The Good, the Bad, the Weird 4K 2008 Ultra HD 2160p

The 1930s. The world is in chaos. In Northeast Asia, the Korean peninsula has been invaded by Japanese imperialists. Many Koreans, fleeing from the occupiers, flock to Manchuria, a vast land of horses and steppes bordering their homeland and China. Some of them inevitably become bandits in order to find food in this barren wasteland. Tae-gu is a thief. One day, he robs a Japanese military train, but everything is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. In the midst of this fierce firefight with the Japanese, he comes across a mysterious map that leads to the treasures of the Qing dynasty, hidden somewhere in Manchuria. In addition, a cold-blooded killer, Chang Yi, is also trying to get his hands on the map. Tae-gu must fight not only the Japanese, but also Chang Yi and his thugs, who attacked the train at the same time as he did. At the end of a tense shootout, a mysterious man appears out of nowhere and saves Tae-gu.

User Review

Why did I decide to watch this film?

There were two reasons:

1) I liked the poster and the title;

2) I really love films with this kind of setting. Judge for yourself: an interesting time period (the world is in turmoil, national borders change almost every month, gangsters and war criminals are rampant), a perfectly chosen setting—Asia, this whirlpool of intrigue, a seething cauldron of conflict and military coups, local color, again.

So, what are the film's flaws? There is only one, but it is a big one: the film is too long (a full 2 hours and 10 minutes), and not all of the episodes are sufficiently rich, especially in the middle.

And what are its strengths? Count them on your fingers: a good plot and ending, very good actors, well-staged action scenes, and remarkable work by the prop and costume designers—the local bandits (loaded with various weapons and dressed in colorful, picturesque clothes) really look dangerous, and their faces, unmarred by excessive intelligence, inspire nothing but affection.

The main characters don't disappoint either - one glance at The Gu is enough to understand that there is definitely something wrong with the guy's head, and Chang Yi looks like a street dandy, but at the same time is a masterful marksman. Speaking of weapons, according to the laws of the genre, the main characters hit the bull's-eye, while their opponents shamefully miss from a distance of 10 meters. I especially remember the episode when the bounty hunter (I don't remember his name) rode through the cavalry wing, shooting enemies with his rifle, while the brave soldiers of the Chinese army were unable to offer him even the slightest resistance... but that's just a side note.

Humor, again, is present in places, both ordinary and quite dark. The John Woo-style stunts and shootouts (a couple of scenes reminded me of Hard Boiled) also work in the film's favor. And perhaps one more thing: the film looks beautiful, pleasant, and expensive. Expensive, indeed. I don't know what the budget was, but I have no complaints about the sets or props.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (66.7 Mb/s)
Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

INTERNATIONAL Version:
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (66.8 Mb/s)
Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Info Audio

#Korean: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
#Korean: DTS 5.1
#Korean: DTS 2.0

INTERNATIONAL Version:
#Korean: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
#Korean: DTS 5.1
#Korean: DTS 2.0
#English: DTS 2.0 (Commentary)

Info Subtitles