2008 ‘좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈’ Directed by Kim Jee-woon
The story of three Korean outlaws in 1930s Manchuria and their dealings with the Japanese army and Chinese and Russian bandits. The Good (a Bounty hunter), the Bad (a hitman), and the Weird (a thief) battle the army and the bandits in a race to use a treasure map to uncover the riches of legend.
The Good, the Bad. the Weird, Le Bon, la brute et le cinglé, El bueno, el malo y el raro, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom, Os Invencíveis, Os Invisíveis, The Good the Bad the Weird, Hyvä, paha ja outo
What in tarnation. I really wish I'm unpredictable, even for once. But shit, man. Why is this film so good? Why is everything I watch so good? I'm handing out four to five stars like free candy. I'm like some five years old kid in Disneyland rating every ride "best ride in the whole wide world". Fuck me. Here, take my cinephile badge, I don't want it anymore. TGTBTW is better than the Eastwood original, I don't give a shit. Once upon a time in the what? I'm done reviewing. Goodbye.
(Seriously though, what a glorious piece of art. Park Chang-yi is one of the best villains of all time. TGTBTW doesn't try to be anything other than weird and fun. Perfect blend of comedy and action. Awesome soundtrack. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.)
Part of Axel's Project.
Neo-retro Hollywood. Speculating the bygone future's past. A pan-geographical politics through the lens of historical, fantastical, ahistoricity. So completely its own thing while being a patchwork pastiche of its million different influences, emphatically responding to the idiom with "more is more" through its kitchen sink-ethos and adherence to the rule of cool.
All the while generously showcasing its penchant for staging, setpieces, and spectacle: opting above all else to put on a show for its audience when it can, whenever it sees an opportunity for the ostentatiously unnecessary (but always stylish) flourish. There is always room for more, for the zany excess and the over-the-top, and the sole place it exercises great restraint and great negative spacing (where less is…
Delightfully entertaining. Western goes to east and gets an interesting Korean twist, that’s loaded with hilarious funny moment, good wit and inventively choreographed kickass actions. Though you know it’s heavily inspired, it keeps coming up with fresh exciting elements to keep you surprised. The kinetic cinematography and solid music add to the energy. Among the lead trio, my favorite was hands down Song Kang-ho. Final verdict - Don’t miss out on this fun rollercoaster ride.
The Good, the Bad, the Weird is one of the best westerns ever made. What a stylish, badass and splendidly entertaining - riff on Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad & the Ugly. The sheer sustained energy of this thing is breathtaking. Song Kang Ho, Lee Byung Heon and Jung Woo Seong brought their A game here!
It's hard to do justice in words to it's wall-to-wall visceral action, insane practical stunts and brilliantly composed sequences. The camera movement and shot compositions are amazing, Kim Jee-won puts most Hollywood filmmakers working on much bigger scale to shame.
A western from the east, The Good, the Bad, the Weird is a slick, stylish & riotously riveting extravaganza full of gunshots, violence & vengeance from Kim Jee-woon (A Bittersweet Life & I Saw the Devil). And as perceivable from its name, it borrows heavily from Sergio Leone's spaghetti western classic The Good, the Bad & the Ugly. But its inspiration not only comes from that one masterpiece but Leone's entire Dollars Trilogy as well as Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Set in Manchuria during the Second World War, this South Korean neo-western follows a trio of gunslingers whose paths collide in pursuit of a treasure map. The Good is a bounty hunter hired by the Chinese rebels to possess the map.…
This movie now shares the number 1 spot with Sammo Hung's The Millionaires' Express for my all-time favourite Asian western. 🙌🏻
(I have only seen 2 Asian westerns)
I love Song Kang-ho. His presence on the screen is electrifying. Especially here. And I was surprised at how well the other main actors worked with him, they caught me by surprise. What a fun performance, all around.
This was a blast too , definitely better than I expected. A huge ode to Westerns, right from the East. And I just love the Korean wit and humor it’s really something special here. Definitely not for everyone, but you gotta admit it’s one hell of a fun ride. I know they had a ball making this too.
Thank you Theo for putting this one on my radar some time ago, finally got around to it. I can see why it’s sitting nicely on your favorites!
"I've never seen a Korean so mean and vicious" -The Weird,
When I used to go to hip bars some of the establishments would have movies on the TV that just look cool and you couldn't hear the sound. If I ever had a hip bar I think The Good, The Bad, The Weird would be one of the films I would show on the TVs. The action choreography and cinematography is some of the best I've ever seen and it's just all around a pretty looking film. Every scene is filled with color and something fun happening and the people all have an interesting vibe or look to them. This isn't to take away from the story, which is…
While everyone else is busy being the epitome of coolness, (e.g. Lee Byung Hun's rather ridiculous haircut and Jung Woo Sung's terminator-style one-hand shotgun twirl) the main highlight of this western parody actually belongs to its weirder side that is Song Kang Ho. His out-of-place clownish behavior serves as the movie's main source of comedic energy, almost effortlessly propelling the story forward ever since his first appearance during a crazy train heist. The director Kim Jee Woon made it obvious that the ultimate goal of the film is to be as silly as possible, and he had achieved it with Song alone, who, surprisingly now that I've checked, has only a handful of comedic roles in his career so far.
We need more.
If you chase somethin' to get somethin', somethin' else will come chasing you. Life is about chasing and being chased. There is no escape.
The most legendary chase and fight scenes ever, no elaboration needed.
I like how in the end it was revealed that the real treasure was this movie all along
Boy, was this fun!
This is a two hour long rollercoaster ride that is paced to perfection. It is directed with creative gusto, has some unbelievable action sequences and is incredibly funny.
Definitely one of the best action/adventure/westerns I've seen in a long, long while.
