Movie: Hwayi (18)Rating: 4.5/5South Korean Cinema is getting creative with stories day-by-day. This film HWAYI, too is one such action thriller packed with powerhouse performances, electrifying action sequences, touching emotions, and of course, a very new and creative story.I was excited since long to watch HWAYI as the trailer and its synopsis impressed me highly. I decided to check out the film. I couldn't do it earlier but when I watched it, I was left totally spellbound by the excellence of the film.I've never seen a film like HWAYI before. The story's quite new, unique and different, due to which it turns out to be highly impressive. Performances are a major plus of the film, as are the emotions and the action sequences. The visual effects too are impressive. One emotional sequence in the second hour had me feeling too much for the characters involved in it. I felt very sad and I felt that even after the film ended.If this happens, then it means the director has succeeded in his attempt. No doubt he did!Kim Yoon-seok...I have no words for his performance. He's the most natural actor I've ever seen. He never acts. He lives every character he plays. Here he proves why he's one of the best South Korean actors. Yeo Jin-goo is impressive in his first attempt, and his performance shows he has a long way to go. The screenplay is wonderfully written and presented on screen. The film grips from the very first scene and entertains you throughout the enrtire duration, and heading towards a climax which is excellent and makes you feel emotional.No doubt that HWAYI lives up to every single expectation one can have from it.

Hwayi - Truly Monster !!Just jaw dropping ! The story is so brilliant that i didn't even moved from my seat while watching this. The main spine in this movie is the story it self. Park ju seok created a masterpiece out of this. Its thrilling, Engaging, mysterious. I praise Jang Joon Hwan for his excellent take on the debut. Acting by Kim Yoon Seok, Cho Jin Woong, Jan gung sun, Park jae joon , makes this flick into some heights. Yeo jin goo's hero role became alive cos of Kim yoon seok's acting with him. Mowg's music is beautiful, like the Kim ji young's cinematography. For any thriller movie lover, this wont disappoint you for sure ! 8 out of 10

The shootout at the end saved this for me.It's pretty good, with some some real flair.The build up to it, as SK cinema standards and practices dictate I GUESS, takes way too long and none of the melodrama, mystery or monster stuff works.With some swift editing, you could have a lean and mean 90 minute revenge movie with teeth but this just winds up being a too long distraction.But that shootout, that was really well done. I would probably watch that one bit on Youtube again sometime.

I would have probably enjoyed this movie when I was in my early teens over now. Despite all the blood and gore in this. The acting is good, but couldn't really get immersed into the characters or the story. I guess they did the best they could with 2 hours and multiple different characters. The rising star Yeo Jin-goo is still rough around the edges but still good for such a young actor. I think his acting chops will continue to grow, plus he already beats out other Korean actors that are older when it comes to acting. Another actor that stood out is Kim Sung-Kyun but that is because he seemed to be impersonating the Joker. The plot is similar to something from a graphic novel which I thought was cool. Unfortunately most of the areas in the movie just seemed so darn underdeveloped and rushed at times. Making certain situations not as gripping or even to the point of not making much sense. The situations could have been more tense if there was more development in the story and characters. It's a good movie to boost Yeo Jin-goo as a rising star, but it's not a thriller that sticks with you like "The Chaser" 2008. The plot is passable and the action for the most part is realistic and good to great acting to go along with it. I give it a 6.5/10.6.5/10