Flu (2013)

Oh, wow, this was awesome! The Korean answer to 'Outbreak', but so much better without being melodramatic or predictable. The film so well depicts the ignorance of politicians and humanity's incapability of uniting and remaining calm during disasters. This was realistic, shocking and disturbing, and gets increasingly more intense as the film progresses. I did find the convenience element a bit overwhelming, especially with Hyuk Jang and Soo Ae's characters always ending up together despite the circumstances. Still, this was a really good disaster film, and so very possible.

Fmovies: This film is amazing the little girl will bring tears too your eyes she i adorable Korea i love you. im an American but after watching this film i want to live there this film aired out just how easily our country would just wipe us out and that is exactly what Americans do and i hate that about this country. this film should open some eyes witch is needed thank you Korea for this amazing film im still crying and stick around after the credits you won't be disappointed and for the reviewer who complained about how this film makes people hate Koreans you are wrong this film made me fall in love with Korea and the people there i read your review and i was shocked at your response and for you saying that it's mellow dramatic you have no heart what so ever all the emotion in this film was needed you just wanted to find some reason to complain about something

I'm generally a fan of Korean movies but this one is terrible. The exposition is a parade of clichés. The quirky buddies meet the feisty but sexy lady (who has a cute daughter). Then everyone in Bundang, a satellite city of Seoul, gets the flu and starts dying. Of course this is a rip-off of every Quarantine/Contagion movie you've ever seen but it's got none of the character/plot or budget to pull it off. The director is from the A.D.D. school of direction and although Jang Hyuk does good work as the fireman it's wasted. None of the actors embarrass themselves here to be fair. But there's no time for character development which is problematic as the movie has no plot instead relying on personal drama to carry the day. Sure an advanced ability to suspend disbelief is often a necessity in Korean movies but the idea that a virus could be contained in Bundang is just plain silly. About the only thing that amused me in this movie was the undercurrent of xenophobia. Of course Vietnamese workers are the source of the deadly virus (the Vietnamese provide a growing emigrant workforce as well as mail order brides in Korea) and the scene where the "good" Korean President threatens to shoot down the "bad" American jet bombers (ordered to bomb a mob threatening to break the quarantine cordon)doesn't say much for a generation that prefer to ignore how the Korean War was won. In a country where few will have seen Contagion and xenophobia is considered a virtue it's hardly surprising this movie has found popularity but for a foreign audience this movie is best avoided.

Flu fmovies. Honestly, The Best Korean Sci-fi Action/Drama movie ever.. in fact, it's the best Pandemic-kind of movie around.

i thought it will be just a standard pandemic-kind of movie, like what several Europe countries production has made, but it all changed when the virus starts to spread around the city, it was so intense... but the most important thing this movie has achieved is that they successfully bound you emotionally to the characters from the beginning, so even in the most tense scenes, you will still watch not only with excitement, but with passion too, wanting to know more about what happened to every one. What will the government do?, what have become of them?, what is their fate?..

The action was intense, while the drama was so touching and bonding us with it.. in my opinion,this is even better than World War-Z, totally worth the 120+- minutes!

I have to say from the beginning that The Flu is the Korean version of Contagion, that intense thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh which realistically depicted the development of an outbreak in the United States. Fortunately, The Flu isn't a simple copy, but an (unofficial) adaptation with good performances and solid direction which puts us in the middle of the action, the drama and the stretchers. In the last 5 years, we have been seeing Korean films which emulate North American formulas; for example, Sector 7 (a copy of Alien and Leviathan), The Tower (a copy of The Towering Inferno) and Tidal Wave (natural disasters). The Flu is an addition to that group, and even though it is not very memorable and it doesn't add very much to the formula, it kept me entertained focusing on a group of characters representative of the genre: the noble doctor who has a powerful personal motivation to find the cure; the altruistic hero ready to sacrifice everything for the people he has an affection for; the inefficient politicians who endlessly discuss the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of persons to save millions; in summary, all the necessary ingredients in order to reach entertaining levels of drama, tension and urban devastation. Without forgetting, obviously, a bit of political commentary relative to the difficult international position of South Korea; the fact that the most ruthless characters are North Americans mustn't be a coincidence, because they are always ready to trample the human rights for the sake of "national security". On the negative side, The Flu has some redundant scenes which lose strength with every repetition, and the ending feels too cloying. So, in conclusion, The Flu isn't a very original or memorable film, but I think it deserves a moderate recommendation because it managed to keep me interested.

A deadly flu, is about people. Persons become exposed, some contract it and all react differently to it. An influx of illegal immigrants in a Korean city, opens Pandora's box and unleashes a virus in town.

As is common, bureaucracy gets in the way and safeguarding is delayed. There is plenty of tension and drama without the Hollywood tendency for sensationalism.

At the heart of the story is a female doctor, her daughter and a member of the fire brigade. When the outbreak is out of control it is clear that no one is safe.

The central theme of the story is the dual battle of the female doctor; the struggle to develop an antibody and keep her daughter safe. As it is always with people, choices and preferences often override any moral considerations. Right and wrong in a deadly situation become very blurred.

The movie is very effective in displaying the tragedy of uncontrolled death and the powerfulness as well as folly of being human. Courage, helpfulness, mindlessness, bureaucracy.

Perhaps the lady doctor's efforts might form the main body of this movie, although the gravity is carried in her adorable daughter's tiny shoulders. Her forcefulness and vulnerability will take the audience to a mighty emotional journey.