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The Battleship Island

Gunhamdo

2017

Ryoo Seung-wan

So Ji-Sub, Hwang Jung-min, Kim Soo-an, Song Joong-ki ...

6.5

250

Action. Drama. War During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island ("Hashima Island") to mine for coal, attempt to escape.

	Media	Author	Review
		Jason Bechervaise Screendaily	"While there’s no doubting its huge ambitions, 'The Battleship Island' turns out to be a disappointing misfire (...) Many of the film’s problems lie in its characters, which are for the most part one-dimensional."
		Andy Webster The New York Times	"Though Mr. Ryoo’s taste for heightened theatricality threatens his story’s credibility at times, there is no denying his skill with a large-scale action set piece."
		Justin Chang Los Angeles Times	"Wartime horrors are rarely served up with as much cinematic gusto as they are in 'The Battleship Island' (...) Directed with boisterous energy if also an enervating lack of focus"
		Justin Lowe The Hollywood Reporter	"Technically accomplished, narratively impoverished (...) The convoluted plot feels like such an outright manipulation that it diminishes the impact of the concluding escape sequence."
		Simon Abrams rogerebert.com	"That kind of cynicism-as-humanism is what makes 'The Battleship Island' so exciting (...) [It] is that rare war movie that's as thoughtful as it is bold (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"

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