Notable Cast: Park Hae-il, Byun Yo-han, Ahn Sung-ki, Son
Hyun-joo, Kim Sung-kyu, Kim Sung-kyun, Kim Hyang-gi, Ok Taec-yeon
War of the Arrows with its blend of historical
setting and marital arts action easily had me smitten. When he returned to that
style with The Admiral: Roaring Currents, I was also relatively smitten.
The style was epic, in both visuals and tone, and naval warfare at its center
was as dynamic as Choi Min-sik was in in the titular role. Thus, when Kim Han-min
decided to make another film in the same ilk as The Admiral with Hansan:
Rising Dragon, it was hard not to get excited. The man has a knack for the
genre and style.
Yet, throughout the experience of Hansan, I was never
swept away in its wake. It fulfills all the necessary components laid out by
his previous two films, but it is one that felt more formulaic and drab this
time around.
Perhaps, it is the fact that by this time the style isn’t as
thrilling as it was the first two times around. Hansan is hitting a lot
of the same beats as The Admiral in both its style and narrative. The
first half is, predictably, setting the stage for the massive sea battle of its
second half. While that kind of structure is a tried-and-true narrative payoff,
so much of the time spent with the characters – of which there are roughly two
billion various generals, admirals, and other military names that pop up on
screen, is meant to be building the tension of the military tactics more than
the people involved in it.
There are some secondary plotting elements regarding the
people involved, including some traditional ones like a teacher/student dynamic
with the lead character and an elder general or some spy material that features
a young woman who valiantly defies the baddies by rendering herself incapable
of speaking, most of it felt increasingly trite. It is as if Hansan runs
through all the fitting emotional elements for a historical war drama, but most
of it is simply running through the motions. The performances carry most of the
material through to make sure that it works, but the film is not nearly as interested
in their characters arcs as how they serve the plot and, thus, it sorely lacks
a presence like Choi Min-sik provided for The Admiral.
When the massive sea battle of its finale finally erupts
though, it’s hard to deny just how effective Hansan was at setting up
the action and how impressive it is to watch. It is built on the pacing of a
traditional battle sequence, but the brutality of the shipwrecks and how Kim
Han-min manages to imbue the emotion of death upon large inanimate objects
cannot be understated. It’s a thrill a minute by the end, even with its massive
amount of CGI, and it makes for one of the most engaging action set pieces in cinema
this year.
Still, when it came down to it, Hansan: Rising Dragon
felt like the least effective of Kim Han-min’s historical action films he has
made thus far. It’s still impressively made, featuring stunning costume and
production values that pop off the screen and performances that burn with
subtle characterizations that help propel the focus of maritime warfare. It’s
just that, of the three thus far, it feels the most like it’s moving through
the motions rather than finding its flow.
Perhaps it is the kind of film that deserves a second glance
before a final say, but for now Hansan gets a light recommendation for
more casual fans. If you loved The Admiral though, it’s an easy
recommendation to watch.
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