Mladen and Del review ‘Hope’

Forged Films, PM Entertainment & Neon

“Hope” starring Hwang Jung-min as our reluctant, somewhat mean hero and police chief Beom Seok; Hoyeon as the perky, cute, and balls‑to‑the‑wall rookie cop Sung Ae; Zo In‑sung as ridiculously indestructible Sung Ki; Eum Moon-suk as somewhat dimwitted but good shot Yang Bae; Alicia Vikander as spikey and now‑childless royal priestess J’aur; Micheal Fassbender as morphing royal lackey Ma’veyyo; and others. Directed and written by Na Hong-jin. Score by Michael Abels. 2 hours, 40 minutes. Rated R. Theatrical release. Captions.

Plot summary:  South Korea in, oh, the 1980s, is invaded, though not by North Korea. The extraterrestrials were minding their own business, more or less, hunkered in a forest until one of their younglings disappears. Momma deploys a search party. The search party of humanoid creatures wastes a coastal village trying to find the not‑of‑this‑earth tyke. But not all humans are eviscerated. Some fight back, setting up a sequel.    

Spoilers: It’s tough to spoil this movie. You have to see it, to believe it.

Mladen’s take

“Hope” is an imaginative, bold, and compelling movie that fails for the silliest reason – poor editing. Did you catch the film’s run time in the opening info dump above? Two hours, 40 minutes.

The managing editor at the first daily newspaper where I was a reporter once told me that, sometimes, you have to kill the “babies” in your copy to make a story readable and interesting.

Well, that’s where the “Hope” director misfired. There is way too much of a couple of things happening in this film. He should’ve killed those babies, not matter how much he adored them. Why? Because they slowed the movie’s storytelling momentum.

The first baby that should’ve been trimmed in the film is its beginning. The dead bulls, people and then the assault on the hamlet of Hope is at least 15 minutes too long. Our villagers run around too much trying to find the critters that were the cause of all the blood on the walls and streets. There’s the scene of the accidental shooting of a human that could’ve been cut from the film completely, saving 5 minutes. Also significant time‑wasters are two prolonged chase scenes, one in the forest and one on a roadway. The effect on me, each time one of these scenes hit its enough‑already threshold – I hate to say this – was boredom.

At best, “Hope” should’ve been no more than a couple of ticks beyond 2 hours. Damn, the movie is just too long for the story it’s telling.

No doubt, Del will bemoan the shades of other movies that Hope seems to mimic. The movie has resemblance to the best South Korea monster flick so far made, “The Host” (2006). You may notice bits 2009’s “Avatar,” “A Quiet Place” (2018), and “Prometheus” (2012). Hell, there might even be a bit of 2015’s “Jupiter Ascending” or any other sci‑fi or monster movie were big critters squash human because they’re searching for their missing puppies, kittens, cubs, joeys, chicks, calves … whatever the hell alien babies are called. But who cares? All those are good movies. Why not shave a little from each to make such a wonderful, odd movie.

With all my bellyaching, why do I give “Hope” an A-. See the first paragraph.

This film must be watched to be appreciated, flaws and all. That you had to read captions to understand the dialogue bothered me not a whit.

It’s strange and a touch creepy. Wait until you see the faces of the aliens.

“Hope” is bloody and wistful.

“Hope” is down‑to‑earth and otherworldly, a point driven home at the end of the film, which brings me to my last point.

What I see in “Hope” is the South Korea version of “Dune.” Can’t wait for movies 2 and 3. What are the Gertu up to, anyway? How are humans going to foil their plan? Stay tuned. I am.

Del’s take

Mladen gives “Hope” an A- while devoting 99 percent of his review to fussing about the movie’s shortcomings? I believe that’s why God invented Aricept.

But I’m giving it an A- too because while “Hope” does have its problems, it’s one of the most audacious, unpredictable, edge-of-your-seat thrilling films I’ve seen in awhile. And yes, Mladen, it has the same bonkers, balls-to-the-wall creative vision of other really good South Korean monster flicks, like “The Host” and “Train to Busan.” Please sir, may I have more?

Is the movie too long? It sure is. I’m usually a fan of the slow-burn approach to building tension but “Hope” takes it to ridiculous excess. An hour into the movie and we still haven’t caught a glimpse of the monster. Plus, banter between the characters, which is supposed to be witty, goes on for too long, far past the point when it stops being funny.

Speaking of which, I had a hard time figuring out which genre “Hope” fit into. Was it a monster movie with elements of humor, or a comedy with elements of horror and science fiction? Nor am I a big fan of movies that dump a shitload of questions in the viewer’s lap and hint those questions might be answered in a sequel. “Hope” did that and yes, it was aggravating.

But, and this is an all-caps BUT, the virtues of “Hope” vastly outweigh its shortcomings.

It’s one of the most original movies you’ll see all year. Every time I thought I knew what director Na Hong-jin had in store for us, he delightfully surprised me. The movie’s frantic pacing makes it impossible not to watch and greatly complicated my two trips to the men’s room. Creature effects are bizarre and otherwordly. Special effects are pretty good, although there were a couple of scenes that tested my suspension of disbelief. The movie’s second and third acts aren’t as adrenalized as the first, but the momentum of that initial hour carried me through to the end and I didn’t mind the relative lull.

“Hope” is a raucously entertaining film that does not feel like its 2 hour, 40 minute runtime. Catch it in theaters because its scope was made for the big screen. I’m on board with a sequel, and this time I won’t drink two Diet Pepsi’s and a cup of Starbucks Decaf House Blend before heading to the theater.

Mladen Rudman is a former journalist and technical writer. Del Stone Jr. is a former journalist and writer.