Ends up offering nothing more than the latest Schwarzenegger or Stallone flick would.
Shiri (2002)
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Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:21
Rotten:15
Average Rating:5.5/10
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence and some language
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Feb 8, 2002 Limited
Box Office: $29,156
Synopsis: In 1992, Hee was trained by a secret North Korean terrorist organization to be a deadly assassin. Six years later, her extreme accuracy has taken the lives of many in South Korea, and Ryu--a... In 1992, Hee was trained by a secret North Korean terrorist organization to be a deadly assassin. Six years later, her extreme accuracy has taken the lives of many in South Korea, and Ryu--a special agent of OP, Korea's top secret intelligence agency--along with his cohort Lee, have devoted years to capturing slippery Hee to no avail. Ryu keeps his profession a secret from his pretty fiance, Hyun--a recovering alcoholic who runs a tropical fish store. Meanwhile, Hee's organization has hijacked a military truck transporting CTX, an explosive potent enough to destroy the entire city of Seoul, for potential use at a soccer match between North and South Korea, which is being staged as an attempt to heal the rocky relationship between the two countries. Ryu gets word of the potential destruction, but will he be able to find the mysterious Hee and stop it in time? Je-Kyu Kang's high-tech thriller surpassed all box office records in Korea by combining breathtaking action sequences with timely politics. [More]
Starring: Han Suk-Kyu, Choi Min-Sik, Kang-ho Song, Kim Yu-Jin
Starring: Han Suk-Kyu, Choi Min-Sik, Kang-ho Song, Kim Yu-Jin, Derek Kim
Director: Je-Kyu Kang
Director: Je-Kyu Kang
Screenwriter: Je-Kyu Kang
Producer: Lee Kwan-Hak, Byun Moo-Rim
Composer: Lee Dong-Jun
Studio: IDP Distribution
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Reviews for Shiri
For all the realpolitik underpinnings, this is less John le Carre than a tech noir "Die Hard" in downtown Seoul.
An action film that delivers on the promise of excitement, but it also has a strong dramatic and emotional pull that gradually sneaks up on the audience.
A good-looking but ultimately pointless political thriller with plenty of action and almost no substance.
Sometimes makes less sense than the Bruckheimeresque American action flicks it emulates.
Like many Western action films, this thriller is too loud and thoroughly overbearing, but its heartfelt concern about North Korea's recent past and South Korea's future adds a much needed moral weight.
Proves mainly that South Korean filmmakers can make undemanding action movies with all the alacrity of their Hollywood counterparts.
Features explosive effects and flashy action best viewed on a large screen.
Will certainly appeal to Asian cult cinema fans and Asiaphiles interested to see what all the fuss is about.
The script was reportedly rewritten a dozen times -- either 11 times too many or else too few.
Though Shiri's eruptions of violence, mayhem and gunplay are every bit as kinetic and dazzling as anything generated in Hong Kong or Hollywood, the film's primary focus is always on its characters.
There's a neat twist, subtly rendered, that could have wrapped things up at 80 minutes, but Kang tacks on three or four more endings.
The film actually gets to tackle some larger questions than one normally finds in the average fireball drama.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
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| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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