It’s been a decade since The lamentationsand filmmaker Na Hong-jin is back! Not quite better than ever, but shh, don’t be greedy. His last, Hopeis an ambitious blend of sci-fi enormity and action-horror destruction – but yeah, what’s with those gruesome CGI freakshows? Hong-jin invests in a bizarre franchise that’s committed to creating animated characters that make me feel like I’m playing House of the Dead on my Sega Dreamcast. It’s disconcerting to be so engrossed in a creature crushing a small town, only to see the lowest levels of visual effects I’ve seen on a theater screen in some time. And, somehow, I think I’ve always loved Hope overall?
It all starts with a dead cow. Hope Harbor Police Chief Ko Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min) investigates the body of a mutilated heifer blocking the road; his first cousin, Ko Sung-ki (Zo In-sung), suggests that a tiger is on the loose and heads into the forest with a hunting party. But the culprit is not an animal, nor even the Earth. As Bum-seok returns to town, he finds the waterside village massively destroyed by a berserk entity, big, bad, and inevitably fast. Thus begins a staggering quest for answers as Bum-seok teams up with retired colonel Ahn Nak-yeon (Lee Sang-hee) and rookie cop Im Sung-ae (Jung Ho-yeon), until Hope Harbor is declared safe.
It’s standard monster mash territory for a while, as Bum-seok nervously rushes around Hope Harbor’s piles of rubble, testing his queasy stomach. Hong-jin takes the Jaws approach; don’t reveal your villain(s) too soon. The camaraderie of a small town coming together fuels the first act, as Bum-seok engages with neighbors who have armed themselves, including grannies with assault rifles. Then we see Va’migere (Cameron Britton), a witch-like humanoid with strands of metal hair tearing apart Hope Harbor, and everything changes. Stealth tactics are out the window and Sung-ae sets the tone by shooting grenades like a 1980s action star.
Hong-jin invests heavily in action choreography as Hope introduces Va’migere’s alien species. Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Taylor Russell all play near-unkillable aliens with different combat characteristics: Ma’veyyo (Fassbender) transforms into a mutant guard wolverine; Empress J’aur (Vikander) has antler-shaped spikes extending from her back; Ai’dovor (Taylor Russell) holds an ax in one hand. Facial scans bring a human touch to their all-digital avatars, cleverly linking man to monstrosity. There are as many characterizations of the Hope Harbor invaders as there are of the terrified survivors, which is important as Hong-jin plans future sequels. This is a strange and disturbing group of “others,” always ready to fight – for good reason.
Hope got special recognition for excellence in action cinema at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival, because it’s what Hong-jin does best. There is a savage barbarity in the death scenes that hides nothing. The Empress’s clan moves with the momentum of a race car, sending fleshy enemies flying like rag dolls on impact, but it’s only first contact. The way Va’migere grabs a militiaman and swings him hard enough to decapitate his buddy is worth a scream, or the union guy on horseback coming back from a fight, but it’s just a bloody chest. Hong-jin is not satisfied with the ordinary carnage and slow pace; Hope is a pedal-to-the-metal creature feature that boasts dizzying ferocity and a series of memorable deaths for the puny port natives.
Hong-jin’s storyline is surprisingly comedic, drawing on the satires of the action genre. Bum-seok’s hero-position lawyer is a whiny coward at times, while the delicate Sung-ae roars onto the stage with an arsenal of duffel bags, ready to kick ass. Or there’s Hong-jin’s dark sense of humor, reveling in gory mistakes that address horrific atrocities (like collateral damage) for unexpected laughs. It’s the kind of movie where the issues are presented with immense gravitas, but there’s also a plot-necessary monologue that provides key information about aliens… while the speaker continues to describe his unfortunate bout of spicy pork diarrhea.
You read that right. It is the uncontrolled magical charm of Hopeweaving between battlefield disgusts, jaw-dropping excitement, and genuine laughter without warning.
However, the miserable pixel vomit elephant in the room, these aliens. Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo captures a breathtaking horseback chase through Romania’s Retezat Mountains, the sunset kissing his lens so delicately, only for the awkward, half-rendered blur of Ma’veyyo’s angular appendages to ruin the perfection. How can all the aliens stand out so garishly from their natural surroundings when, when practical… (mild spoilers), say during an autopsy scene, the squishy cosmic being looks impeccably designed by special effects gurus? It’s a disappointing juxtaposition that’s not only bland Hollywood CGI, but reminiscent of Gary Oldman’s villain in the film. Lost in space remake.
And yet, Hope inspires only that: hope. Hong-jin dares to reinvent the creature subgenre with boundless imagination. Although it has similarities with Bong Joon Ho’s The host, Hope is its own multidimensional event. It all feels oddly retrospective, as we laugh at the dysfunction of civilization while sympathizing with the ugly-as-sin visitors who need a post-production makeover. It’s too long, sometimes adrift, and for the billionth time, it doesn’t win any special effects awards – but somehow, Hope perseveres enough to sell Hong-jin’s marvelous show (behind the blood and guts).
Movie rating: 3.5/5
