Derek Childs (totalovrdose)
When beginning to watch Flu, you wouldn't be blamed for initially suspecting you had inadvertently stumbled upon a romantic comedy by mistake. After experiencing a car accident, scientist Kim In-Hae (the ravishing Soo-Ae) requires immediate rescue by firefighter Kang Ji-Koo (Jang Hyuk), who finds himself instantly entranced by her appearance, though her lacking charm and frequent criticism initially confronts him. Wanting to gain her favor, Ji-Koo risks his job to salvage files that were lost during her collision, and in so doing, finds himself later meeting In-Hae's daughter, Park Min-Ha (the adorable Kim Mi-Reu), who, although sweet, sports her mother's values and trust issues, which are scaffolded overtime with an explanation about Min-Ha's father.When an unidentifiable contagion is released from a container carrying smuggled refugees, the rapid spread of the infection quickly consumes Bundang, as a reluctant government scrambles to contain the outbreak. In-Hae, because of her background, is one of several personnel called to assist in finding a cure, but when the safety of her daughter, who she's left home alone, is jeopardized because of the escalating situation, she is forced to choose between her work, and her duties as a mother. Having faith in Ji-Koo's abilities, Min-Ha calls him to help her during her time of need, Ji-Joo's attraction to In-Hae turning to dedication, as he goes out of his way to help her and her daughter, a task made difficult by the many disappearing acts Min-Ha orchestrates, due to a repetitive script.Although In-Hae could occasionally be referred to as selfish, prioritizing her daughter over her occupational duties, Ji-Koo on the other hand could almost be described as delusional. The world around him is slowly going to hell, and instead of caring only for those closest to him, he professionally feels responsible for the lives of everyone, a sub-plot that sometimes appears to be used to keep him separated from the ladies he has come to appreciate. Though helping complete strangers is bravely unselfish, Ji-Koo appears unable to realize that without a cure, these people are beyond his capacity to assist, his decision to put his own life in danger, also jeopardizing those he loves in the process.Though the effects used throughout are not Hollywood standard, they easily grasp your attention, and effectively convey the catastrophic nature of what's happening. What Flu does exceptionally well is build tension, the contamination of patient zero slowly leading to a major infection, the film visually detailing how easily the virus is transmitted. Moreover, as each situation reaches a climax, or begins to appear on the verge of solving, another issue emerges that further intensifies the atmosphere, ensuring the audience is always entrenched in the devolving emergency.Furthermore, what sets Flu apart from other disaster films, is its determination to show how horribly self-centered and ruthlessly unemotional humans can be when it comes to self-preservation, and though the film isn't terribly violent, despite there being several scenes with blood, the feature will certainly shock and disturb some viewers with the in-your-face brutality, and unethically inhumane practices bestowed upon the populace, the gradual rise in panic leading to anger and insanity, by both the infected, and those trying to contain the outbreak. In traditional U.S movies moreover, Americans are portrayed as the world police force, who are continuously in the right, and it is interestingly thought-provoking to witness an interpretation from an alternate perspective, that depicts their forceful actions to be, although potentially beneficial, selfish and inhumane. The beginning of the feature conveys to the audience how the film is not based on actual events, a statement potentially provided in regards to not only the content, but the view that foreigners are a threatening force, though at the same time, the film has no issues with equally interpreting South Korean governmental officials as being just as barbaric.Though the pandemic is well developed, some of the side characters are not, with cast members including Cha In-Pyo as the President, and Ma Dong-Seok as a corrupt emergency worker, deserving larger roles to accentuate the importance they played in the narrative. Lastly, Flu could occasionally be accused of going overboard in its depiction of events, however, this being said, the melodramatic atmosphere established during the film, unlike features including Haeundae, remains at an acceptably believable level. Flu is certainly worth viewing for a number of particularly well executed and interestingly entertaining moments, though don't expect every minute of the film to retain this level of enjoyment.
Mark Stromberg
Koreans, our brethren in intelligence. I am proud of you and admire. South Korea occupies the 1st place on the level of intelligence in the world. Then it means something. Ukrainians - 2nd place, immediately after them, after the Koreans. What are the same they are good fellows, those Koreans who have made such a gorgeous, good movie. Although the film is about the epidemic and infected, and the theme supposedly is not new, but the story itself is just amazing. Very well thought-out storyline, and the same scenario. The camera work is beautiful, posing above all praise. The film raises a lot of emotions, how sad and joyful. The idea of a reunion with the little girl and two adults is not new, but in this work is very pleased, very correctly presenting as from a psychological point of view and from in terms of cinematography. Recently Koreans began making movies at the highest level, is not without drawbacks. But for the last period the South Korean cinema often shows itself in a more favorable light than Hollywood. I advise you to see this creation, if anyone has ever seen. Very emotional, especially in bright places, this work will bring you a lot of impressions. This movie - well worth viewing. 2 hours passed and having fun while watching. I have nothing more to add, how to say, that it is very good and great work ...
Ieuan Francis
"The Flu" starts with a group of illegal immigrants being smuggled in a container from Hong Kong to Bundang, near Seoul in South Korea. Somewhere along the journey, a mutated form of Avian Flu kills everybody in the container except for one survivor, who escapes when two brothers open the container. The virus quickly spreads all over Bundung, a city of 472,000 people. While this is happening, a rescue worker named Ji-koo is trying to get close to a woman called In-Hae he rescued from a crashed car, despite the fact that she has an incredibly uptight and vain attitude. He later discovers she has a child, a young girl named Mirre, who is left home alone and free to wander around Bundang with strangers as she pleases, despite being barely 10. What "The Flu" does well though, is that instead of just focusing on how the epidemic is affecting the 3 central characters, it is able to show how the epidemic is affecting the rest of the city devastatingly as well, as opposed to "World War Z" which focused too much on Brad Pitt's character for the viewer to really get a sense of the magnitude of the virus. How the governing bodies and the general populace deal with this deadly airborne virus provide some of the best scenes of the movie, as the inhumanity that people begin to exude leads to some tense and horrific events."The Flu" could also be very melodramatic at times, more so in the second half of the film, which I found was beginning to turn quite ridiculous towards the end, but thankfully didn't go overboard and managed to conclude fairly solidly.An overall pretty good disaster movie, that manages to examine the effects of the virus outbreak both on a larger scale and at a more personal level very well.
