a little bit of context when it came to the criminal organisation and the main antagonist, especially since they played such an important role in the story. I felt that the even though the ending gave closure to story that was built, it also left somewhat of an opening ending with a lot of room for continuation. I’d love to see the sequel to this film soon! They have a lot more to explore and so much room to continue the plot. There were many stones left unturned in the first film which could be revealed in a sequel. In my opinion, the plot is highly suited for a drama. I can see myself getting hooked from start to finish if this film ever gets remade as drama.

Thanks for reading, hehe <3

Leggi di Più

Kwon Yoo, my favourite anti-hero

It's April 4th, 2023, and this movie is already 5 years old. Why write a review of this film now, then? Simply because I just watched "Fabricated City" again, for the umpteenth time. I've lost count of the number of times I've watched it since its release in 2017, but easily 5 or 6 times I think. That is to say, I love this movie. And I said to myself that it well deserved that I finally give my opinion on it here.

Is it a perfect movie? No, but no movie is really perfect, I think. As with any artistic work, there is a large part of subjective opinion linked to the emotions experienced by the viewer, apart from the intrinsic qualities of an art work. However, from the first time I saw it, "Fabricated City" has always been a 10/10 for me, and I still have so much fun watching it.

I'm not particularly a fan of action movies, although I can enjoy those kinds of movies if I like the main actors or if the story is well put together. In this case, it was because I was already a big fan of Ji Chang Wook that I watched "Fabricated City". But I also remember that I was really interested by it following the movie trailer. As I put it in the title, it is especially for the character of Kwon Yoo, played by Ji Chang Wook, that I like this film. He is, for me, one of the best anti-heroes characters I have seen in a film, Asian, European or American cinemas combined.

I really like the story of "Fabricated City". Nothing very innovative or particularly original, admittedly, themes already seen through other stories, but a logical progression of the story, with good twists, perfectly executed action scenes, a little bit of well dosed humour, suspense as it should be, and above all a very successful start and a coherent plot progression that keeps you intrigued until the end.

For me, the casting is perfect. Very good actors, all consistent in their respective roles, and showing skills and talents. Of course, totally captivated by Ji Chang Wook. I think he was able to perfectly embody Kwon Yoo, who is, as I wrote before, the perfect anti-hero. We can only love and become attached to such a character, I believe. Ji Chang Wook's natural charm does the rest.

The soundtrack is just perfect for the movie. Probably not the best cinematic music around, but it goes perfectly with the movie.

To conclude, therefore, a film to watch, and to watch again without counting, in my opinion (it is clearly the case for me).

Leggi di Più

Ahh well! Being a Ji Chang Wook fan I cannot miss watching this film even though I knew this genre was not exactly my glass of juice(I do not drink tea or coffee...hence the modified idiom :P)

But still for a fair review... I just had to closed my eyes and I could still feel my heart racing, could hear the screeching cars, blaring sirens and ear splitting guns shots....felt almost like I just finished a game of NFS (an updated version of it...maybe!)

The movie had a familiar plot that was wound around Hi-Tec visuals to give you all the feels of a gaming world. Story revolved around how the unemployed strata of the society become scapegoats to the country's social economic "higher-ups" and how a bunch of online gamers get together to fight them successfully after one one of them was falsely accused.

Acting was on point! As for Ji Chang Wook fans, it is a disappointment as there are not many scene where you can go all heart eyes over his sweet face or his hunky body... but for all you gamming fans out there, it is a fast paced action packed treat you would not want to miss!

Liked the fact that a pixie looking young girl was the master hacker who helps, in place of a stereotypical nerdy boy that is the usual!

Over all the movie did a fair job in its genre and you can watch it ...for it is a visual treat for all action lovers!

Leggi di Più

Graphic Violent and hard to watch.

RANT! Just Skip Fabricated City! Friday night Just me and my Wook. The Good news is that I really love seeing JCW... he can bring the action and the tears and everything in between. The bad news is I forget how "gritty" Movies tend to be. The entire movie was so very grim and hard to watch. The (action) movie progressed so quickly that it left zero time for character development. The tragic events happening to JCW's character was horrific but I felt a sense of disconnect because I knew nothing about the character and was hoping that the movie would slow down on the graphic events to show us the effects on the characters psyche and motivation. Instead it is glossed over with more action and violence. The Bad guy is a predictable and badly written Bond villain (not as bad as the King 2Hearts Villain). My last rant for this movie is that someone in editing decided to speed up all the foot chases and car chase scenes. It makes the movie seem cheap and poorly produced.
Trigger warning this show is very violent and JCW bears the brunt of all this violence.. It also has a very graphic scene in prison which is hard to watch and unnecessary! My final assessment... Skip this movie... especially if you are a JCW fan... You will thank yourself later

Leggi di Più

Of course, I decided to watch this movie because of the cast. I remember when it was released in 2017, a lot of people were talking about it. And I can understand why.

Besides increasing Kwon Yoo's determination when he was in prison, higher technology plays a large role in this movie. I like it. The concept of picking people who fit into being the criminal in a given crime and framing them is interesting. But overall, this movie is somehow predictable. It's pretty obvious who the real bad guy is. It's kind of typical, and there's really nothing that makes this movie stand out.

The movie didn't bore me, I watched it with interest, but nothing about it captivated me.

Leggi di Più

I'd say, this movie had a really cool concept, it was dark but I feel they revealed the villain too early and didn't set up how despicable he was enough. I love all of the actors and I enjoyed what characters they brought to life from the script but I felt that things weren't fully explained, the stunts were very cool though. The one thing that upset me the most was at the end when they bring back the rapists from the prison and make a joke of the villain being raped. I found that to be such a cheap knock off joke and prison rape is a serious thing which was shown earlier. Idk, that was the part that made the movie end on a sour note for me.

Leggi di Più