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Blu-Ray : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: July 24th, 2012 Movie Release Year: 2011

My Way (2011)

Overview -

After emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon Olympic runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik (Jang Dong-Gun) and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa (Joe Odagiri) both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing horror of the war. Forced to fight for the Soviets, the two eventually rely on each other for survival, making it to Germany, where they are in turn separated and forced to fight for the Nazis. They meet again at Normandy Beach, both unlikely survivors, bonded together by history as they struggle to survive one more terrible battle as the Allies arrive on D-Day.

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Video Resolution/Codec:
"1080p"/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
143
Aspect Ratio(s):
2.35:1
Audio Formats:
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles/Captions:
English
Special Features:
Behind the Scenes
Release Date:
July 24th, 2012

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Je-kyu Kang’s ‘My Way’ is not just a film you watch; it’s a full emotional experience. ‘My Way’ will take you on a moving journey through several countries and languages as you watch the intersecting lives of two young boys, one Korean and one Japanese. This is Korea’s most expensive film to date (approximately 28 million dollars in production costs), which is readily apparent given the epic scale of the film and the Hollywood-style action sequences. This is one of the better films I have seen in recent memory and most definitely the best film dealing with war-time since Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’.

‘My Way’ begins in Korea during the Japanese occupation of the late 1920s. Kim Joon Sik (Jang Dong-gun) is a young Korean boy who lives with his family in the servant quarters of a Japanese officer’s acquisitioned estate. When the officer’s grandson, Tatsuo Hasegawa (Joe Odagiri) moves to the estate, the two boys quickly become friends and develop a friendly rivalry, racing each other on foot.

As teenagers, the boys both become equally accomplished marathon runners. After Hasegawa wins an important race in high school, his grandfather throws him a party. At the party, Joon Sik’s father is handed a gift to deliver to Hasegawa’s grandfather. When the grandfather opens the gift, a bomb is revealed. The grandfather dies, throwing himself over the bomb to save the others at the party. Confused by anger and grief, Hasegawa blames the Korean people and Joon Sik’s family for the tragedy. Joon Sik and his father are both exiled from the estate. Hasegawa threatens to kill Joon Sik the next time he sees him.

Despite their hatred for one another and their divergent social standings, neither of them can free themselves from the other. Their paths are destined to intersect over and over, across country, across time, and in the most implausible ways. By a strange turn of events, the two men end up racing each other in an Olympic qualifying race. The outcome of the qualifier and allegations of cheating lead to a race-riot between the Japanese and Korean spectators. As punishment, Joon Sik and his fellow Koreans are sentenced to fight for the Japanese Imperial Army against the Russians. Years later, after Joon Sik has sustained abuse and torture by the Japanese soldiers and officers, a now cruel and ferocious Hasegawa is placed in command of Joon Sik’s battalion.

After refusing to participate in a suicide mission that Hasegawa plans only for the Korean soldiers, Joon Sik is sentenced to death. But before the execution can take place, the Russians invade and Joon Sik and Hasegawa are taken as Russian prisoners of war. As POWs who share the same history and plight, they find mutual respect for one another and work together to escape the camp. In their attempt to escape, however, they are captured and made to fight for the invading German army. Although separated for years as they fight for the German army, they are reunited just days before the Normandy Beach Invasion. Just as the Allied troops begin their attack on Normandy, the two men begin their escape.

‘My Way’ spans several countries, several languages, epic battle scenes, and has some of the best special effects I have seen. The war scenes were mesmerizing and incredible. Although I have never fought in a war, I felt that this movie gave me a glimpse at its true face—a face of desperation and horror. I have not seen war scenes this impressive since ‘Saving Private Ryan’. There is also an amazing scene midway through the movie where a fighter plane is shooting at Joon Sik as he runs for cover. The scene was borrowed almost directly from Hitchcock’s 1959 ‘North by Northwest’, but with today’s special effects, I found myself wanting to duck out of the way as the plane headed straight for me.

