Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

​

Movie
It’s been a REALLY long time since Korea has had a fantasy epic like Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds. The closes that could be compared is 2006’s Restless, but that was still nowhere near as large scale as this production was. Big fantasy films are always a bit of a gamble, but the powers that be actually filmed this AND its sequel (titled Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days) back to back, ala The Matrix 2 and 3, or Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. A risky gamble for sure, but one that seems to have paid off as The Two Worlds has taken Korean cinema by storm and cemented the good choice of having a sequel already done and in the pipeline for next year. Personally, after watching it, I have a hard time thinking a sequel was NECESSARY, as The Two Worlds itself is a fairly self contained story line that works well without any followup. However, I won’t complain as this entry was a wildly unique fantasy story that had me completely sucked into the fantasy without ever once looking at the clock or checking my watch (despite being over 140 minutes long).

Digging deep into Korean folklore, The Two Worlds (which I’ll shorten to from now on in this review) revolves around Kim Ja-hong (My Sassy Girl’s Tai-hyun Cha), a firefighter who dies saving a young girl from a burning blaze. Upon realizing that he is dead, Kim Ja-hong is greeted by three guides to the afterlife who eagerly announce to the heroic firefighter that he is a Paragon due to his selfless sacrifice, and it’s their honor to guide him through seven trials before he is allowed to be reincarnated into the other life (the pinnacle of achievement for Korean religious believers). However, these trials aren’t without consequence. If Ja-hong fails ANY of the 7 trials (that must be completed in 49 days), then he spend eternity in hell (custom built by whichever one of the 7 judges he fails a trial for).

It seems easy enough, as Ja-hong has seemingly lived a life of virtue and self sacrifice. For goodness sake, the man died saving a young girl from a burning blaze! As he navigates through the first couple of trials everything goes smoothly, but then there is a ripple in the afterlife. It seems that Ja-hong’s brother , Kim Soo-hong (Dong-wook Kim) has died and become a vengeful spirit. A spirit that is tearing the entire afterlife apart and not only chances all of Ja-hong’s afterlife hopes, but the entirety of the afterlife community as well. The leader of the three spirit guides, Kangrim (Jung-woo Ha) takes a detour to Earth to find out just what Soo-hong’s spirit is doing (and secretly sent to destroy him in order to retain balance in the afterlife).

The plot of The Two Worlds seems very simple and cliché, and in a way it is. The idea of traveling through trials and tribulations in the afterlife is nothing new. We’ve seen it in countless movies and countless differing cultures. What makes this one unique is HOW it is handled. There is a “simplistic complexity” (yes I know, it seems paradoxical) that leaves the audience feeling as if they’ve never seen something like this before. There’s really two simultaneous story lines at play here. The first is Ja-hong’s trials, and while they seem fairly straight forward at first, the differing trials fillet the life of the seemingly heroic fire fighter back and set up complex look at the “gray” decisions that most people have to make in life. Too many times we sit back and think of something as black or white, good or bad, Ja-hong’s decisions muddy those waters greatly, as he did a lot of good, but was influenced by a much darker side to upbringing that makes him a delightfully complex and sympathetic lead.

The second story is about Soo-hong and his death. What seems like a simple disruption in the story early on turns out to be the fuel that sparks the sequel that’s coming in 2018. Especially since the movie hints into glimpses of Kangrim’s past. A past that seems out of place in this movie, but makes a whole lot more sense when you realize that this was planned as a duology, has already been completed in the next movie. I won’t say that The Two Worlds is perfect, but it is fresh and exciting in a world of Asian fantasy that has long been considered predictable (thanks to Hong Kong saturating the market). I really sucked into the unique flair that the movie had, and the action and adventure is balanced nicely with a heart rending tale of sadness and suffering. Both Soo-hong and Ja-hong are both incredibly sympathetic characters that start off on opposite ends of the spectrum. Ja-hong seems like the innocent and heroic one, while his brother is angry and frustrated (both in life as well as death), and while those roles aren’t actually REVERSED in the film, the differentiation between the two polar opposite personas are muddied a great deal by the time the credits roll. A movie which makes the two men much more real and empathetic than anything that I could have imagined.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

I can’t tell for certain what cameras were used in the filming of Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds but a I have a suspicion that it was a digital shoot. Well Go USA brings the Korean fantasy film to Blu-ray with a great looking 1080p encode that really shines most of the time. Like usual, there is a thick blue color grading to the movie, giving it a dark look much of the time. Outdoor shots looks really amazing, with crisp highlights and well defined features and textures all around. Colors are bright and warm, showing off some great primary splashes of color (the bright red/orange of the guardian’s blades, or the pooling blood from Soo-hong’s fatal wound), and the dark shots look pretty solid. The only real MAJOR issue on the disc is the inclusion of the infamous Well Go USA banding. In this case, the STUNNING daylight scenes are counter acted by some pretty severe banding whenever there is an excessively dark shot. The opening scene is rife with it, and every time the film gets near pitch black levels the banding comes back. It’s not bad enough to really be hugely detrimental, but it brings a 4.5/5 film down to a 4/5 by itself.






Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA original language Korean track is quite robust, with good surround support and a VERY nice low end. Dialog is crisp and cleanly intelligible at all times, and I was really surprised with how wide the dynamic range was. Explosions and impacts from the battle scenes can go from quiet and demure to raging inferno at a moment’s notice. The sound of Soo-hong’s otherworldly rage when he goes into battle with Kangrim is really impressive, with roaring bass and a swirling sound wind and fire that really kicks up the surrounds big time. That’s not to say the surrounds don’t get a lot activity without him, as there is more than enough action to keep those side channels busy. It’s not a 100% perfect track, but the 5.1 mix for Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is MORE than satisfactory as a sci-fi/fantasy adventure film.







Extras:

• Behind the scenes of Along With the Gods: Two Worlds - Featurette
• Character introduction
• Original trailers

Final Score: ​

Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is one of the most unique Asian fantasy films to come out for quite some time. I’ve seen my fair share of Chinese and Korean fantasy flicks, and they are all eerily similar in many aspects (especially the Chinese ones which borrow heavily from well trodden folk lore), but this is the very first time that I have been shocked with the sheer ingenuity and uniqueness of the narrative. The construct is given some familiar “afterlife” vibes to it, but the way it’s executed is very fresh and unique midst a sea of familiarity. There are some narrative quirks, and the ending sets the movie up for the already filmed sequel (which is kind of a neutral issue, as I understand the concept was designed as a two parter, but I’m not sure this really NEEDS a followup), but Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is a very entertaining watch that is a breathe of fresh air in the Asian fantasy genre. Recommended as a watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jung-woo Ha, Tae-hyun Cha, Ji-hun Ju
Directed by: Yong-hwa Kim
Written by: Yong-hwa Kim, Ho-min Ju
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 AVC
Audio: Korean: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Korean DD 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 140 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: April 10th, 2018

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will catch it once it is on amazon prime/netflix.