Starts out great, but gets progressively corny...

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2004)

"Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo" starts out great, but gets progressively corny. Basically, in 1950 two South Korean brothers are drafted into the South Korean army. The older brother must leave his girlfriend/fiancée behind. He also takes it upon himself to win a medal as a bargaining tool to have his younger brother sent home.
I really enjoyed the first half of the movie, but the second half, especially the ending, was far too predictable, far-fetched, corny, and melodramatic. I guessed the ending before walking into the theatre, that's how predictable it was. Many of the plot devices rely on hard-to-believe coincidences. The battle scenes, the ugliness of war, and the brilliant cinematography made most of this film worth sitting through, but the ending is sooo corny and predictable that I'd have a hard time recommending this movie, which is a shame, since it has some truly great moments.