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SYNOPSIS: Woo
Min, Cheol Jung, Do Wan and Young Hwan: they are the perfect
team to rule the underworld. When they were united, nothing
could stop them. Their plan to attack a casino and steal the
money to get a fresh start seemed destined to be a success
until Cheol Jung’s unexpected betrayal turned their
world upside down! Cheol Jung betrays his friends to satisfy
his selfish greed in the cold, dark world, while Woo Min was
enraged at his betrayal. At the same time, Do Wan dreams of
making a comeback and Young Hwan continues quietly help his
friends in the background. Meeting at the crossroads of fate,
endless deception and betrayal grow rampant. The four friends
are confronted once again with an unavoidable battle.
MOVIE REVIEW:
If a film company were to naively believe in putting
two of Korea’s biggest star in a single movie can draw
in a larger crowd then sadly "Fate" is the movie
that proves the theory wrong.
Released
last December in its native country and stars Song Seung Heon
(Autumn in my heart), Kwon Sang Woo (Stairway to Heaven) as
buddies, Woo-min and Cheol-jung from an underworld gang who
plan to steal money from a casino. The heist was a success
but Woo-min is later betrayed by Cheol-jung and is sent to
imprisonment for two years.
Our
protagonist, Woo-min planned on turning over a new leaf after
his prison stint but his past ties with the underworld and
buddies just wouldn’t let him off the hook. His buddies
edge him on a comeback and Cheol-jung believes Woo-min is
waiting to get back at him.
If
the plot reeks of recycled plotting from those early triad
movies notably from Hong Kong, I can assured the answer is
'affirmative'. Song Seung Heon and Kwon Sang Woo (buddies
in real-life) who started their career in tear-jerker dramas
tried their best in demonstrating their machismo to the limit
here. Song for the most part has to put on a melancholy look
and appears to bear the most brunt and injuries. Kwon on the
other hand cursed, swear (which incidentally sound like a
Hokkien vulgarity) and acts hysterical throughout. If both
actors feel that this is the perfect script to revolutionize
their careers, I feel a sad wave of emotions glazing pass
me.
While
not to the extend of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in "Heat",
Song Seung Heon and Kwon Sang Woo for the two hours duration
did not share much screen presence together. The relationships
between the so-called buddies before they turned bad are not
properly specify either, ironically only the last scene before
the credits rolled do you realized the existence of the friendships
between the former friends.
If
you have given up on the plotting, take a look at the action
sequences which on the whole is raw and uncoordinated. The
opening heist scene will definitely catch your attention given
the chaos, unruly choreography and a street fight sequence
involving Woo-min clashing with Cheol-jung’s henchmen
will have you wincing in pain.
The
pairing of two renowned actors indeed had the audience in
anticipation. But in the end, the anticipation has been sunk
by over-the-top acting and a lame script.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
Special Footages is another word for 2 minutes 50
secs of behind-the-scenes.
Behind
The Scenes is spilt into 3 segments namely –
Action (3 mins 11 secs) Ji Sung (1 min 30 secs) and Director
(3 mins). Covers interview with the cast, director and behind-the-scenes
of course.
The
teaser and final trailers round up the DVD.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The DVD comes equipped with both the original Korean and a
dubbed Mandarin track. I have no qualms with the visual transfer
and the Dolby Digital 5.1 adds more ambient effects during
the action sequences.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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