Pure maniacal fun.
Those are probably the most accurate words to describe Kim Ji-Woon's
The Good, The Bad, The Weird (TGTBTW), an obvious homage to Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly but smart enough to pay respects to its Italian spaghetti western predecessors while mixing it with its own unique Asian flavor to the genre. It's masterfully directed, damn funny and most importantly thoroughly enjoyable (at 129 minutes!).
The story of TGTBTW is actually very simple. The film is set in 1930's Manchuria and the title refers to three Manchurian gunslingers, all after the same mysterious treasure map
(a Mcguffin - much like the briefcase in QT's Pulp Fiction).
In the first of many references to Sergio Leone's masterpiece, the film trio is introduced one at a time :
The Weird (Song Kang-ho) is a klutzy thief and who accidentally comes across the map during the opening train robbery scene.
The Bad is a ruthless bandit (Lee Byung-hun) and
The Good is a bounty hunter and sharpshooter (Jung Woo-sung). Unsure of each other personal motivations, The Good and The Weird team up to secure the map and reach the treasure site before either The Bad or the imperialist Japanese beat them there. In other words, the whole movie is a damn big chase sequence, like a more violent and stylish version of Wacky Races.
In true Leone fashion, the movie boils down to a succession of set-pieces -wide-open plains and deserts, train robberies, gun battles, knife fights, opium dens, horse chases and tense Mexican stand-offs - but Ji-woon, a master at mood manipulation,
(as witnessed on his previous films, A Bittersweet Life and A Tale Of Two Sisters) once again delivers a genre-busting film, with moments of extreme sadistic violence are mixed with comedy and action, and grand action set-pieces played with calmer character driven drama.
While the film may be lacking in plot
(unnecessary subplot involving Russian mobsters) and story depth, it is indeed a very stylish eye-candy. The action is beautifully choreographed and incorporates everything from classic Mexican standoffs to fast paced swordplay and Kung-fu wire work. I guarantee you will enjoy the opening train robbery scene and the very elaborate and completely ridiculous jeep-horse chase sequence across the desert that's like a Guy Ritchie film meets The Road Warrior. It's exciting, funny and entertaining as hell!
Chemistry among the three lead actors are great. Lee Byung-hun, much like Lee Van Cleef's Angel Eyes is decent as an insecure bandit with the typical Korean sadistic gangster mentality that we all love from Korean gangster flicks. Least developed of the three, is Jung Woo-sung, gracefully playing a cool and calm bounty-hunter reminisce of Clint Eastwood's Blondie. But the heart and soul of the movie is Song Kang-ho, in a very commanding comedic performance evoking Eli Wallach's Tuco. It comes as no surprise that all three of the lead actors were nominated in the 3rd Asian Film Awards (full nominees list
here).
Kudos also should be given to the musical score, riffing on Latin rhythms and brass orchestration, along with heavy Asian percussion. One scene in mind is during the thrilling climax, the wild percussion-heavy music starts to morph into Nina Simone's 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood'. Pure brilliance.
TGTBTW is not the first
'oriental Western' (as it bills itself on closing credits). Last year, Takashi Miike's
Sukiyaki Western Django is a perfect example of genre-busting J-Western, and Chinese director He Ping already had a crack at a C-Western with
Sun Valley. But then again, the original spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s were partly inspired by Japanese samurai movies, anyway. Some people may suggest that this movie has bitten off more than it can chew for what is essentially an old-school chase movie. Some may call it a ridiculous, silly movie. Well, it is... but it's the most amazing, incredible silliness I've ever seen in a long time.