The film rarely lets you breathe, but when it does, it is much needed. Although this is a brutal epic war film, the connection and development of the two main characters is the real story. Each segment of this film shows the struggles of the characters to survive the tumultuous and ever-changing political, social, and military landscapes. As the world violently and unpredictably twists around these two characters, they are each other’s lodestar. One’s humanity depends on the other’s survival. Hasegawa evolves from an evil and brutal man of war into a man who internalizes the value of life and the equality of all men. Conversely, Joon Sik always looks out for his fellow man and somehow maintains his determination and conviction despite the obstacles he endures. Watching these foils form a friendship over the course of cold-blooded murder and war was truly an unforgettable experience. The two main actors, Joe Odagiri and Jang Dong-gun did an utterly flawless job with their roles.

Although I wouldn’t change much about this film, I did find that Je-kyu Kang’s favorable portrayal of Koreans and scathing portrayal Japanese may have oversimplified the social relationships in favor of the director’s patriotic rhetoric. My only other objection is that Je-kyu Kang briefly inserted an unnecessary and distracting female sniper character into the film. Thankfully, no romance muddied this film.

Other reviewers have criticized this film for the implausible ways that the two main characters keep running into each other throughout the movie. One reviewer even called the story-line “forced.” Yes, the likelihood that these men’s’ lives would cross is unlikely, but this unlikelihood was not enough to suspend my disbelief. Je-kyu Kang plays his characters as he would a game of chess. He sets up formations and strategies that force the two king pieces (his two main characters) to come face to face. As the rest of the board falls away and the two are left standing, one’s move perpetually defines the other’s response and so on. I wish I could buy a ticket for the world to see this film. It is a milestone in filmmaking and is monumental on every level.

Video Review

Ranking:

‘My Way’ is has a glorious 1080p HD transfer and is presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. this film looks incredible in HD. The colors are rich and vibrant with the detail very sharp and clear. You can make out every scar, hair follicle, and thread of clothing on this one. The blacks run deep and inky with no evidence of crushed shadows.

The depth of this epic war film is amazing and everyone and every object look top notch on screen. You will notice, as to transfer our minds into the past with flashbacks, and some of the intense war battles, that the color hues change a bit, but that was the point. I did not notice any aliasing or edge enhancement with this release. I’d say this is demo-worthy.

Audio Review

Ranking:

The audio presentation on this disc is just as good as the video, meaning it is also top notch. You can choose between Korean and English on either lossless DTS-HD 5.1 audio mixes and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio mixes. Your full set of speakers will get a big workout from this awesome audio presentation. The dialogue is crystal clear and is mostly centered on the fronts, but since being a war film, there is dialogue coming in from all over - so you will hear it on all speakers. Plus, you will hear the dialogue in Korean, english, German, and Russian, which all sound great. The ambient noises and sound effects are killer, too, no pun intended.

The bullets whizzing by, explosions, debris, and screams are all distributed perfectly across the channels throughout the surrounds. It actually feels like you’re in a war zone. The bass will rattle the walls and floors of your place and packs quite a punch. The score is epic and sounds fantastic, and never drowns out the dialogue or sound effects. Again, a demo-worthy presentation of audio.

Special Features

Ranking:
  • Making of 'My Way' (HD, 9 mins) - Here is an all too short featurette on some specific behind the scenes footage, focusing on the more elaborate and giant scenes. I wish this was longer.
  • Interview With Actor Jang Dong-Gun and Director Kang Je-Kyu (HD, 6 mins) - This is an all too short featurette as well, which has actor Jang Dong-Gun talking about how he studied his role for the film and how he modeled his character. And director Kang Je-Kyu talks about how he came up with the idea of the film as well as some of the production aspects of the movie.
  • Trailers (HD, 7 mins) - Trailers for the film.

‘My Way’ was one of my favorite films of 2012 and is one of the best war films ever made. Its attention to detail and character is astounding. The video and audio presentations are demo-worthy, however I wish the extras were longer and that there was more of them. Maybe the studio is holding out for an ultimate edition. Despite the extras, this is a MUST OWN and receives my highest recommendation.