The scenery is great! I loved that sequence where Song Kang-ho leaves his house and walks through the market, passing among a baby elephant, forlorn prostitutes, camels, fire-breathers, strange carts filled with unidentifiable goods, shabby and wobbly buildings, and plenty of grotesque-looking tough guys, and funky-looking spies.

The filming and editing are remarkable. There's great framing, beautiful lines of vision, nice extreme angles, and a rich mix of long shots, close-ups, mid-distance-shots. The camera is hand-held, stable, and moving along various supports. It's fun to watch the camera moving across a scene, then have the characters move across the lens of a stable camera. There's even a shot where the blood in a scene splatters onto the camera lens. The action scenes are painstakingly edited, with the cuts lasting 3-5 seconds, and a constant radical shift of angles of vision flipping the viewer all over the place. There are claustrophobically closed-in spaces and wide-open desert spaces. The fabulous wild 5-way chase scene towards the end makes even the desert seem crowded. There are all sorts of nice bits of action in there also.

The plot is plenty serviceable. It's a high-value, well-known, and much-used movie device. It's great for reminding us that we're watching a movie that's very aware of its movie-ness. In this case, it gives a team of remarkably talented and dedicated movie people the opportunity to show us how wonderful a movie can be.

Set in Manchuria during the 1930s, three Korean men--one a bounty hunter, one a bandit chief, and the other a seemingly bumbling thief--cross paths during a train robbery. The thief, Tae-Goo, happens to grab a map believed to mark the spot where Imperial Chinese treasure is buried, and this sparks a race between rival bandit gangs and even the Japanese Army.

The action is almost non-stop, with thrilling stunts, gun-fights, bits of humor, and a rollicking "spaghetti western" style soundtrack, and it culminates in an intense chase sequence in the seemingly endless Gobi Desert, where scores of bandit horsemen chase after Tae-Goo, who's riding a motorcycle, as well as Japanese and Manchurian cavalry pursuing with jeeps, trucks, and motorized artillery.

Ultimately, it's a face off between the three Koreans, the only survivors of the battle in the desert, in a three-way gun duel.

If you like action/adventure fun, get this movie quick!

A two-bit bumbling crook named Tae-Goo "The Weird" (Song Kang-Ho, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) robs a train only to unintentionally make off with a Quing Dynasty treasure map. Everyone wants this map; the Japanese army, the Korean independence group as well as a lot of shady characters. On Tae-goo's tail is a relentless killer named Park Chang-Yi "The Bad" (Lee Byung-Hyun, A Bittersweet Life) who is also after the map and has a seemingly personal reason as to why he wants Tae-Goo's head on a plate. In hot pursuit for both of them is a bounty hunter named Park Do-Won (Jung Woo-Sung, The Restless) who can do nicely with the bounty for Chang-Yi's capture or the treasure itself. Now, these three men are on a collision course--who would win out in the end?

Kim Jee-Woon's "The Good the Bad the Weird" is an extremely well-made film and is a highly entertaining genre-busting affair. This chaotic period similar to the wild west in America, a Machuria-set "kimchi" western (as opposed to "sukiyaki") is a melting pot of all things awesome about westerns and looks like a homage to Sergio Leone's "spaghetti westerns". There's a train heist, lots of shoot-outs in a small town and cool characters. You'll see bits and pieces of "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" (so obvious with the film's title), "A Fistful of Dollars" and even Miike's "Sukiyaki Western Django". The film has a very large budget and it shows, the film is exquisitely shot and the superb style and camerawork reminded me of Ryuhei Kitamura (Azumi). Director Kim definitely knows his stuff in style and with the film's intriguing concept, Asian and Korean cinema fans have reason to see this film, and it is definitely something that a "solid" Asian film fan just can't miss.

The film's set designs and architecture maintain some of that "dynasty-era" Korean period but it does have a strong touch of the old west. It has some rather creative touches; there is some swordplay, knives used with brutality, there's a big guy with a huge hammer, a "sleeping Buddha" under construction, rifles with telescopes, motorcycles and jeeps, saloons and more--all these contribute to the film's "mixing of genres" style. Director Kim also seems to be having a lot of fun with the film, as he never forgets his touches of humor to help the film's pace and his stunning camerawork which proves to be the film's showstopper. Explosions and gunfire are aplenty; highlights include a very cool town gunfight and a very long chase sequence with the ensembled cast supported by dozens of extras. I've read that Kim actually had cameramen hanging on wires to shoot the desert scenes--Kim Jee-Woon's talent shines through.

The action scenes are very exciting and exquisitely executed. It looks like director Kim took some pointers from Ryuhei Kitamura because they are just so full of "coolness" that can make action scribe John Woo a little jealous. Kim also avoids the use of CGI in the action and depends mostly on elaborate stunts and old-fashioned camera trickey; there is minimal use of CGI enhanced effects but only in the film's set designs. Ok, so some scenes required a large suspension of disbelief, I rather found Jung Woo-Sung's Do-Won's skills with a gun a little too over-the-top especially when he engages a large number of the Japanese army. He never even gets grazed by a bullet so either Do-Won is unbelievably good or these guys just supremely suck. But hey, this is a minor complaint, after all I don't think this film was meant to be taken seriously and more of a homage film. Hey, please take note that Kim doesn't hold back with the blood--and the way he executes it kept the film from having too much of that "comic bookish" feel. There is also a legend of a certain "Finger chopper" that gives some surprises and I felt that the screenplay played its cards well.

Song Kang-Ho's Tae-Goo arguably steals the show and proves to be the film's most interesting character--the actor also proves as to why he is one of South Korea's most sought after performers. The man can act in almost any film I've seen that further cements his reputation in versatility. Lee Byung Hyun does have the most intense presence onscreen, his character along with Song Kang-Ho's Tae-goo are the kind of characters that can elevate the film into "cult status". Jung Woo-Sung's "the Good" character feels a little too cool and lacks precision, but the actor does do the best with what he has. Still, the three popular actors mesh very well and has dynamic chemistry. Oh, the women are also great-looking and serves to titillate the male audience.

"The Good, The Bad, The Weird" is a very polished film that lived up to my expectations. The film's plot isn't too deep, but the film's "wow" factor is just so incredibly impressive that I can look pass the very simple plot which makes it essentially a chase film. It is a solid film, that exudes popcorn entertainment but its characters do carry much of the film's weight. It may be little too pre-occupied in becoming captivated with itself but its small flaws aren't really worth to nitpick. The film is an action-packed affair that action junkies will never become bored--as for the rest, they can find something else to like in the film--its characters, style and performers will definitely impress. I'm happy to say that Kim Jee-Woon's film lived up to the hype.

Highly Recommended!

Note: I own the 3-disc Korean region-3 release, which has both the theatrical uncut Korean version and the International version, which may arguably be a better paced, leaner film. The Korean cut has more development to Tae-goo's character and some extra scenes in the end. Luckily both versions are available in the Korean DVD release.

Anyhow, the film has many references to Euro-westerns, specifically, "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly", but still it manages to keep things fresh during its entire duration--and this film is pretty lengthy. Oh and the surprise ending really, er, surprised me? Ha ha.

The cast? One word: phenomenal. You literally have some of the GREATEST Korean male actors involved, and each star works their character brilliantly. Song Kang-Ho ("Memories Of Murder", "JSA") flat out levels any project he is attached to. I don't know if anyone else agrees, and I don't mean to swing off this dude's nuts, but he is seriously one of the greatest performers alive.