D-War

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D-War

Theatrical poster
Directed by Shim Hyung-rae
Produced by James B. Kang
Written by Shim Hyung-rae
Starring Jason Behr
Amanda Brooks
Robert Forster
Chris Mulkey
Elizabeth Pena
Cody Arens
Music by Steve Jablonsky
Distributed by South Korea - Showbox
United States - Freestyle Releasing
Release date(s) France:
Cannes premiere - May 20, 2007
South Korea:
August 1, 2007
United States:
September 14, 2007[1]
Running time 90 Minutes
Country South Korea
Language English/Korean
Budget $32-$76 million(est.)[2][3]
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

D-War (Korean: 디워), released in North America as D-War: Dragon Wars, also referred to colloquially and in some marketing materials as Dragon Wars, is a 2007 South Korean film written and directed by Shim Hyung-rae. It is a fantasy-action film that was its nation's largest-budgeted as of 2007.[4]

Contents

[edit] Production

Originally titled Dragon Wars (and still referred to by this title in publicity material), D-War has a long production history in South Korea. The film was announced in 2002 by director Shim Hyung-rae as his follow-up project to Yonggary. A show reel appeared in early 2003,[citation needed] showcasing the extensive amount of CGI the production would be using to create the various creatures. Despite heavy promotion via posters, press releases and videos, principal photography did not begin until October 2004, continuing through December.[citation needed] The budget was set at approximately $30 million,[5] or $33 million (30 million won), but ultimately came out with a $75 million dollar budget in order to create the various creatures in the film.[4]

As with Yonggary, Shim opted for a mostly American cast. Veteran actor Robert Forster landed a pivotal role and Jason Behr and Amanda Brooks were cast as the two young leads.

The next three years were spent creating the creature effects, all of which were done in house by Shim's Younggu-Art Movies company. The completed film premiered at the American Film Market in early 2007. The film was released in South Korea on August 1, 2007. In the U.S., the film was released on September 14, 2007.

On August 7, 2007, South Korea's MBC Morning Live TV Show broadcast the film's final scene on TV without the permission of the studio, causing a controversy. A few days later the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released a statement in which they said that the incident did not violate South Korean copyright laws.[6]

[edit] Plot

 The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

[edit] Prologue

As a young boy, Ethan Kendrick (Cody Arens) encounters in a shop owned and operated by antiques dealer Jack (Robert Forster) a mysterious, gigantic, reptilian scale that shines with a blue light. This light projects itself upon Ethan. Seeing this, Jack imitates a heart seizure and sends Ethan's father, who is selling him an antique dagger, to get help. He then reveals to Ethan that the scale belonged to an Imoogi and the light to heaven. Ethan listens as Jack narrates a story (largely shown in flashback) explaining the scale and its preference for Ethan.

[edit] Jack's Story

According to the story, at the close of every elapsment of 500 years a girl-child is born who has inborn in her the power to change one of the Imoogi into a Celestial Dragon. She could be identified by the stylized image of a dragon on her left shoulder. In order to maintain humanity's place in the balance of nature, this cycle must be completed each time she is born. When the evil Imoogi Buraki sought to become a dragon through contact with this woman, who is called the Yoo-Ri-Joo, the authority identified only as "Heaven" sent two warriors, Bochun and his ward Haram, to protect the Yoo-Ri-Joo from him. Haram, who was approximately eight to ten years the Yeo-Yi-Joo's elder, fell in love with her and did not reveal this to his master. When Buraki's ruthless Artox Army (legions of armored warriors able to create their weapons on demand) advanced on the village where the Yoo-Ri-Joo's father was headman, a village mother revealed the location of the Yoo-Ri-Joo to them in exchange for her own daughter's modesty, which would otherwise have been violated by Buraki's soldiers. The Artox Army murdered the headman and captured his daughter, whereupon Bochun intervened to rescue her. She was sent to join Haram, who to avoid sacrificing her to the Good Imoogi led her to the edge of a cliff, where Buraki attempted to kill them. Haram and the Yoo-Ri-Joo then jumped off a cliff to save themselves from Buraki.

