Wow, Hollywood has a real problem here. This is the best big budget popcorn movie I have seen in a long time. I just watched "The Expendables 2," and if you are looking for that same kind of essentially simple action-adventure, this movie is vastly better. The plot is tight, it has far superior acting (admittedly, not saying much considering Stallone and company), and the cinematography is lush and excellent. Also, I don't usually comment on soundtracks, but this one is a new classic, an outstanding modern take on that of an old- time spaghetti western. This movie starts moving at the very beginning and never lets up, yet it doesn't degenerate into total mindless blood splattering like, for instance, "The Expendables 2" did. (Watch this movie into the credits or you won't see the entire ending.) This movie is subtitled, but it has an undemanding plot, so that shouldn't deter anybody. It's basically just a very well-made Korean spaghetti western with a lot of casual violence, but with profoundly better humor than most American movies of this kind are capable of nowadays. America might be in trouble here, first Korean automobiles go from junk to quality, and now it seems like their film industry is doing a repeat. About the only thing an American should know is that this movie is grounded in the history of Asia in the period right around the WWII, when Japan aggressively expanded its empire into large parts of the region. (If you are going to be a stickler, I don't really believe that those Jeeps, which I think are post-WW II license-built copies, really belong in this movie--I doubt there really should be Jeeps of any kind at all in this movie.) If the mostly cartoonish, but occasionally more realistic, violence doesn't bother you, then just sit back and enjoy the ride this Tarantino-lite movie has to offer (I don't personally much care for Tarantino-extreme anyhow).

I don't want to compare it to "The good, the bad and the ugly" but movie's English title is asking for it. A quick summary on IMDb show similar premise. If you add some high praise from friends and good ratings; there seem to be no reason to not watch the eastern take on one of the greatest western movie.No reason, except, the movie is mostly boring and frustrating on several occasions.Let's first cover the good things. I liked the acting of the "weird" character. End.Now, many people like the action and praised it for being exciting and funny. I found it annoying because you'll soon learn that gods were always on good guys' side, so all the shooting was pointless as they won't let any harm happen to the protagonists. So much was the luck of good guys that only antagonist's guns was out of bullets.With such odds, where is the excitement? Then there was length of fight/chase scenes, they were long and repetitive like wagons of freight train. They added nothing to story or created any kind of tension,they just added to length of movie and boredom.Finally, there were some unnecessary complications.The background of Korea Independence struggle didn't helped the story, it seem to me that it was only added to mimic the backdrop of original movie. Some other spoiler worthy complications at the end were too unnecessary to care.In summary, this movie is like a bad video game with, unoriginal plot repetitive stages,bad enemy AI and forced complexity which may leave you unsatisfied.

A western from the eastern side of the world, The Good, the Bad, the Weird is a slick, stylish & rousing adventure of gunshots, violence & vengeance from director Kim Ji-woon (A Bittersweet Life & I Saw the Devil) and, as perceivable from its name, is hugely inspired from Sergio Leone's spaghetti western classic, The Good, the Bad & the Ugly but pays homage to not just that film but Leone's entire Dollars trilogy & Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark as well.Set in Manchuria at the time of World War II, this South Korean western tells the story of three gunslingers whose paths cross each other in pursuit of a treasure map. The Good is a bounty hunter who's hired by the Chinese rebels to possess the map. The Bad is a ruthless bandit who's also looking for the map. And the weird is a robber who gets to the map first without knowing its significance, thus bringing unwanted attention from the other two as well as Japanese army & Manchurian bandits.Honestly, this film surprised me greatly. I'm a big fan of how Leone masterfully redefined the western genre with his take on the Wild West and the source of this film's inspiration ranks amongst my top 5 favourite films of all time, so the bar was raised pretty high but this film still manages to effortlessly exceed it. What Kim Ji-woon has done here is an absolute treat to watch. Engaging from its opening moments, the film boasts quality action at short intervals throughout its runtime & is entirely encapsulated with rib-tickling humour, thus making it a roller-coaster ride of emotions & entertainment which culminates with an unexpected twist in the end.Written with clear imagination with an original plot build over an adapted story, the narration feels very smooth with not a single moment of dullness, the cinematography brings a nostalgic feeling of its genre by wonderfully capturing the desert wilderness, editing is near-perfect, the music is another milestone and the performances by the trio is simply brilliant, with Song Kang-ho & Lee Byung-hun turning out to be best as the Weird Yoon Tae-goo & the Bad Park Chang-yi, respectively. While Kang-ho provides the maximum comic relief, Byung-hun puts up one of the most stylish villains on-screen in a long time & stole every moment he appeared in.On an overall scale & in my opinion, there hasn't been a western as amazing, exciting & entertaining as this in the 21st century at least and I have no shadow of a doubt in admitting that The Good, the Bad, the Weird is not only the finest western of the past decade but also one of the greatest films of its genre. Every moment of homage is treated with respect, every moment of action is inventive & intense and every sequence feels fresh, re-imagined & brimming with expert use of humour. One of the best films of its year, Kim Ji-woon's salute to spaghetti western classics is destined to bring smile, joy & laughter on the faces of fans of its genre. In short, Sergio Leone would've been proud.Full review at: cinemaclown.wordpress.com

This is a stunning visual film to watch. The cinematography is exceptional through-out the movie. The framing, the lighting and the colors are outstanding. This alone makes the movie a joy for me to see.The problem with the film is that it lacks depth. The director uses archetypes from the Italian Westerns of the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the dialogue and action is lifted directly from Sergio Leone's "man without a name" opus. Most obviously The Good, The Bad and the Ugly; but also a heavy splattering of the others. The problem is not the reworking of Leone's work, but I do not think the director quite understands how to work subtext into his script. In fact, the director leaves far too much exposition to the end which makes the movie drag at the end of the epic battle scene (I thought this might be a cultural issue, but I do not know if it is).Another thing that bothers me (and here comes my western sensibilities), I know stunts.... and there were horses hurt during the filming of the battle scene. The reason I say this is that I could see trip wires. So for the photography I give this film 6 points out of 10. I also suggest that the director rent some of the Ford Westerns. As good as Leone was Ford was better.