Hansan: Rising Dragon

I am not from Korea and I know and study a little about the story of Yin Sun Shing, even the film that came out in 2014 I haven't watched it, honestly when I watched the film Hansan Rising Dragon, I didn't really understand the storyline, all I could understand was that they had a turtle boat and only the Japanese dialogues I could understand where it was going, for the Koreans I had a little difficulty understanding their conversations, I am also not Japanese.

The rest I will start watching Korean films to understand how they make their storylines, many Korean films are interesting to my friends but for me it is very difficult to understand how it looks interesting, moreover the shooting of Korean films is always bad, where the camera is close to the character so that the aesthetic impression is lacking I really hope that in the future Korean films will be better than before.

Unabashedly Korean blockbuster had arguable historical accuracy but Kim Han-min surely treated audience with impressive production values and 'geokbukseon' final battle. That's how weak interrelated subplots and underutilized characters are forgiven.

While it's not Yi Sun Shin's greatest naval victory, it is nevertheless a significant event in Korean history. The sea battle is beautifully depicted, though conflating details from his other naval battles, it still gets some key facts right, and about the famous turtle ships and Korean and Japanese fighting tactics. More importantly, you get a different look than the western navies that relied on sail and wind.

The movie feels a bit rushed at the start to set the stage. When you have a movie about a naval battle, I can understand that you can't spend a lot time on the buildup of events leading up to it, but it could be confusing for non-Koreans who did not grow up learning about it in school. There are of course also lots of manufactured drama, but that's to be expected--this is not a historical documentary.

This is the prequel to "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" (2014), which depicts Yi Sun Shin's most famous victory at Myeongryang Strait some five years after the events in this film.

I truly enjoyed the whole movie. The intricate costume design and meticulously crafted set in this movie are cool, man. The Japanese armor design is dope af, and they've truly captured it exceptionally well. I love that they showcase the nuanced aftermatch of his campaign in this movie. The cinematography is top-notch, with numerous beautiful scenes that vividly capture the grand scale of war. Usually, other series or movies don't depict it with such precision.

However, it's kinda hard to follow the plot, even with my knowledge of the Imjin War. And yeah, I agree that the first movie was much better in terms of direction, but this movie excels in action, in my opinion. As a devoted fan of Admiral Yi Sun Shin, I thoroughly enjoy this movie despite its flaws.

Finally, man, can they just hire a Japanese actor for a Japanese character? After watching so much anime, I can distinctly hear the not-so-Japanese-speaking character. You can almost sense the un-Japaneseness. And I'm not even Japanese. Imagine for people who speak Japanese; it must be hell to listen to. I'm not against the actor, but at least if you don't want to hire a Japanese actor, consider a Korean actor with fluent Japanese.

A prequel to ROARING CURRENTS, revealing another naval battle that Admiral Yi engaged in roughly five years before the events of that film. From the outset, HANSAN: RISING DRAGON sails over familiar territory; we get an hour or so of setup and character intrigue before the filmmakers let rip with an extensive battle sequence that occupies the second half of the running time. I found the cast undistinguished this time around - there's no Choi Min-sik to bring gravitas to the proceedings - and the CGI effects are only adequate. However, the concentration on military tactics and spectacle makes this a fun, breezy watch.