[edit] Ethan's Quest

Jack, having told this story, reveals that he is himself Bochun, and that Ethan is Haram, reborn to protect the Yeo-Yi-Joo from Buraki, who is soon to return. Jack gives Ethan a medallion formerly belonging to Haram and reveals that the Yeo-Yi-Joo is a girl named Sarah whom Ethan will find in Los Angeles. Ethan accepts the medallion and the responsibility of caring for the Yeo-Yi-Joo.

Nineteen years later, Ethan has become a news reporter for a television programme. In this role, he discovers while trying to write a story that Buraki has returned. He therefore enquires into the news office's database for location of a Los Angeles-based girl named Sarah, who is nineteen to twenty years old and bears a dragon-shaped mark on her shoulder. His associate Bruce, despite disbelief, helps Ethan search.

Meanwhile, the Sarah Ethan wants, one Sarah Daniels, is with a friend of hers when she sees Ethan's news report and is terrified by the tracks Buraki has left. She hurries home and surrounds herself with protective symbols, which she does not understand but which she feels constitute the only way she has of trying to protect herself. Her friend Brandy, concerned but not quite understanding Sarah's problem, takes her to a tavern for a drink of beer, hoping to take her mind off her fears. Sarah, still dissatisfied, leaves the tavern, but is attacked outside by three thugs, who attempt to rob or harm her. Jack the antique dealer appears at once, fights the thugs, and leaves Sarah safe. The police later interrogate Sarah, but do not believe the tale of her rescuer. Word of her escape eventually reaches Ethan, through another reporter, who thinks that Sarah had rescued herself.

Buraki and his army continue to involve themselves in the lives of humanity, attracting the attention of the United States' Secretary of Defence, of a federal investigation agency, and of a zoological park's night watchman who sees Buraki in the act of swallowing an elephant and for his story is committed to a sanatorium. Later, Buraki attacks and kills Brandy, though he does not eat her.

Ethan eventually finds Sarah at a hospital, where she is being detained. Although the hospital's receptionist refuses him entry, on the grounds that he is not a friend or close kin (of which latter Sarah has none), a doctor leads him to Sarah's room. This doctor is later revealed to be Jack in disguise.

Ethan is about to explain the truth of their situation to Sarah when Buraki attacks the hospital, intent on capturing her. Ethan and Sarah flee in a car driven by Bruce, with Buraki in pursuit. They are stopped and fight with a commander of the Artox Army, but eventually escape him as well. Again, their escape is attributed to a disguised Jack.

Ethan subsequently explains the story to Sarah, who accepts it as true and Ethan as her protector. She kisses him on the mouth as a sign of trust. He thereafter takes her to a practitioner of hypnotherapy, who helps her revive the memories of her previous life as the former, unsuccessful Yeo-Yi-Joo. The energy released by her body during the hypnotherapy session attracts Buraki, who destroys the hypnotherapist's house (wherein the session was conducted) and follows Sarah and Ethan. The hypnotherapist's fate is left uncertain.

In a car, Ethan and Sarah flee to the more densely-populated areas of the city, where they meet with Bruce in a restaurant. Bruce makes Ethan's excuse for his absence from the news office by planning to describe Sarah as a novice reporter, whom Ethan must train. Bruce later takes Ethan aside and gives him a pistol for self-defense. When Bruce has left Ethan alone, Jack warns Ethan that the Yeo-Yi-Joo must fulfill her destiny. Ethan, defiant because of his new attachment to Sarah, demands autonomy.

