The Villainess (2017)

Good story line and intense action all throughout the movie.

Fmovies: You can't say these out there Asian action flicks, are boring, cause they're not. They're the last thing from it. Starting with the bloodiest opening to end all bloody openings, we're virtually bombarded with carnage, where one woman taking out a sea of bad arses (swordsmen) in a hallway, slicing and dicing her way through em' with dizzying camera angles. We get to the next room, it starts up again (that first bare, slightly chubby chested guy, I can't get out of my mind) where the kill count increases. We've seen so much, bloodshed, already, this makes Kill Bill look small time, filling more buckets of hemoglobin, it would make even Tarantino, a jealous party. From this, a beautiful if relieved transition ensues, as we realize there's a real exciting story at play here, where a lot of it, borrows for Le Femme Nikita, or The Assassin, that 93 Bridget Fonda pic. Unfortunately it's a too muddled tale, or very messily organized back and fro structure, of a young gifted sword fighter and assassin used by an obviously corrupt organization to do their dirty work. Her problems are only extenuated with the arrival of a child which threatens her future and goodwill for both. Storywise, I thought the story would of lived up to the title, where the woman was a real evil character, but she isn't an evil person, where the title was kind of misleading. We are taken back to earlier times, where sporting the short hairdo, we see that may'be she was, or as she says, to a much hated figure, later, "You made me like this". by them (her masters). There was just such a messy approach to the back and fro structure, it was bloody annoying, where even Einstein would have trouble piecing it one hundred percent together, one head wracking experience for a layman. It's a pity as The Villainess, really could of been something, and speaking of The Assassin, earlier, one bathroom scene here, is horribly familiar, where I bet your bottom dollar, the writer here, saw that movie. But push that aside, The Villainess is still an excitingly explosive action pic, and surefire entertaining night at the movies. The film has some good acting, and the action scenes, especially the motorbike chase scene, are spectacularly staged, and I don't want to know how they went about that one. It just really suffers on the account of it's uneven and muddled telling and approach to story.

I'm feeling very underwhelmed by this film despite being a great fan of the best of Korean cinema. It's been well advertised of late, but don't fall for any possible hype on the movie posters. I don't even think the title makes sense for this movie.

The biggest problem is that this film is simply too close a homage to the classic French film Nikita, and it's not unfair to say a blatant steal. If you've never seen Nikita then you'll likely enjoy this, otherwise you'll be slumped in your chair for the duration. As there has already been a US remake and TV series based on Nikita, most will already know the premise, further denting its value.

Basically think of 4-5 core characters and themes in Nikita, and you'll find their mirror in this film. Run the two side by side and they are probably the same. Some of the scenes should had a copyright watermark from Luc Besson in the corner they were that alike.

The greatest selling point is the action, with a handful of exceptionally well choreographed and filmed scenes that will leave you applauding, especially the opening run in. Hollywood should take a look in. I haven't been excited and amazed watching action scenes for a long while.

Beyond that, there's little to write home about. Story is a copy, the acting is rarely challenging (although our lead is very good) and the dialogue is so so. Shame really.

The twists and turns are unexciting, and are quite frankly poor and unchallenging. There's little good to say there.

Saying all that, our lead has a young child who steals the scenes whenever she's there, so that's a small saving grace and release valve from all the rest.

Disappointing, but still very watchable for the action scenes if little else. If you do want to watch a great alternative Korean film this year, then I would very much recommend The Handmaiden, watch that instead of this.

The Villainess fmovies. Ak-Nyeo/The Villainess (2017):

Action Lovers definitely never misses the chance of watching any action film from South Korea.Korean Action films have huge fan following for its ultra-stylish violent sequences like The Man from Nowhere,The Chaser,Old Boy and lot others.The Villainess is one such film of 2017 where action lovers will have a treat.

Plot:

Sook-hee (Ok-bin Kim) is a trained assassin who was born to kill. She was just a little girl when the training started in Yanbian, China. After the death of her mentor, when the chance of starting a new life was given to her, she came to South Korea as a government agent. They promised her that she will be free after ten years of service. So she begins her new life as a theatre actress. But soon two men Joong-sang (Ha-kyun Shin) and Hyun-soo (Jun Sung) appear in her new life. And she started to find deep dark secrets about her past. Eventually she take matters into her own hands.

