For the Emperor (2014)

Another action packed movie, or should I say another blood bath passed for a story line? Very graphic, as this new trend in K movies seems to be a MUST lately. It's not the blood splashing all over that's bothering me, it's the fact that it reminds me of the HBO Spartacus kind of scenes (meh! no poetry whatsoever, nothing epic, uplifting or cathartic, just a slaughterhouse field trip). 90% of the guys in this movie seem to have grown knives straight from their fingers and whenever they move they stab someone... I never thought I would miss the good ole iron pipe that Korean old school gangsters used. I must admit there was one fighting scene however that made my day. Let's just say it involves a shirtless, slim, muscle packed and tattooed Lee Min Ki and a refrigerator. For the guy he was fighting with...

And since I mentioned the shirtless LMK earlier, I should warn you (or entice you, depending on what you like lol) that the shirt is not the only MIA piece of clothing... try ALL of them! His interview during the press conference made me wonder why would he be so wary of the public opinion. Watch the movie and you'll get it! It's more than your regular bed scenes, so I wouldn't recommend this movie to those that dislike mature explicit content. I had no problem with those scenes, I do however have to say that Lee Tae Im, the only actress in this movie, seems to have been cast purely for this purpose. And it somehow annoyed me. Talk about sexual objectification of women. Not that I have a feminist out of place moment here. It's just that her character is anything but 3D, to say the least. Yeon Soo or an air doll, all the same...

The story is nothing much, rather filled with cliches. It reminded me a little bit of A Bittersweet Life, but you need to be drunk or extremely lenient to put the two movies on the same page.

Park Sung Woong is right on spot, bringing his character to life as perfectly as expected. His reserved, classy, poker faced gang boss Sang Ha shows great chemistry with the loose cannon, enraged, horny and blood thirsty Yi Hwan, the character played by Lee Min Ki. I think that's one of the few things that I enjoyed while watching the movie.

Long story short, For the Emperor doesn't have much of a statement to make. It's your regular action flick, with lots of blood and over the top steamy sex. The story line is very simple and predictable. The characters not too complex, the soundtrack nothing much. Lights and cinematography, few memorable scenes. Rewatch value? Unless you wanna play on repeat the few bed scenes or action ones, I'd say no one would bother revisiting this movie.

Watch if you are a Lee Min Ki or Park Sung Woong fan, if you like violent action movies and you don't care too much about intricate plots.

Don't watch if you dislike mature content, graphic scenes or if you think Lee Min Ki's hairdo resembles a bird nest or next door ajumma's perm.

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If your criticism of a movie that STATES CLEARLY it's dark, adult, violent, is that it is dark, adult and violent, seriously learn how to read. I don't care about the four grade school children who got "offended" by the view of nude human bodies (THE HORROR) and I assure you neither are any of the actors or creators. I don't understand why you seek out such movies? So hypocritical. Anyway, moving on. I'm a total wreck right now because sure this is a gangster film some heartbreaking was expected but honestly when Korea does cinema right, it becomes PHENOMENAL. Obviously, this is an ADULT film so please don't watch if it's not your thing. If you're a well adjusted adult and these things don't offend you I would absolutely recommend this. The filming, the acting, the two main leads are both my favorite actors but what I love about this one is that Lee Minki isn't some desperate guy mulling over making a kill, fuck no, HE IS A KILLER. That was established in the very first scene. But he's the protagonist. So yes, I absolutely loved it

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