What if, repeating the question, history could be changed ? The premise of the film is more political fiction than science fiction, yet if you get at the end of the movie you can see it can be easily labeled as a SF movie.That being said, let us talk about some aspects of the script. Some of the users objected that is "too" patriotic. Since when does patriotism stand for something reproachable ??? Well, some might argue that the "bad" guys must have a different accent or language. Well, in this case they are wrong. For the script is trying to be more accurate then many of the political thrillers around.On the other hand, Jang Dong-gun has yet another role completely different. Just to mention My Way, Tae Guk Gi or Typhoon. Let's think about it a minute. Is this the mark of a great actor ? It surely is.Great music. Why great ? Because it amplifies the dramatic moments very well.As for the rhythm of the movie, it's no surprise. It helps you to embrace the characters and also to be taken in by the story.By the way. Although it CAN be considered an action movie, IT IS NOT. I believe it to be a drama with action moments and pigmented by SF accents.Another useful and interesting comparison, on another level, can be made with My Way. A completely different outcome of the dynamism of the two main characters.Enjoy !

In an alternate time-line, in the near future(with some nifty tech), a young cop finds himself questioning why he and his men are fighting a group of... well, are they terrorists or are they freedom fighters? The story-line is nice and does get resolved, if there are subplots and events that either don't affect anything or, at least to me with my Western eyes, looked strange and unexplained. Maybe it would help if I knew more about Korea, because this is definitely a jingoistic piece on there, from there. Japan has taken over the aforementioned country, and is suppressing their independence. This leads to some melodrama, and though the two hour, 14 minute running time sans credits would be shorter if these instances were mercifully removed, this does really get to you, you find yourself caring and feeling the impact of bullets, and the grip of tension. The acting is pretty good. I watched this with subtitles, not dubbed, and while I had to read along to understand what they were saying, the power of the way they deliver the lines came through quite clearly. The action is all shoot-outs, it's quite well-choreographed, it's stylized(with slow-motion, and "frame-chopping") and it's cool. This has some well-done visuals. The FX are reasonable. There is a lot of bloody violence in this. The DVD comes with 8 and a half minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and four trailers. I recommend this to fans of Asian cinema, and John Woo type flicks. 7/10

It in no way approaches The Lord of the Rings; but there is a lot of historical material that made me want to study what was happening between Japan and Korea in the early part of the 20th Century.I give it 10 because it is a serious movie that doesn't take itself too seriously--as well as being R-rated without all of the women acting like dogs in heat......something Hollywood can't seem to do even in PG-rated movies and animated features...This movie is only for those who can actually think on their own. No review will convey the height, depth, or breadth of it. See it at Blockbuster or Netflix and make up your own mind.

I watched this movie because I thought I'd get some of the Asian-style action movies that I like, or maybe an interesting story based on the what-if situation described in the tag-line. However, the acting is terrible and the movie moves so slowly at times that I found myself fast forwarding and skipping parts of several scenes just to get it over with.. I found watching this movie a waste of time, unless maybe if you are a Corean or Japanese interested in history. Even though the movie picks up a pace at the ending, the overall lousy acting by ALL actors doesn't help the semi-interesting what-if story make an interesting movie. Sorry..