First off, "Arahan" comes to us from the same director/star of "City of Violence". You can expect the same well-choreographed and stylish action, all captured with a slick visual style. Engaging characters are another trademark you'll run across in this film. Only here, the mood is lighter than COV and there are quite a few genuine laugh-out-loud moments. I was really surprised how many times I heard myself cracking up.

Anyways, the story is similar to that of "The Matrix", except for the fact that these people are funny and don't take themselves so seriously as opposed to chewing up the dialogue with psych 101 teachings. Plus, this entire cast has some serious martial arts chops, none of them learned everything in the few months preceding principal photography (a side note: I love "The Matrix", just trying to make distinctions. "Matrix" is a 5-star in my book). Also, the story takes place in modern day Korea, not the Internet. But it's about a boy finding his untapped potential with the help of a hot chick and some "masters" that must fight their own Mr. Smith. You get the point.

The story, although not anything complicated, is fun and quite entertaining. The true gem of this film is the character interaction. The comedy is genuinely funny. The love/hate relationship between the male and female leads is brilliantly done. The interplay between all the characters it really a treat.

And that more than makes up for the fact that the first half is light on action. This director tends to backload his films with action because he wants to draw you in and get you invested in the characters during hour one...and it works. Understand though, once he turns it on, it doesn't stop. The second hour is one great sequence after another. It's mostly all live, with some wire-fu and CGI spots. All three elements are exceptionally well-balanced. He doesn't over-rely on CG or Wire to make up for any deficiencies in skill or creativity. It's fast, graceful, creative...these are phenomenal fight scenes.

Lastly, the contemporary setting adds a nice element. Watching people hop from skyscraper to skyscraper while the regular folk go about their business below is very creative. While the story is normal, the outstanding action and great three-dimensional characters (and their funny and caring interplay), along with some new perspectives on things, really make this a stand-out in the martial arts film genre. Like my business partner always says, "I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. I'm just trying to put a new rim on it."

Sang-hwan is a young police officer, and he's not a very good one. Bespectacled and nervous, he's not exactly welcomed with open arms at work. He bumbles his way into one mess and out of another, all despite his good intentions, and he ends up causing himself (and others) more harm than good. When several old masters guarding the key to enlightenment identify a strong ch'i in him that - if properly nourished and trained - could save mankind from a newly awakened evil, Sang-hwan decides to believe in himself and accept his new role as a guardian of society . but not without bumbling headfirst into the responsibility.

"Arahan" opens with a pace and tone that feels far more dark than the script ever delivers, and moments of whimsy aren't as funny as was quite possibly intended. In fact, Sang-hwan's beating at the hands of a street gang is downright violent, completely void of any humor. Thankfully, the uneven pacing of the first half gives way to some welcome surprises in the second, complete with a spectacular showdown to save mankind with frenetic swordfights, great humor, and some spectacular wire-fu.

If anything, "Arahan" takes itself a bit too seriously again in the closing moments of the fisticuffs when too many fight sequences are photographed in brain-friendly slow motion (gee, doesn't this all look pretty and significant?). But that's a small complaint for a film that delivers some impressive action sequences, some inspired special effects, and more than a dozen good belly laughs.