Movie Review – The Swordsman 2020

I rarely watch Korean movies and I was a bit hesitant about this. But it turns out, The movie was really good. The actors role were on point and my 100 minutes or so was well spent.

Disclaimer: I’ll do my very best to keep the spoilers at a minimum.

Synopsis

The whole story revolves around the three best swordsmen in their own rights. One from the Qing Dynasty, Gurutai, power-crazed and ruthless. Min Seung-Ho, from Joseon and Tae Yul from Gwangahaegun.

The tale begins in the chaotic transition of Ming-Qing Dynasty where Gwanghaegun fell and it’s best swordsman Tae Yul decided to live a secluded, peaceful life with his daughter in the mountains. The political unrest brought about by Gurutai’s demands in Joseon brought chaos. Min Seung-Ho chose a simple life in Joseon considering the situation of their government. But when Tae Yul’s daughter was taken captive by the men of Gurutai, He was forced to raise up his sword again even though his eyesight is failing, to rescue her daughter and slash his way to save her.

The Actors

Jang Hyuk – Tae Yool
The Father. Let’s just say, the role is made for him. He fits nicely into the character. less talk more action. I can dig having him do a series about this. He plays the retired swordsman who’s forced to ignite his skill to save her daughter.

Kim Hyun-Soo – Tae Ok
Daughter of Tae Yool. Just about right, her role here is quite important. She plays the jolly kid who loves her father so much but would want to explore what’s beyond the mountains.

Joe Taslim – Gurutai
An Indonesian actor in a Korean film. He plays the antagonist and considering he’s a foreigner, he speaks his Korean lines well and did a spectacular acting prowess. You will definitely hate him here :).

Jeong Man-Sik – Min Seung-Ho
The timid swordsman. He’s Joseon’s pride in swordsmanship. He decided to just live a simple private life working as a personal adviser to the governor of Joseon instead of taking up an official seat. He’s also fit for the role.

Action and Cinematography

The whole film has is a masterpiece when it comes to action. The sword fights were well choreographed and your eyes will be glued to screen. You have to really see it to appreciate it. The shots were awesome. Forget about expensive special effects. what they did with action scenes here is one of the best as far as my film watching is concerned.

Cinematography captures the era where it’s in but nothing that special. There were only few scenic spots throughout the film that can really take advantage of it.

One thing you need to watch out here is the swords they used. The designs were so cool, it’s kinda like you’re in a video game. Juts check them out.

My Take

The Swordsman can’t be labeled as a blockbuster or even the best action film but it delivers in terms of action and entertainment. The story isn’t that exciting since much of the plots are distinguishable and predictable. The movie starts a bit slow and progresses around after 30 mins or so. The big takeaways here are the actors who did a phenomenal job in making the film really worth watching. The sword fights are so beautiful to watch. I flick a

3.5 out of 5

And the link of course 🙂
https://www3.bflix.to/movie/the-swordsman-59ow9

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