They said this was an adaptation,. But the characters from the original novel were misrepresented, and the story's emotional core was stripped away. Let me tell you Three ways this movie butchered the novel it adapted:
1.) Mischaracterize:
Kim Dokja, the protagonist was made as a superhero who saves others. He was never a savior. He didn't love the world he loved a few people in it, and that was enough. The live action twists him into a cliché hero, ignoring the nuance that made this story powerful.
Yoo Sanggah was changed to become a healer in this movie. She wasn't written to be a healer. She was a fighter, strong, assertive, and deeply grounded in her own agency. Changing her into a passive support role erases everything she stood for. It reduces her to a stereotype she was created to break.
2.) Misrepresent -
They took a story about personal pain and chosen bonds, and turned it into a generic save-the-world action flick instead.
3.) Mishandle -
They mishandled the CGI so badly, it felt rushed and unpolished like a low-budget green screen project rather than a world-ending scenario.
But even if, for argument's sake, this wasn't an adaptation, the film would still fall flat. CGI is painfully bad, with green screen effects that look straight out of a low-budget fan film. The system texts, which should've mimicked a game-like interface, came off more like karaoke subtitles. And the script? Awkward, stilted, and unnatural. The dialogue lacks rhythm, the pacing drags, and emotional scenes feel forced. Even without comparing it to the source material, this movie would still struggle to stand on its own.