Moments later, Buraki finds the fugitives again. They attempt to escape him, resulting in a chase scene that culminates atop a skyscraper. There, Buraki is distracted by a military helicopter, whose pilot fires on him. Buraki then summons the Artox Army to help him. This legion enters the city and advances through the streets, to be engaged in combat by the U.S. Army. Here, as in other scenes, the Artox Army is shown to consist of black-armored, humanoid warriors; therapod-like cavalry called "Shaconnes"; small, winged western dragons called "Bulcos"; and huge, slow-moving reptiles identified in the dialogue as "Dawdlers", who bear powerful cannons on their backs. The Artox Army inexorably proceeds, crushing the American soldiers and their weapons, suffering few causalities on their side. Meanwhile Ethan and Sarah are taken to an empty garage by two federal officers. The senior officer reveals that he has researched the legend of the Imoogi, and attempts to kill Sarah so that Buraki and his army would depart for another five centuries. The junior officer, horrified, kills his partner and gives the fugitives his car whereby to escape.

Ethan and Sarah enter the rural countryside, where Sarah remarks that wherever she goes, the Imoogi will find her. Ethan, who seems bent on saving her both from Buraki and from the Good Imoogi for whom she is destined, refuses to admit this. Sarah pauses, then reveals that she is now twenty years old; therefore revealing herself to have come into her full power as Yeo-Yi-Joo. At once, the Bulcos knock the car over and capture Sarah.

[edit] Climax and Epilogue

When Ethan, who has been rendered insensible, comes to his senses, he sees that he is tied to a pillar which stands before a menacing fortress. This fortress, located in the middle of a geographically unidentified, darkened, desert-like landscape, is Buraki's basis of operation. In front of it lies an altar on which Sarah is to be sacrificed to Buraki. The Artox Army makes effort to complete the sacrifice, in Buraki's presence. Just as Buraki is about to consume Sarah, Ethan's pendant unleashes its heavenly power, releasing a blue light that destroys all of Buraki's legions, though not the commander or Buraki himself.

The commander of the legion attempts to kill Ethan, but his sword, when used, falls on the pendant. The pendant immediately releases a bolt of electric energy that kills the commander. However, a revived Buraki knocks Ethan down and attempts to eat Sarah, whereupon the Good Imoogi appears and fights him. Ethan and Sarah watch as Buraki and the Good Imoogi battle furiously. Here, the two Imoogi are shown to have different appearances, in that the Good Imoogi has lighter coloring, is stockier, and lacks the cobra-like, but apparently inflexible hood that distinguishes Buraki. The difference in coloration, as well as Buraki's hood, suggest the differences in their personalities. Ultimately, Buraki wins. He approaches Sarah, who deliberately offers herself to him. Just as Buraki is about to absorb Sarah's power, which she offers to him in the form of a luminous white sphere, she psychokinetically redirects it into the open mouth of the Good Imoogi, who is instantly revived. Buraki attacks him again, only to be thwarted when the Good Imoogi becomes a gigantic Korean dragon during the struggle. They fight for a few minutes, after which the Good Imoogi, now the Celestial Dragon, flies to the top of Buraki's fortress and breathes fire upon him, burning the evil Imoogi to ashes. Sarah has collapsed into a coma, to Ethan's horror.

Having slain Buraki, the Celestial Dragon approaches Ethan, allowing Sarah's spirit to speak with him. Sarah, as the full Yeo-Yi-Joo, advises Ethan not to be sad, adding that she will love him for all eternity. The Celestial Dragon then takes Sarah back into his body, holding her power in his mouth (an image reminiscent of the large pearls depicted in the mouths of Chinese Dragons), and ascends to the heavens. Immediately, Jack appears behind Ethan, reminding him that the two of them have been given a great honor, which is Ethan's destiny. Jack then dissolves into dust, apparently dying. Ethan, recognizing this, whispers a parting "Good-bye, old man". The credits of the film roll, against a background of the now uninhabited fortress in the desert. Ethan's fate is left ambiguous.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reception

