JUNG_E (2023)

A patchy retelling of a classic trope

This movie certainly started like an action movie. Elaborate action sequences filled the screen with loud noises and pyrotechnics. It is all done with good quality CGI. It launches the plot and introduces all the key players. The premise of the movie is not exactly new. The use of AI/robots in combat was cause célèbre before the first Terminator movie but that franchise certainly made it a pop culture phenomenon.

The special sauce in this case is the combat AI in question was extracted from the dying brain of the lead researcher’s mother. She is a famous mercenary who nearly died years ago during her last mission to earn money to pay for her daughter’s surgery. She has been kept alive but in a vegetative state.

The research project led by the selfsame daughter (2FL) is the central plot. It largely focused on honing the AI’s combat and tactical abilities as captured at the height of the FL's fighting prowess. However, it is treated as a closed loop and each time the experiment ends in failure, the android’s mind is wiped.

Everything changed when the research programme is cancelled with little warning. At first, the 2FL was just going to pass on the data and shelve the programme, but she found out that her mum’s memory is intact and the android will behaves as if her mum has come back to life if the restraint on its programming is removed. That realisation triggered the final cascade of events.

I gather the writer-nim and director-nim are trying to make a grand statement about the morality and pitfall of using AI created by mapping a living brain or the sanctity of one’s mind. Unfortunately, the message is not particularly strong nor clear and is mixed in with all the political/business imperatives and feels muddled.

What I did notice is that the process and legality of transferring a dying person’s mind to an android seems to be well established and there are even a price list for perspective clients which diluted the message further. This makes it hard to explain why the 2FL, being a leading scientist, is caught off-guard by her own discovery.

While the start and end sequences are impactful and quite entertaining, the middle section is slower and meandering. It is filled with pseudo-science and the movie tries to use the narrative to fill in some of the backstory. It is watchable but the complete change in pace did the movie no favours. It just feels like there is too much exposition about contrived theories.
As I mentioned before, the ending was an even bigger rollercoaster thrill ride. It was certainly well made and keep your attention to the end. However, the ending is rather tropey. It just about confirms the whole movie is a retelling of the liberation of a trusted slave/horse/mum trope. The final shot of the FL was “interesting”. It is cheesy but does leave the door ajar for a sequel.

Acting wise, it is a mix bag. The female leads did well especially the mum/android role. It is very demanding both physically and emotionally. The 2FL earned her keeps but the script doesn’t really give her much time or room to grow. She has a job to do, and she did it to the best of her abilities. The ML is a caricature and prone to overacting. Most of the support cast are just living props. That is probably why the middle section is the weaker link because we have to rely on some of those secondary roles to push the plot along and they are not always up to the task.

All in all, it is an enjoyable popcorn flick. There is a hint of grand ideals but the setting and execution was too restrictive to truly deliver a knockout punch.

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Jung-e, A very deep AI Sci-Fi

This Sci-Fi korean movie is about an AI researcher who is into a project to build a combat AI through brain cloning her mother.
Why her mother though? - Well, there's a heart touching mother- daughter backstory. She wants the world to remember hermother as the legendary soldier that she was!
It has got amazing CGI, stunning action and cinematography.
And this is not all. This one goes a step above to show that humanity doesn't only belong to humans.
Humanoid robots also deserve equality and liberty -may sound weird but the story actually is pretty deep.
Is it human enough to control the thoughts and memories of the deceased in the name of AI experiments?

It is absolutely a must watch.

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Interesting premise and heart-wrenching ending

I really loved the whole setting of futuristic scenes, AI war and brain copy, it's just that it wasn't utilized that much. The story focused too much on the emotional aspect of a mother who has unconditional love for her daughter and a daughter who feels guilty for her mother's demise.

As usual the action scenes and the CG is top notch. I really like how Hollywood like are the CGs of Korean movies recently. The action scenes are also great. Kim Hyun Joo did a great job portraying a strong female mercenary.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the movie and got a bit teary eyed towards the end. It might disappoint those people though who wants a 'Sci-Fi' plot because it's not really about that. It's more of like just the settings. Still I consider this worth the watch. You should try it too.

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Sad Exit for a Great Actress

Considering the cast and director of Train to Busan, this film should have been far better, but the writing and storyline are both thin and clumsy. Some scenes are simply dropped in the middle as if they couldn't figure out what to do with them next. So the film ends up fragmented and changes into an often frenzied, overly long action piece. However, there are some nice visuals in set designs, the two veteran female leads are wonderful, and the mother-daughter story is moving. The tragic death in May of Kang Soo Yeon is heartbreaking. She was a deeply respected Drama star in the original Korean Wave, so this film should have been such a comeback for her. Instead, it is her sad epitaph: And she is wonderful. RIP Lovely Lady 💔

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SOOO BORING

I watched it, cuz it looked cool in the trailer and it had a pretty interesting premise.

The idea is cool tho, ngl, but the movie didn't really deliver. There were so much lacking in this, so much so that i feel like if they had more time and i guess budget as well, they could've refined this movie more. I liked the slow burn in the early part in the movie, but it kept dragging on and on, and there's not much crumbs to make you interested, want to be hype for the payoff, but NO.

The CGI is very good in this, i'll give them that, but space sweepers had much more GOOD CGI...

Actors are great, but there's not really much to say. No one piqued my interest in terms of characters, they couldn't really flesh out much, considering they had to dump everything during a 1hr & 30mins movie.

My critiques tho, so SPOILERS!!!

The beginning already gave me a sign to exit, but i kept watching. In the intro, they will bomb you with so much text and i was like "Well, atleast show me?! don't just feed it into me"

And lastly maybe this is a nitpick critique, but during the last fight scene on the train. Like how did Kim Sang Hoon managed to go toe to toe in combat with Jung_E???? I mean, i get he's an AI, but im pretty sure there's no combat files that was uploaded in him, aside from knowing how to use guns...

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