- Sensibility: This great real story is unfortunately bloated with tons of nonsense dramatic fillers that it detracts from the film's quality in a major way. Particularly unpleasant features include
a focus on taxi drivers heroism, a few plain-clothes officials regular presence, running into shootings, multiple car chases, miraculous survivals, an airport escap, and a method for hiding contraband.
- Cinematography: The film has a few moments that do a good job of capturing the police brutality and the riots, but they don't have a lot to offer visually.
The car chase sequences also have some sound design issues. On top of this, there are some so-so CGI and rather lackluster production design.
- Energy: The constant barrage of over-dramatized nonsense makes some of this film hard to swallow. It's strange that filmmakers feel the need to push for heartstrings drama with
incredible true stories like this one that would be better when communicated closer to the truth.
- Narrative: The story is by far the weakest part of the film. The back-and-forth decision making of the main character gets old fast, the over-dramatized, and obviously untrue, heroism of the taxi drivers, particularly in their
defense in the final car chase is loathesome, and the stories alignment to the truth where the two friends never re-unite doesn't work with the taxi driver character written in the film.
- T-Points: The film received one bonus point for the brutality of the shooting scene from the Korean military.
True stories can, and often should, be told just as they are. Documentary films are successful for this very reason. The blockbuster twists on a great true story rarely add value.
Number of Watches: 1
