Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Wordiezett So much average

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

elshikh4 It's a very funny cartoonish flick, nearly a good modern fairytale with all the cool Kung-Fu and the dexterous special effects, but this movie could, inadvertently, raise the predicament of the genre's holiness !Look at it, from the start it's nothing but the action comedy that close to visual farce, with all the lovely elements of fantasy. THEN suddenly, at the third act, it's the bloody violent action ! Where almost all of the nice characters of the old minters got killed, the last one got tortured, and a long sequence of one last, very serious and too rough, battle !! Is it a sin?, is it the way we used to watch? Is it a no no when it comes to renewal the genre a bit? Actually when they had done it in a way made the taste strange to weaken the movie as well as disturb its own condition, then something really is wrong. We've learned that mostly there is no killing at the comedy, so how about THIS comedy in particular which was apparently too light to be dark ! You'd sense oddity like being with unstable personality ! Moreover after being straight harsh at the climax, it returns at the anticlimax - irritatingly I think - to be that smiling childish venture again ?!!Just compare the beautiful intro scene (which's great and promising), or the droll sequence of training the hero, with all the body count, or the HEEE and HOOO of the end's fight to catch on that there was something unusual about it ..Or correctly badly unusual ! (Arahan) proves how the Korean cinema gets a lot of great potentials (wonderful action, big production, advanced technique, clever imagination..). But (Arahan) also suffers from being comic fantasy that skewed a little for tenebrous mood and drastic nastiness. As the script sorrowfully manipulated the whole thing not to shake the genre up !, but to make a statement about the capability of creating a strong action, yet inharmoniously.It was 2 unfinished movies, undoubtedly well-made, but you'd feel uneasy as the sweet becomes sour at times, and you'd be unsatisfying as none of the 2 was totally complete.

chrichtonsworld Arahan is an action/fantasy with a lot of humour. There is a lot of enjoyable martial arts with use of wire works and CGI. The theme concerning the main character who has great power but is not aware of it reminded me of Kungfu Hustle. Like in that movie the main character possesses great power that has to be unleashed. It is always fun to see someone train and watch someone get stronger and more skilled. Personally I can't get enough of these kind of stories. Especially when they are fun and provide a lot of eye candy. Even when this movie is meant to make you laugh it can be very serious at times. The balance between laughter and drama is great. It never gets too much. I enjoyed this film from start till finish. One of the better action comedies.

Shawn Watson I ain't no fan of chop-socky Asian martial arts movies. You could run off a list of any of the 1000 films Jet Li made before going to America and I'd say, 'Um...Kiss of the Dragon?' So, that's how bad my knowledge and devotion is. It was surprising therefore to discover that Arahan is actually a very funny and very exciting movie that zips along loud, fast and funny.Sang-Hwan is a lowly beat cop. He's clumsy, accident prone and bumbles more than the average bee. He doesn't believe he has any special powers, but when he makes friends with a group of five old masters, they recognise his potential and recruits him to help preserve the balance of the world from evil...or something. Which is great timing, because an ancient bad guy has come out of a long, long hibernation to seek the key to the ultimate nirvana and spread order over the whole world...or something.Yes, it's gobbledygook. In fact, it's alarmingly similar to Bulletproof Monk, only not total crap. There are loads of laughs to be had. Arahan has a great sense of comic timing and the ability to jump from silly gags to serious action in just a few seconds.When it comes to plain old hands-and-feet fighting, Hollywood movies seem to be lacking of late. It's all CGI and spandex. Eye candy it may be, but it's good to see something filled with practical fighting effects, despite the final showdown going on a bit.The one bad thing that costs it half a star is the nasty Eighties synthesised score. Doesn't Korea have anything better than those shoddy Yamaha keyboards that I used in music class in high school? Hell, I could do better myself.You can criticise the film for being mindless - hey, just because it's subtitled doesn't mean it's artsy fartsy - but for two hours of fun, Arahan will do nicely.

dbborroughs This is the story of the Seven Masters who recruit a bumbling police officer into their group in order when its discovered that he possesses a high level of Chi. The timing is very fortuitous since an ancient enemy has awoken and is once more spreading evil in the world.I first read about this movie when several on-line reviews said that this was destined to be the next big thing in movies. Later reviews were positive, but were less glowing noting that the film has several parts that don't fully mix together. I'm in the camp with the later reviews since I find the mixture of styles works against the parts.I should begin with the action. If you want to see great action this is the movie for you. Hand to hand and weapons such as swords are used through out the film to great effect. Sure its done with wires and computers, but it doesn't matter since its so much fun to look at. Very often you watch the madness on screen and go "OH Cool" even though you know how its done. I loved when our hero throws a cup at the villain who catches it on the flat end of his sword, and then sends it spinning back with even more force. Amazing.(You really should try this film for the action if nothing else.) The humor in this film is both knowing and very funny. The opening round-table of the masters discussing the difficulty of training is priceless, especially if you've seen any martial arts movies. There is a nice friendly edge to it, that is mostly right on target. The problem is that our hero is often much to bumbling to be believed, especially after he's been in the training program for a while. The too slapsticky attitude is what really hurts the movie since there is no natural progression, just silliness for silliness sake (The ending for example).The cast and the characters are great. These are people you can really root for. The villain is also suitably evil.If you were to take all of the movies parts and look at them separately you'd be amazed at how good they all are. The problem is that when you put the bits together the film doesn't quite work together. As I said the slapstick doesn't hold up all the way through. The film is overly jokey at times, even in serious moments. Its hard to keep a light edge when characters are spewing blood and being run through with swords. It takes a bit of the love for the film away and leaves you with admire and simply like. The film also suffers from a pacing problem with slow period in the middle with the training bookended by a funny beginning and an action packed end.Still I think you should give the movie a shot especially if you like action movies, especially when they have a humorous side to them. In all probability you're going to be like me and like this movie, but you won't love it.