Review of Operation Chromite (2016) by Grant S — 13 Oct 2018

Nothing special - conventional, gung ho war movie.

September 1950. UN forces under General Douglas MacArthur are poised to invade and retake South Korea at the port city of Incheon. However, the operation, Operation Chromite, is fraught with risks and has a high probability of failure. In order to gain more intelligence on enemy positions, especially the placement of sea mines, MacArthur sends a team of eight Korean spies into Incheon. This is their story.

So-so. Had potential to be a gritty war drama, telling the story of the Battle of Incheon, which was a stroke of military genius. Instead it is a fairly conventional, gung ho war movie. Historical and military accuracy, and general plausibility, is sacrificed at the expense of action scenes, melodrama and empty sentimentality.

Dialogue is generally over-the-top and quite ridiculous at times. Every kind of cliché you can think of, MacArthur (played by the unfortunate Liam Neeson) gets to utter. Add in a character whose sole job seems to be calling out the names of comrades as they get hit and otherwise being sullen and whiny, and some pretty hammy acting and you have a recipe for a pretty average movie, at best.