Yesterday

I just rented the movie and I hadn't heard about it before. It's nice to see some quite realistic yet action-packed shootout. Notice that you can actually see the bullets making holes in walls (you don't even see that in most Hollywood movies since they seem to think bullets will just bounce off brick-walls...). Some quite good acting and a complex yet sense-making plot (if you can't understand it, watch it again or wait until you've finished high-school..).

You see a quite capable SWAT-team slowly getting decimated all the while hunting a psychotic killer who seems to be constantly hiring new thugs for support too. Most of the background story unfolds only in the end but it makes sense and the tension generated stays fresh throughout. Good work.

it seems south korea has become the major market for good, fun action movies. we've seen a couple of good ones since "shiri" came along. "yesterday" is no exception. tight, powerful action sequences bound together by a futuristic plot, with art direction a la "blade runner" make this movie a contender for one of the best action films of the past years. "yesterday" has the sense to be contemporary, thrilling and without resolving to unnecessary subplots - it is clean, pure fun. lovers of asian action cinema- you will not be disappointed!!!

It begins with a action-filled sequence that really wakes your interest and curiosity, but the questions that arise in the beginning doesn't get answered, only more and more questions and that is very annoying. The first hour is spent not knowing a lot at a very high speed, and the rest of the film has too many slow spots where the background and the plot is revealed only by dialog, breaking the tempo and flow down to a very low pace.

At several times I wondered whether I really began watching at the beginning, or if this was a sequel to a film where all the characters were introduced... Although, refreshing to see a Korean film, not a complete waste.

Asian cinema has progressed in many ways. Nowadays the production values of for instance South Korean films are almost as high as for standard Hollywood-fare. But still there is some way to go before the quality in all aspects rise up to what we've become accustomed to.

"Yesterday" is basically your standard Asian techno-thriller. Flashy visuals, nice special effects and flawless technical quality throughout. But like many other Asian movies i feel the script would have needed another run-through. The story of missing children being used for experimental research, and the connections to modern-day homicides, is just too messy. I never got a feel for the characters, never got a feel for the story. Also the actors feel a bit low on expressions, which doesn't really contribute when i already had trouble feeling anything at all about the movie. Simply put, this is not engaging enough.

And another problem that is also tied to the script is the fact that the movie is overly long. At just over two hours it stretches the script very thin. Since there are a few really nice action scenes, and a lot of promise in the visuals and general stylish look of the movie, i would like to see a more compressed story. Maybe twenty minutes shorter and some of the slower less meaningful scenes could have been cut out. In general i think both pace and story would have benefited from that.

In the end this movie failed to excite me. While it looked nice (and sounded nice) it didn't have much to offer in the way of plot or character development. And in the end nice visuals and a hefty budget is not enough to keep me entertained for over two hours. With a better script and less drawn-out filling scenes this could have been good. Now it's hardly mediocre. I rate it 4/10.

YESTERDAY is a South Korean movie, so right away you know that despite the flashy visuals and the high production values that most of the characters, especially the lead villain and the lead female, will walk around and talk like they just came from a funeral. I mean, this IS South Korea cinema, folks. If the entire industry is known for one thing, it's their drama, which because of its inherently understate and amazingly low-energy, most WEsterners mistake for subtlety. It's NOT subtlety, it's just WHO THEY ARE.

Which is why YESTERDAY isn't any better than just good. Despite the BLADE RUNNER-esque background and high octane action, the movie is so lacking in energy, that you wonder why they bother with these type of "HOllywood blockbuster" movies in the first place. I mean, can't these actors muster up SOME energy for the role? If you compare YESTERDAY to, say, MINORITY REPORT, it's like comparing a funeral (YESTERDAY) to MINORITY REPORT (roller coaster ride). Do you see the difference? And both movies are pretty much great to look at!

So there you go. If you want a thrill ride actioner, go with Hollywood. If you want a slow, "it's real because everyone looks like they're about to commit suicide" drama, then watch a South Korean movie. But a South Korean sci-fi Actioner? Forget about it!