The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008) Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: The Good, The Bad, The Weird
Year: 2008
Director: Kim Ji-Woon
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean

Director Kim Ji-woon’s wily, actionized epic The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a fine balance between homage and invention. It's a mix between Sergio Leone's spaghetti Western and Quentin Tarantino's post modernist wet dream. Kim borrows from now-classic pictures and yet manages to avoid the audience feeling like they've seen it before. Trust me, I've followed the Clint Eastwood classic closely, and Kim's reinvention of it is quite fresh.

This is the story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.

At the time of its release in South Korea in 2008, the film’s reported budget of $17 million was then the most expensive in the country’s history. After earning a profit and much praise at the Cannes Film Festival, the film slowly made its way around the globe on the festival circuit. The praise is much deserved as this drama/comedy/western is exceptionally well made. I found myself on the edge of my seat throughout its run-time. 

Set on the expansive plains of Manchuria in the 1930s, the film’s landscape is a dynamic one. Lee Mo-gae's award-winning cinematography perfectly captures the time period and the overall tone of the picture. The action scenes, which are weird in their own right, are expertly choreographed and brilliantly shot. It feels like no moments on-screen were wasted as we are treated to wild moments of gun-fire, explosions and daring horseback chases.

If future film-makers want to watch a proper "homage" to old films, they ought to skip the Tarantino and go straight to The Good, The Bad, The Weird. This was remarkable, perhaps even more enticing that the material it was paying tribute to. Extremely well made and thoroughly entertaining.