Review of 71: Into the Fire (2010) by Stephen Y — 05 Sep 2010

This movie gets a split rating. That's 3.5 stars for the story and 4.0 stars for the film quality and special effects.

Based on a true story, 71: Into the Fire has a "300" feel where 71 students fend off thousands of North Korean Soldiers for 11 hours. Action and film quality in this movie was excellent. In fact, the quality was so good, I thought it almost rivaled the Chinese film "The Assembly" and shared the same set in one scene. (Note: I consider "The Assembly" one of the best Chinese made films ever.).

The story got a lower rating however, not because it was based on a true story but rather I thought character and story development was lacking. I don't know if it was the subtitle quality but it was hard to connect with any of the characters until almost the end. Editing in one or two scene was a bit off too. One minute a character is there and the next, completely off doing something different with no explanation.

Still, the movie had a wide cast of characters who performed in their roles well. Special mention goes to David Lee McInnis (a fellow Wisconsin person) and Seung-hyeon Choi, both of whom played likable characters for one reason or another. Additionally, there was one curious oddity in this movie and that was the lack of female students. Wasn't there any back in 1950? After all, the battle did take place at a girls middle school....

In all, I'm going to go out on a limb and say, in regards to Asian movies China makes the best, then Korea, and lastly Japan (though Japanese TV Dramas are skill king). 71: Into the Fire was an engaging movie that looked wonderful and had great action sequences. Recommended for viewing, though I can't say its a date movie. Given all the violence and deaths, its more of a guy flick. Though a rental will be good, if given an opportunity it might be worth a viewing in a theater.

(Note: I believe it is currently playing at CGV Theaters at Ma Dang in K-Town.).