Badland Hunters

The genre and style of this movie differs so much from Concrete Utopia, it should not be considered a sequel as much as a spin off. As such it should be evaluate on it's own rather than a comparison to Concrete Utopia.

While the predecessor was more of a allegory of understand humanity, this film is straight out an action thriller. For that it is pretty entertaining and will give you a night of fun with your friends.

The positive notes are the well choreographed fights, which are both fast yet clear. I especially like the incorporation of various techniques including boxing, martial arts, and wrestling. The gun fights scenes were very John Wickesque, with fast reaction, gun changing hands, load and reload.

The weak point is the plot, which is generic and cliche. However, that is expected in action films, the real issue is the creative elements which seems at time to be slow and confusing.

With a runtime of 1 hr and 48 mins, this film can easily be trimmed of 20 minutes for a smoother ride. Some fight scenes were a bit too extended that they become repetitive and some story elements were not necessary in complexity and can be eliminated.

Overall a 6 or 7. But I'll put 7 for the attempted effort in creativity of the plot device, which I will not state as a spoiler.

A mad scientist is hellbent on reviving his dead daughter and his weird experiment is stopped mid way. At the same time, Seoul is brought down by an earthquake with a Richter scale reading of 5. With no fresh water, the city is on the verge of apocalypse and enter the Hunter who not only keeps the people fed but also protects them from the bounty Hunters and ofcourse more. When the mad scientist returns with his sinister plan, taking away the young children, he is not aware of how many punches the Hunter can throw.

Badland Hunters succeed in terms of providing enough human punch bags to Don Lee. The ordinary vfx isn't really a hurdle in the proceedings and he quickly gets into business, starting with a crocodile. The story however has nothing new to offer and is as silly as one expects it to be, which could've been deemed Gold in the 80s but in 2024, one can be happy for Don Lee's screen presence to even make this bland film to entertain slightly. The runtime also helps as there is not too much space for melodrama and the makers seems to be aware of what their true strength is in so the film gets into action mode quickly and stays that way throughout.

Badland Hunters combines a lot of familiar elements for a post apocalyptic adventure that pushes through any narrative issues with its brutal action and the fact that this is a surprisingly funny film. Despite all the mutant soldiers, gangs and a mad scientist, this is one of the most civilised wastelands put to screen and there's a lot of charm in that.

Ma Dong-seok is obviously very believable with his natural physicality and he has a subtle leading man charm. The best part of his performance is how he's never phased by any of the evil plans he uncovers or the unkillable antagonists he comes up against but a set of stairs knocks the wind out of him and the woman who's constantly flirting with him truly baffles him.

As a stuntman turned director, Heo Myeong-haeng offers further proof that former stuntmen are the best at shooting action sequences. Whilst some of the fights can be too hyper active, for the most part that kind of camera work really works here, accentuating the movements of the performers in a way that enhances every blow. Especially any punch from Ma Dong-seok himself.

Ma Dong-Seok is one of my favorite action stars, almost on par with Jason Statham in my books in terms of entertainment value. His work is usually very enjoyable (the badass punches in Round-up 2, some of the best I've ever seen) action + humor, like almost nobody else.

I was really looking fwd to Badland Hunters, but this turned out to be a let down. The plot is these action movies isn't usually anything new but this had a bunch of stuff going on that didn't add any value...? Action for the sake of it....tsk.

That said, others seem to like it, for a mix of all sorts of action. If you have nothing else to watch, maaaybe check it out? I'd much rather rewatch some of his older content.

Movie is watchable, and entertaining.

Lead actor Dong Seok screen presence is entraining. His comedy timings worked.

And the villain character played the mad scientist could be better. Story had potential but not upto the mark. But the movie is watchable.

Low production values .

Poof special effects. But are tolerable.

Finally can give it a shot.

Movie is watchable, and entertaining.

Lead actor Dong Seok screen presence is entraining. His comedy timings worked.

And the villain character played the mad scientist could be better. Story had potential but not upto the mark. But the movie is watchable.

Low production values .

Poof special effects. But are tolerable.

Finally can give it a shot.