Hope

An old saying maintains “Never put the cart before the horse,” an observation whose implications should be obvious. That applies in filmmaking, too: When a standalone production is thought to be the inspiration for a new franchise, the creators need to be careful not to get ahead of themselves. That’s to say that the first film in the proposed series absolutely must be a knock-out to earn the right to a sequel (or sequels) (“Star Trek” notwithstanding). But, if those behind the initial effort are so focused on what lies down the road in a potential franchise that they don’t get the first release right, it’s the equivalent of shooting themselves in the foot. And that is precisely what undermines this latest release from writer-director Na Hing-jin. In essence, this sci-fi action-adventure follows the improbable, occasionally strangely madcap attempts by a small town South Korean police force and others to hunt down a mysterious monster that’s wreaking all manner of havoc in their community and the surrounding environment. The problem, though, is that little is explained as the story unfolds, with an array of tropes that seem unconscionably thrown together – virtually no back story,

The discovery of a badly mauled cow is quite perplexing for the local police chief (Hwang Jung-min), especially when a few of his wise-cracking citizens suggest it might have been caused by a marauding tiger! It doesn't take him long to realise that whatever it is, it's a great deal bigger and more menacing than a cat as he returns to town and finds scenes of death and destruction with gunfire sounding regularly. What are they shooting at? Meantime, out in the woods his group of mischievous tiger-hunters are finding themselves embroiled in something altogether more mysterious, extra-terrestrial and perilous too! Ok, so it is far too long and for much of the later stages it reminded me of an hybrid of that lacklustre "65" (2023) and "Predator" (1987) - only with some added semi-slapstick comedy, but the first hour is quickly paced and entertaining end-to-end stuff. There's a bit of comedy horror; some welcome sarcasm delivered front and centre of the pithy and earthy script and the fact that we don't encounter their powerful new foe for almost all of that phase of the film manages to build an enjoyable sense of anticipation. Just what could be tossing people and cars so effortlessly

Hope is one of the most well-rounded action thrillers of the year. The clunky ending does drop its otherwise action-packed masterpiece status down slightly, but Hope effortlessly blends so many genres with stellar performances, impressive gore, and intensely riveting action sequences. https://bit.ly/NaHopejin