Jung_E

I haven't seen the South Korean horror film Train to Busan, but with a premise that boils down to "Zombies on a Train," I'd know what to expect. While its American remake has stalled in development hell, Busan's director Yeon Sang-ho is back with his latest film, Jung_E. Let's see how it is.

What was supposed to have been the theatrical comeback of iconic actress Kang Soo-yeon instead became her final film after her sudden death last May from a cerebral hemorrhage. Here, she's Yun Seo-hyun, the lead researcher for a special mission. In this unpleasant future, humans have left Earth for space colonies, but three of them declared war on the others as "the Adrian Republic." This war has gone on for over forty-years. Seo-hyun's mission is to create the ultimate robot soldier, Jung_E (Kim Hyun-joo), from the mind of a long comatose war heroine, Yun Jung-yi, her mom. 

Each Jung_E model falters at the particular point the real woman fell in battle. A looming peace treaty might make the project all for nothing. Seo-hyun wants to keep her mother's memory and dignity alive. But she faces resistance from her employers, the evil Kronoid corporation, and her superior, Kim Sang-Hoon (Ryu Kyung-soo). She also faces the return of her childhood lung cancer, whose treatment prompted Jung-yi to enlist. She needs to act fast.

I'm mixed on the visual effects. The CGI robots and sets mesh well with the human actors. But the robots in Jung_E's simulation look like those from an early century video game. A repeated shot of girders falling on a spider-bot is the worst offender. The obviousness sometimes works, especially when Sang-Hoon is revealed to be a robot himself. The climax has Jung_E's consciousness transmitted into another droid. Her and Seo-hyun's final scene together is moving even if the new droid body is emotionless. The action scenes, which are mostly repeated simulations, have a good score by Kim Dong-wook to listen to.

It has some good ideas that could have been better. Take, for example, the war plot, which happens entirely off-screen. It would have been nice to know why it's lasted forever and why it's ending now. There's also the point Jung_E fails in her simulations. A plot point is that Seo-hyun gives her mom a lucky toy to take with her to battle. That seems to imply that indirectly led to her condition. But nothing of the sort comes up. The Kronoid guys also track Jung_E's emotions, noticing an unknown factor is driving her to awesomeness. That factor is also unknown to us because the film doesn't fire that Chekhov's gun. Maybe it's love, but Seo-hyun suppresses that factor for her final simulation before the climax. It's a bit odd, really.

A few more aspects really work. The opening battle efficiently establishes Jung_E's wry personality. She's a strong action heroine even if she's actually a supporting player. Seo-hyun, the actual protagonist, is mostly stoic, which makes her emotional moments (like her final conversation with a Jung_E model) impactful. Sang-Hoon is a petulant robot child and too goofy a serious villain. But that's not the case with the Kronoid chairman (Lee Dong-hee), who first appears as an eccentric goof, but turns callous as the scene goes on. In fact, what we learn about robot-clone rights is pretty bleak. I'll take the victories where I find them.

Jung_E is ready for you to Netflix and chill. Its on-screen characters make up for some imperfect world-building. You'll get used to the visuals despite their aged quality. It's only 99 minutes long, and it was rarely, if ever, boring. Check it out if you're looking for another international blockbuster. I think it might fit that need. Now, for the next review.