Many of the Korean movies I've seen lately seem to take this same nationalistic stand where Japan is pictured as extremely evil, always pressuring, conquering and violating Korea. I don't know what the exact situation in South Korea is at the moment, but judging from these movies, nationalism seems to be pretty much in demand.
As for the movie, mediocre would be my word of choice. Not bad, but nothing really worth watching for. The events have rather dragging pace, most of the actors are plausible, music suits the movie well and action looks good. The plot is weakest point of the movie, being unconvincing at best, it focuses on Korea digging up their Emperial history and rising to resist Japan after all the cruelty they have suffered from their behalf. Certainly not best that Korean movie industry has to offer.