Despite the film's popularity, film critics were unimpressed by the movie's weak storyline, and questioned Shim's ability as a director. The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews upon release in the U.S. and was not screened in advance for many critics. As of January 5, 2008 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 25% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 28 reviews.[7] Derek Elley of Variety, reviewing it at the Berlin Film Festival's market section, called it "visually entertaining, and superior to helmer Shim Hyung-rae's last monster outing", while also saying the film had a "Z-grade, irony-free script," and predicted it would become "the most expensive cult movie on DVD."[8] The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck said, "the CGI effects are undeniably impressive" but that "the laughable story line, risible dialogue and cheap humor ... seriously detract from the fun".[9] Luke Y. Thompson in L.A. Weekly derided the film as one "for connoisseurs of the 'totally preposterous crap' school of fantasy cinema... You know who you are: You have all the Warlock sequels on Laserdisc [and] the complete Leprechaun series on DVD" and says it's "funnier when it tries to be serious than when it goes for the gag".[10]

Within nine days of its South Korean release, D-War attracted five million viewers, setting a national box office record for an opening week.[citation needed] The seemingly positive reaction from the Korean population, as indicated by the movie's box office success in Korea, was widely attributed to the film's appeal to Korean nationalism;[11] a logical impression drawn from Shim's message at the end of the Korean version of this film, "D-War and I will succeed in the world market without fail," accompanied by the Korean folk anthem, "Arirang". However, despite box office success, D-Wars was far from critically acclaimed by either Korean critics or Korea's general public. Korean film critic Kim Bong-sok said, "They want it to be successful in the U.S. because it's Korean, not because it's good," and called the film "immature and poorly made" and "below criticism." Other reactions from Korean critics have been similar.[11][12]

D-War set a record of grossing $20.3 million in South Korea in its first five days in 689 theatres. As of September 1, the film has grossed $44 million in Korea and another $10 million in other countries, totaling a worldwide gross of $54 million as of September 16. In North America, the film grossed $5 million on 2,275 screens in its opening weekend. As of November 25, 2007, the film has grossed $10,977,721 in North America,[13] making it the highest grossing Korean-made film released theatrically in North America.

[edit] Sequel

Due to the successes of the film the production team have started work on a sequel to be released in 2012. However due to some strikes and the long work it took to make the previous film that release date is not set. The storyline will likely revolve around Ethan returning home after being left in the first film in the Mordor-esque setting of unknown origin/location

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Freestyle Releasing - Official Site
  2. ^ 김인구. "‘화려한 휴가’ ‘디 워’, 우리가 ‘괴물’의 영광 재현한다", Joins.com, 2007-06-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-13. 
  3. ^ 이경호. "심형래 8월 ‘디워’ 개봉 앞두고 ‘침착 담담한 심경’", Mydaily, 2007-06-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-13. 
  4. ^ a b Yang Sung-jin. The Korea Herald (July 25, 2007): "D-War upgrades computer graphics"
  5. ^ Barnes, Brooks. The New York Times (Sept. 10, 2007): "New Tactics Aim to Make Korean Film a Hit in the U.S."
  6. ^ Jinho, Jung. "On MBC's D-War Controversy", Joynews, 2007-08-14. Retrieved on 2007-08-14. 
  7. ^ Dragon Wars - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
  8. ^ Elley, Derek. Variety (review posted Feb. 9, 2007)
  9. ^ Scheck, Frank. The Hollywood Reporter (review posted Sept. 17, 2007)
  10. ^ Thompson, Luke Y. L.A. Weekly (review published Sept. 12, 2007)
  11. ^ a b Wallace, Bruce (October 15, 2007), “In South Korea, patriotism rears its dragon-like head”, Los Angeles Times, <http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-deewar15oct15,0,1373498.story?coll=la-home-center> 
  12. ^ Su-jin, Chun. ""D-War" scores with nationalism", JoongAng Daily. 
  13. ^ Dragon Wars (2007)

[edit] References

[edit] External links