Fluid Renegades (2021)

Spiritwalker – one of the best fantasy action films with exceptional acting techniques

Outstanding. I went to watch Spiritwalker at NYAFF (New York Asian Film Festival) because of the main lead Yoon Kye Sang, who is one of the best South Korean actors when it comes to action movies. By the time it ended, I was really impressed with the story and the performance of all the actors, including the supporting ones. The movie itself is excellent. For those who watched The Outlaws, already know how talented Yoon Kye Sang is in action roles. For those who didn’t watch it, I highly recommend both. For a good reason it won the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema. I won’t spoil it, but it has everything that it needs to be a successful movie, full of action combined with subtle comedy, and delivers some strong messages. I cannot wait for it to be released in theater to watch it again.

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interesting movie

Amnesia has often been a key element in actions films and Yoon Jae-keun’s work also makes use of it to an entertaining effect here. The protagonist’s dilemma of trying to recall who he is while moving bodies is however a unique one and puts a fresh spin not just on the memory loss notion but on body swap too. The issue of identity, of course, is a key theme here as the hero tries to hold on to tiny threads to figure out his own true self, to emotions and memories that make him “him”. This is all rather high-concept in nature but Yoon doesn’t aim to rewrite the genre rulebook here and besides a few minor plotholes, manages to make the straight-forward story narration flow at a fast pace. Throw in one of Korean cinema’s favourite element, bureaucratic corruption, and it results in a decent mix.

“Spiritwalker” comes to life as soon as the action sequences start. Hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, car chases, foot chases- you name it, “Spiritwalker” has got it and got it good. If the close quarters fight sequence remind of the similarly amnesia themed The Bourne series, the large-scale action set pieces show off the production’s lavish scope. In general, the feature’s cinematography follows Hollywood standards but plays a big part in heightening the impact of the action sequences by keeping flowing camera movements and minimal edits which help highlight the stunt work. The climactic shootout particularly underlines these aspects well, in addition to showing off the impressive action choreography. The music also has an adequate but familiar feel,reminding of similar works in the genre.

Yoon Kye-sang was last seen in an action film as the antagonist in the smash-hit “The Outlaws” and the producers of that film clearly saw merit in his performance there, casting him in yet another production of theirs here. If his performance doesn’t have the dramatic effect that it did in the 2017 film, he fares a lot better in the action department. His portrayal of the confused man figuring out many things at once is believable and Yoon makes him likeable and easy to follow around, but it stops short of being memorable. The action, however, ensures that his work here remains impactful. Lim Ji-yeong gets a couple action sequences herself as Moon Jin-ah, the mysterious woman our protagonist’s story is somehow tied to. Park Yong-woo is mostly watchable as the antagonist Park, but an odd writing choice near the end makes the character, and thus Park’s performance, lose necessary gravitas.

Korean cinema seems to be on a mission to reinvent and make a name for itself in the action genre in recent years. “Spiritwalker” successfully manages to be an absorbing watch that takes an overused plot device and gives it a fresh spin and, in the process, manages to have its name registered alongside the select few impressive productions in the genre in recent years from the country.

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Excellent Filmography & Action Sequences

The movie has an interesting premise and I was excited to give it a try. From the beginning, the story was executed very smoothly and with great mirror/reflection sequences to show what the main character currently looked like. It was really cool to see those reflections used so creatively without any problems. As you watch through the movie, you will slowly piece together the entire story at what I thought was a relatively good pace. However, there were some moments where it felt a bit slow and some unclear parts about the plot that were left unanswered. Also, there are many great fight sequences in the movie which were fun to watch. The cast was also amazing, especially Yoon Kyesang, who pulled off the action scenes and body switches really well. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a great action movie.

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A Good One time watch for me

Spiritwalker
2020 Action/Mystery Movie
1h 48m

Synopsis:
"Unable to remember anything about his life, a man begins regaining consciousness in a new body every 12 hours. Now, he must piece together his identity, all while evading attacks from pursuing agents and dangerous criminals alike."

PROS:
◇The way it throws you in the middle really liked how we knew what the character knew.
◇The action scenes were really great!
◇Enjoyed the fast pace
◇The leads the couple both actors did AMAZING in this genre. Definitely will check out more projects by them.

CONS:
◇The amount of strong language, not a fan, they over did it in my opinion.
◇That club scene was a little weird could have done without.
◇The twists weren't HUGE if you were familiar with the genre.

Overall, I'm glad I picked it up, and it was a great Friday night movie.

Content /Trigger Warning:
(Minor spoilers)
◇Drug Abuse
◇Murder
◇Violence
◇Strong Language
◇Insinuated Sexual activity (at a club)

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