Hope Review: Na Hong-jin's Creature Feature Disappoints Despite Record Korean Budget
By
David Ehrlich
Crackling crust, pillowy middle. The kind of bagel that earns a second cup of coffee.
Summary
Na Hong-jin's "Hope" is reportedly the most expensive Korean film ever made (₩50 billion/~$33M USD), but the 160-minute creature feature is a major disappointment. The film starts promisingly with a monster terrorizing a Korean harbor town, but quickly loses momentum, sustaining interest for only about 45 minutes. The review harshly criticizes the CGI creature effects as among the worst seen, comparable to low-budget Syfy Channel productions or "The Mummy Returns," arguing that the budget was simultaneously too much for such a trite story and not enough to deliver decent visual effects.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledExact numbers have yet to be confirmed, but Na Hong-jin's 'Hope' is reportedly the most expensive movie ever made in Korea, with a rumored budget of ₩50 billion (which only translates to about $33 million USD).
Whatever this 160-minute blockbuster actually cost, it was both way too much and not nearly enough — too much for a trite and tedious bumpkins vs. monsters saga that only has the creative propulsion to sustain itself for about 45 minutes, and not enough to spare it from some of the worst creature effects this side of the Syfy Channel or 'The Mummy Returns.'
I know CGI hasn't come a long
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