An old review I wrote on the Korean Western film The Good, The Bad, The Weird. It stars Lee Byung Hun, Jung Woo Sung and Song Kang Ho.
**SPOILERS ALERT**
The idea of a Korean film taking a turn of a classic Western was alien to me when I first heard about it. The only Westerns I have seen in my life were The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and A Few Dollars More.
After watching the trailers, I changed my mind and thought I definitely needed to see this film, especially since I did not expect the comedic elements, plus the star cast attracted my attention.
What you see in the trailers is pretty much what you will get for two hours. Lots of action and comedy scenes that may have you grinning when you don't want to. The humour is largely thanks to Song Kang-ho as The Weird/Yoon Tae-goo. The other two players are also notable - Jung Woo-Sung as The Good/Park Do-won and Lee Byung Hun as The Bad/Park Chang-yi. The Weird has good chemistry with these two counterparts. They and many other people are after The Weird since he is the one who stole the treasure map from the Japanese official.
Indeed there is a lot of chasing about. It's a cat and mouse game. The Good, like a typical bounty hunter, is looking for Bad so he can get the reward money on Bad's head whilst Bad is looking for Weird to get the map. To begin with we don't know what Bad's agenda is. He's a bandit and we all believe he's only going for the map and then he'll get the money just like any person would. But once he finds out it's Yoon Tae-goo a small flashback ensues, his expression changes and he does not look happy. We only get a small shot of the Weird when he's not being a goofy idiot. He looks serious.
When I saw this one shot I was baffled that nothing else followed. Sure it gave me the impression there's more to Tae-goo than we are led to believe but I wanted more details. On the one hand I'd say this game had just gotten a little more interesting since it's made clear Chang-yi knows who Tae-goo is (take note of the former's pissed off scene where he kills a centipede with a knife and gun). Sadly there's not much to cover Do-won's background as he is typical good guy out to rid the baddie. Poor man is neglected in the plot and so is the actor playing him but he can aim well with his shotgun for sure. We don't know what his wish would have been if he did find the treasure but it's possible he'd want to be a free Korean. Weird's dream is easy. He says he wants to buy new land with animals and much more.
In the end after lots of deaths from all corners i.e. Japanese, Chinese and Koreans the final showdown leads to a triple threat match. Weird thinks he's found the treasure, Good tracks him down and then Bad joins in the game. Ah and we can see the inspiration from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly kick in here, as well as general Western films. I guessed Bad would be killed, the other two would survive and live happily ever after by going their separate ways. The darker side of my imagination assumed everyone would die and that would be it.
Before the showdown we finally get more insight to Bad and Weird's past and why Bad really hates Weird. It's not just because he has his pride and wants to prove he is the best. Weird chopped his finger off. He is in fact The Finger Chopper rather than Chang-yi himself as Good/Do-won assumed. Chang-yi takes off his gloves for the first time to see the missing part of his finger on his left hand. Yoon Tae-goo was one hell of a bandit in his homeland but has wanted to move on from his past by moving to Manchuria and suggested Chang-yi to forget about the past as well. Obviously it wouldn't be that easy for our beloved villain.
My original guess on who goes down was quite close in the end. Bad was eliminated whilst Good and Weird survived despite being shot a few times. As much as I found him fascinating and that he is played by one of my fav Korean actors I knew the Bad had to go as it was part of the story. I guess it was a required cliche too. As far as the ending goes, I guess it was quite open. Weird got away again and Good is still after him. Only the reward for catching good ol' Tae-goo went up even more. Our hero is searching for him and is not to be messed with. These two are bound to meet up again soon I can imagine.
OVERALL: Bearing in mind the historical timeline and what events took place, I still recommend this film if you're up for fun action. I was suddenly in the mood for Westerns since I watched 3:10 To Yuma a few weeks ago and it reminded me how I was keen to check out The Good The Bad The Weird when it was available to watch online or in the cinemas. The cinematography and soundtrack is superb and fitting. It's also quite challenging to see how much you understand the three languages used in the film i.e. Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. I had moments of instant laughter when I recognised a few words, especially the cursing.
Random babble about the trio
The Good The first time I saw Jung Woo-sung was in Musa. He was the quiet warrior with the bo. I thought his character here and in TGTBTW wasn't given enough opportunity to shine. Both characters from said films are definitely the type of characters I tend to go for in fictional lands but somehow they seem in the background. Do-won is of a typical hero status though it doesn't go any further than that. I did however like how Jung Woo-sun kicked arse with his shotgun and flew across the town killing the bandits on the rooftops with his coat flapping in the wind. It was undeniably cool.
The Bad LBH really took my breath away when I first saw him as Chang-yi. The eyeliner, shaggy hair, confident strides and the smart clothes made him stand out. Chang-yi is definitely the Bad. A cruel bastard who wants to be the best. Lee Byung-hun played this role splendidly.
The Weird I know Song Kang-ho is a popular actor (a very good one too!!) but I haven't seen his other works properly aside from Thirst. He brought out The Weird's silly behaviour very nicely even if he was someone who wanted to escape his dark past. The Good And Bad were serious gunsmen whereas he was the complete opposite and as a result provided the film with enough comic relief. Ouch to his way of killing the guys by sticking a knife up their backsides.
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