Yesterday

Review by Matthew Anderson

Live Action Korean Film

Company: ADV Films

Running Time: 120 minutes

Region: 1

Rated: PG-13 (Violence, brief nudity)

EXTERNAL EXAM

By the year 2020, the unification of the Korean peninsula has finally occurred. Detectives from the South, and "Rangers" from the North have merged to form the Special Investigations unit. Equipped with the latest technology, their missions range from quelling terrorist cells to solving high profile murders.

Detective Suk has been assigned to solve the multiple homicides of several prominent members of the scientific community. The only common link is that all of them were found with a mysterious pendant, the same one found on his son whom Suk accidentally shot while trying to rescue him from a terrorist group.

When the police commissioner is kidnapped, and the same pendant is found at the crime scene, Seok is pulled back to Inner City to figure out what the connection is. He is also saddled with Hisu, a forensic profiler and daughter of the commissioner, who has a habit of not following orders.

At first it appears that it's just another case of domestic terrorism. The further Suk and Hisu investigates, the closer they come to a 30 year old conspiracy that could destroy their very lives!

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The video quality is well done. There are no pixels, wrinkles, noticeable edge enhancement, or color bleeds to be seen. The transfer is free of defects.

AUDIO: Naturally the English 5.1 has a fuller sound and better directionality than the Korean 2.0. Yet, the 5.1 isn't nearly as loud as the Korean 2.0.

EDITS: The opening Korean titles have been overlaid by English titles, and the original Korean closing credits have been replaced by English credits.

EXTRAS: We have the original Korean trailer for "Yesterday", a 30 minute "Making of", movie highlights, and video interviews with the cast and crew.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: "Yesterday" starts off as a pretty straight action flick that gets very twisty towards the end. Jeong Yun-Su's story isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it does have a good share of action and suspense.

ACTING: The Korean cast is down right entertaining. Kim Seung-Woo dour look and crabby delivery is perfect for the burned out, emotionally closed off Suk. "Lost" star Kim Yun-Jin does pretty good as Hisu, creating a good balance between science geek and impulsive, gun toting, cop-wannabe.

My personal favorite is the incredibly sexy and tough Kim Seon-Ah. She is the epitome of bad ass chick with her perpetual scowl, take no prisoners attitude, and mad gun skills. I would love to get my ass kicked by her anytime.

The English dub cast does a really good job matching the tone and actions of the Korean actors. However, I have never been a big fan of dubbing live action films, so honestly, I didn't give it much thought. Suffice it to say, many of the ADV all-stars lend their voices, and all do really well.

FAN SERVICE: There is some brief nudity, and some mighty fine looking women, but that's about it. There is a definite "Minority Report" vibe going on, with just a dash of "Blade Runner".

FINAL EXAM

For the longest time, the only kind of live action film Westerns were able to view from Asia were Hong Kong auctioneers, Japanese Guns and Babes films, and overly sappy "art house" flicks from Taiwan. As far as we knew, Korea didn't even have a film industry.

Then, in the early 21st century, "Shuri" came out and Korea staked it's claim into the American movie market. Now, thanks to the forward thinkers at ADV, we now have "Yesterday", the first Korean film ever to be reviewed at DVD Vision Japan.

"Yesterday" starts off as your pretty standard, big budget action flick. There is no shortage of gunfights, ass kicking, or hot women with guns in cool poses. The plot is you basic "detectives race to stop a serial killer" story that we have seen a thousand times before. The characters are all impossibly attractive men and women who can handle guns just as good as any John Woo hero. If this movie had been made in the US, it would have been a "direct to video" flick, receiving little to no fan fair.

So, if the movie is so typical of the action genere, how on Earth did it win "Best Live Action" of 2004 at DVD Vision Japan? It's a valid question, and the answer is simple; this is one hell of fast paced, good looking ride. Let's be honest, you can say the same thing about most of the movies from Hong Kong and Japan!

Credit is largely due to Director Jeong Yun-Su. It's because of him that "Yesterday" is so awesome. He is a master at keeping things going. He barely gives you any time to rest before he hits you with another cool action sequence. He also is good a building up the suspense, using plenty of foreshadowing to let you know that something bad is going to happen. When things literally explode, he shifts to "combat photographer", with gun fights that look like something you might see on "COPS", shaky camera movements and all.

Visually, the film is a treat, thanks to Cinematographer Jeong Han-Chul. His shots during the action sequences are brutal, putting you right in the middle of the action. Even during the calm parts, the camera is always moving, taking in as much of the surroundings as it can. He also is the master of the "action pose", giving all of our characters a chance to look kick ass!

It doesn't hurt that the main cast is very attractive, even our villain, Goliath. Everyone, from Kim Seung-Woo to Kim Seon-Ah looks good, whether they are looking at evidence, or beating up a suspect. Thanks to the outstanding costumes by Kim Eun-Suk, their natural good looks are accentuated by their clothing. You also get a feel for the characters by what they wear. The stressed out Suk with his rumpled suit, the smart Hisu, smartly dressed in her business suit, and May with her bad ass punk rock chick look. Even Goliath gets to look good in all black. Perfect for kidnapping a cop's son, or killing a scientist.

Minor spoiler warning! I think that "Yesterday" would have been more widely received if Jeong Yun-Su's story was about the abandonment of the North Korean "Border Rangers" by the newly unified government, than the kidnapped children and genetic experimentation plot we were given. What could have been a great anti-war film becomes an okay movie about the morality of cloning, sheathed as a non-stop action flick.

While it may be the first Korean live action film I have ever seen, "Yesterday" truly is one of the best movies to come out of Asia. With it's slick style, attractive characters, and rapid pacing, it certainly will give those in Japan and even Hong Kong a run for their money.

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