My Review:

The Villainess makes no delay and right from scene 1,it shows abundant violence which shot in POV format.the sequence tracks a lone fighter through a building full of thugs, all of whom get dispatched with bloody efficiency. Finally, the unseen figure enters a martial-arts studio with a dozen or so adversaries and a mirrored wall. Only when the camera catches the intruder's reflection does the point-of-view switch from hers to ours. For starters,this scene may make them confused with its camera angles but it really deserves applause.

After that hell of a scene,The Villainess goes in a non-linear way to reveal the past and present of Sook-hee's life and it may confuse to an extent but later it gets Ok.The major reason for the confusion is that Sook-hee's look is changed from past and present.But once the screenplay gets to the point,we can clearly see that The Villainess is same ages-old cliched revenge plot with predictable twist.

The Villainess have inventively staged action sequences, including a sword fight between speeding motorcyclists, a knife battle inside a geisha house, and another protracted single take that tracks Sook-hee as she climbs onto the hood of a moving car, leaps onto a speeding bus and crashes through one of its windows, and slaughters some henchmen with an ax before the vehicle careens into oncoming traffic.

Cinematography is so tricky but amazing at its best.Background score is an asset.Performances are amazing and especially Ok-Bin is show-stealer with her terrific performance.

SO,The Villainess is a decent action film with an engaging screenplay and amazing action scenes.A Must Watch for Action film lovers.

My rating 7/10

'The Villainess (2017)' contains some of the craziest action-sequences in recent cinema, primarily because of the frenzied and ferocious nature of the camera itself. It is used as a tool to put you right in the centre of the violence, often literally putting you in the P.O.V. of our protagonist, and never strays further than a few feet away from any of the killing. As such, there is a claustrophobic and relentless feel to each and every such scene, which don't cut away until away until our lead has finished her dirty-work. Because of this, we don't get to rest until our hero does, instead being breathlessly whisked along from brutal but balletic beat to beat. All of the neck-slicing, blood-spilling, body-piling action feels guttural, given a visceral and grimy sense that only one person can survive. This runs counter to most high-concept pictures of the kind, where glossy, clean framing and shiny, pain-free choreography paint a picture of violence that doesn't really hurt and death that doesn't really matter. While death is depicted as similarly cold and callous here, each life that is taken feels painful and we're always on edge for the few people we care about. It's in both the tight and precise but scrappy and explicit fight-choreography, and subsequent blood-letting, and the down-and-dirty camera-work that the picture finds its footing as an 'in-the-trenches' and 'honest' depiction of despicable work, revenge in high-numbers shown from right up-close and watched with gritted teeth. The strongest of sequences are the opening first-person fight and a phenomenal sword-crossing motorbike chase. Both of these use impressive long-takes and hidden camera-cuts to appear as fluid as possible, with the former being an apparent 'one-shot' until its final moments. The use of small digital cameras allows the frame to go places it wouldn't normally be able, with the audience being transported into a one-on-god-knows-how-many battle or even through the wheels of a moving bike seamlessly, and it allows for a very intimate relationship with the lead and her struggle to survive. The only time a combat scene falls slightly short is in the feature's final movement, with some ever-so-slightly dodgy green-screen sky-replacement honestly looking pretty hokey and reducing the effect of the entire segment. Still, what was achieved on its relatively low budget is undeniably impressive and equally exciting. What isn't as exciting are its slower segments and convoluted, though completely understandable, plot. The contrast of its balls-to-the-wall action with its rather domestic, though still out-there and thematically appropriate, story is quite heavy and isn't always balanced too well. There are times where it feels as though the piece has switched gears entirely, with its initial intentions then coming crashing back down onto its new pace just as you're settling into it. This is conceptually appropriate but it does take you out of the film. As does the contrived plot-device used to inject tension and a proper antagonist in the latter half of the second act. This 'twist' feels as though it comes from nowhere, without the explanation afforded to other sequences of less importance, and is handled with confusion even within the narrative. Still, it doesn't ruin the plot and begins to inject some decent pacing back into the piece. It just feels like most of the picture is, or was trying to be, set-up for this moment but it happens too late for that to be the case, or for it

This film exceeded my expectations. The cinematography in a couple of the scenes is truly incredible, particularly the fight scenes that are one continuous shot. The fight choreography is top notch and neither overly stylized nor formulaic; most had me on the edge of my seat. The lead is an incredible actor, whose performance conveys all the depth the character needs to ground the film.