flawed but effective portrayal of the corrosive effects of war

Rating: 7/10 (2 September 2004)

There are a fair number of movies out there about the horrors of war, but they often portray war as a necessary evil. That's why a movie like Saving Private Ryan isn't an anti-war film; they are presumably fighting the good fight. But Taegukgi portrays war as an evil that poisons everything it touches. War is not noble, both sides do awful things. War twists soldiers into monsters and leaves only the peace of death.
While often searing, with jittery, suspenseful scenes of battle, the movie can be a little hokey. The two brothers fighting together is a bit too pat. The swelling orchestral score is a bit too emotional. Worst, towards the end both brothers have the sort of superhero fighting skills common in old war movies, where someone like John Wayne could singlehandedly take out a regiment. This is so utterly ridiculous that I found myself growing impatient with the movie by the end, and a little puzzled by the lack of criticism at this site for such obvious flaws. It's an effective, absorbing, powerful movie, although there's nothing in it as stunning as the opening sequence of Private Ryan, but even though it is Korean, it is too found of hokey Hollywood devices to be a truly great film.