Lucid Dream

Decent film but lacks atmosphere. A rushed start leads to some very good middle scenes but it does then cascade into another rushed final third. The dream segments could have given it more body as you would have thought they would hence the premise but the possibilities within the dream state were overlooked.

Absolutely nonsense but entertaining nonetheless, "Lucid Dream" takes a not very original idea (what is real, what is not, can we get into our dreams...) and decides to take a page of the action book. The result is an average movie, which repeats itself too much, but is saved, however, but good acting and a pace that doesn't slow down.

Dae-ho sees his son kidnapped in an amusement park. He thinks the culprit is someone that must have a grudge against him, because of his work as an investigative journalist. But, when more than three years pass and he is unable to find a clue about the whereabouts of his son or even if he is dead or alive, Dae-ho decides to ask for the help of a friend and try to find clues in his own dreams, in a state of lucid dreaming.

What follows makes no sense whatsoever. The basis of the plot, the lucid dreams and our hero remembering from his own, is as thin as it comes, and it never sells the idea that it could be a real possibility. However, as Dae-ho, Soo Go sells us the character and his plight. And the direction by Kim Joon-Sung is flashy enough to entertaining the viewer and make us forgive the shortcomings of the movie.

All in all, it is an entertaining time in front of the screen, but empty fun.

A mixture of sci-fi with suspense, around the mystery of the missing little boy, his father's love and unconditional determination to find him again, films with people and mainly missing children always captivate me, just because I see the disappearance, the absence without news, the presumed death is eternally painful and doubtful, worse than death itself... The ending became a confused dream, but an excellent film, great South Korean production...

Despite usually having a lot less money than what major Hollywood studio filmmakers have, I have found that Korean filmmakers make a lot more home runs. And I am not just talking about "arty" movies, but also genre movies, which "Lucid Dream" is one example of. I admit that I wouldn't label this movie a Korean classic, since it has some faults. There are a number of times where linking footage seems to be missing (or was never filmed at all), and there are some minor plot points that are not properly explained. Also, I wish the movie gave a lot more explanation to the concept of lucid dreaming before diving directly into it. But despite such faults, the movie kept my attention throughout. There are a lot of interesting twists and turns, including the major one two-thirds of the way through (and the movie plays fair by giving the audience a few hints about what will eventually be revealed.) The characters are less stereotypical than in many Hollywood movies. There are some really suspenseful and exciting sequences., and the movie's production values look fairly decent despite not having a gargantuan budget. It's proof that if any non-American country wants to get an idea of how to attract its citizens to its homegrown movies, they should take a look at the Korean film industry. I certain wish my country (Canada) would do that!

The movie is not bad, actually sometimes thrilling to watch him look after the kidnapper. Unexpected twist but the end is a bit dull though. However I recommend it!