Joseon Myungtamjung: Nobui Ddal (2015) Reviews

• Korean Detective story, Watch out Sherlock Holmes

  neerajku2015-05-09

  Saw this on flight. Rarely do Korean movies get released here or on satellite. Though Had seen the earlier movie long time back and had been wanting to see this. Good movie. Dialogues, though I could only make out the subtitles were witty. Modeled on Sherlock and Inspector Closueau but different, sharp and strong on deductive logic but bumbling. Has his won Watson who is resourceful and supportive. One mysterious island, dying kids, threat of large scale to the country/Kingdom, one supposedly femme fatale, few red herrings and false leads. Standard fare. But what distinguishes is the time period, early 17th-18th century Korea, beautiful setting. It was a small screen but would have been so better on large screen. Story has some meat but not much. You would have seen it in many Sherlock serials, detective stories and so on. But logical and will keep you glued. Watch it. You will fall in love with the "quaintness" and when i see quaintness I say with respect. Trying to find some way to see more Korean movies, legally of course.

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• Gets really tedious

  KineticSeoul2015-08-21

  I liked the first one in this franchise. This second one not as much. It just seemed rushed although it took a gap of almost 4 years for this one to come out. The mystery and the case just wasn't as interesing as the first one. The entertainment value is lower this time around, since it just seems more like a rehash than a actual sequel. As a matter of fact the direction gets really redundant. With Detective K constantly running away, constantly using some sort of smoke bomb maneuver and running away some more with his partner. I wonder if he has some fighting skills or not, cause at some points he fights like a badass and at other times he doesn't know anything. I guess, it's to add to the slapstick humor when Detective K gets cornered. It just didn't seem to flow all that well though. And that includes the whole story, which is actually a very simple case but felt all over the place. Even the scenes that were suppose to be striking and impactful just didn't work as a whole, because of the weak and detached build-up. There is some twists which is composed of mainly betrayals, but it seemed pretty cheap. This isn't a awful movie, but it's disappointing seeing how the previous one was actually a good mystery adventure. And this one lacks in a lot of areas. 5.2/10

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• Memorably Terrible

  parknourie2015-07-03

  This film managed to be worse than it's predecessor. How, you may ask when the first film had crappy effects, cheesy dialogue, no plot and laugh-free? By adding lots and lots of dead little girls, of course! There's no attempt at historical accuracy and the acting is below average. Oh Dal-su is a kind of actor who Koreans instantly laugh by him just standing in the scene. But even he can't really save this crap. A lame "action moment" happens when the hero uses a grenade to create diversion and get away while actually not harming anyone. Then it happens again. And then it happens again! And holy cow, it happens again!! The twists aren't really predictable but that's because the film cheats and slavishly ticks all the clichés of this genre when it's obviously inappropriate I guess the first film was harmless (despite being really bad) with some dumb laughs here and there but this one manages to be offensive too. Warning for real bad after-taste since this is the first comedy I've seen where many many young girls end up severely poisoned if not dead already. Thumbs way down. The competition is pretty high in Korean cinema when choosing the worst film of the year, but I know this one will be there since it's memorably terrible.

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• Decent mystery thriller that also serves as parody of itself

  quincytheodore2015-09-15

  Detective K is a niche series that mixes classic Korea setting with modern humor. It's hard not to make reference to Sherlock since it's teeming with similar deduction display as well as borrowing parts of the plot from the other eccentric detective. While the story might seem a tad overused, especially for mystery fans, the comedy aspect is adequately fresh to lighten the mood. This time the case takes the exiled detective to counterfeit money and child abduction scheme. It's built from a few subplots sewn together by betrayal and vengeance, although the movie is far from bleak. The acting and dialogues are geared towards bringing humor which is arguably the movie's strongest point. The jokes are delivered in good timing, often sudden yet incredibly effective. It has a way to put these instances, even though they may seem grim, and squeeze a few laughs here and there. Characters are not entirely menacing or confident, in fact the titular Detective K himself can be a bit of odd ball at times. Script brings his incompetence as merrily as possible for a chance at gag. Its flaws are repetition and constant coincidences. There are so many events where the Detective and his pal are granted literal jail free card or he simply uses the same trick over and over again. It's a bit jarring, especially since the movie tries to pull off its more dramatic moments. Furthermore, the pace tends to screech, rehearsing the same subplot it just told merely minutes before. In these times the corny and slow nature actually hampers the progression. The investigation uses heavy theme, it feels as though the movie doesn't have enough polish in presentation and ends up resorting to heavy handed delivery. However, at heart this is a more comedic showing than gritty noir and it's still a presentably light hearted flick simply due to its spot on humor.

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