Psychokinesis

What initially lured me to in to sit down and watch "Psychokinesis" was the fact that this was a South Korean movie. But the fact that the people behind "Train to Busan" also were onboard this one just sweetened the deal.

I am a big fan of Asian cinema, and South Korea do put a lot of good movies out there. And I will say that it was no different with "Psychokinesis" (aka "Yeom-lyeok"). This was definitely an entertaining movie in many aspects.

First of all, I am the first to admit that I am not overly keen on superhero movies, but "Psychokinesis" took the superhero aspect of the genre and brought it to a whole new place. This was not about people in spandex clothing running around being all invincible and showing off powers left and right without concern for the ordinary man around them. No, this was about an ordinary man with quite ordinary every day problems, whom just happened to get superhero powers accidentally and using them to further his own and his daughters goals. So that whole self-righteous and better-than-thou aspect wasn't here. And that made for a very realistic feel to the movie, especially since you could so easily relate to the main character.

"Psychokinesis" is not a movie about grand special effects, CGI and whoa-effects. It uses some CGI, of course, but it is done with limitation, as not to take over the whole movie (read Hollywood superhero franchise movies here). And the special effects / CGI worked out quite nicely in favor of the movie, as it supplemented the individual scenes well.

The movie had a good cast, which all performed quite well. I wasn't particularly familiar with anyone on the cast list here, but it was a good experience nonetheless.

If you enjoy South Korean movies, then you should definitely take the time to watch "Psychokinesis".

I think the concept here is quite good; the problem is the uneven execution. I love the idea of an exceedingly ordinary (random) guy getting superpowers. The way he starts realizing something has changed (and then starts experimenting) is very cool. However, the idea that this guy abandoned his family seems contrived, and if we are to accept this, there should be more depth than just animosity from his estranged daughter. It also bothers me that the guy walked out; I thought personal responsibility was a big deal in most eastern cultures.

I've seen a few other oddball South Korean S/F films, and there is a standard theme that family is important, but "family" isn't just people you share genes with (or married). Those themes are present here, but they feel a bit superficial and unconvincing -- it's like some realism is missing (such as press coverage, proper scientific investigation of blatant physics-defying abilities, and military interest). The return-to-quasi-normalcy ending seems loosely modeled on The Wizard of Oz, which works great in a old-time rural fantasy, but less well in a modern urban setting.

Jung Yu-mi is fantastic as a psychotic mob-boss and corporate executive, though her screen-time is very limited.

The special effects are good, but the audio volume varies considerably from one scene to another. The music and sound effects are often much louder than the dialogue.

I give this 5.5 stars for the (fresh-but-flawed) entertainment value, with a half-star bonus for Jung Yu-mi. That's six (6) stars total.

'PSYCHOKINESIS': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A South Korean superhero movie about a father that discovers he has superpowers, who then tries to use those powers to rescue his daughter. It stars Ryu Seung-ryong, Shim Eun-kyung, Park Jung-min, Kim Min-jae and Jung Yu-mi. The film was written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho (who also performed both duties on the 2016 critically acclaimed 'zombies on a train' flick 'TRAIN TO BUSAN'), and it was released by Netflix through it's streaming site. I really enjoyed it.

The story is about a bank security guard, named Shin Seok-heon (Seung-ryong), who has a troubled relationship with his estranged daughter, Shin Roo-mi (Eun-kyung). He drinks some contaminated water from a mountain spring, and gains super telekinetic powers. He tries to use these powers to help his daughter, who is constantly being harassed by a corrupt construction company. Seok-heon becomes a reluctant superhero in the process.

The film is the first ever South Korean superhero movie, and it's definitely a refreshing change from the American ones (like the new 'AVENGERS'). This film has so much character, and genuine heart and emotion. It's pretty simple in it's action scenes, and villainous threat, which is what's so cool about it as well. The film concentrates on what a good superhero movie should be about, rather than on CGI and other superficial excesses. I really found it to be quite entertaining and effective.

Though it wasn't the masterpiece that some reviewers have said, nor was it a 1 star film, it was still enjoyable, especially if you go into it knowing Korean cinema style. Basically its your typical superhero tale. Average guy has a boring and average life until he comes in contact with a life altering substance that turns him into a superhero. He now uses his power to save his daughter from a shadowy organization. So its typical comic book stuff with a little "Taken" in there. Many will find this film to be too silly, but thats the style of Korean cinema, if anyone has seen "Train to Busan" you will see that a movie can still be amazing even with silly acting and borderline slapstick comedy. Unfortunately some people will be turned off by it if they are not used to it, but for this reviewer, it didn't bother me.

So as I said the acting is silly in some places. But this is common place for the region. Some of the serious acting was alright but I found it to be all very average. The cinematography was also hit and miss, some of it I thought was great but most was just average filming. The super hero scene, I did enjoy, though sometimes it borders on "The 3 Stooges" slapstick action. But I still enjoyed most of it. Not a thought provoking piece of cinema, but its still a fun watch if you've got nothing else to watch.

And do other stuff that is. The premise with someone getting some uber power I think speaks to the kid inside us. Apparently most have dreamt of flying as kids (scientists or some research has found out). So this is an extension almost making a magician out of our main character. But as always, with great power comes great responsibility.

And in this case a lot of cliches. Not that there is anything to say against those things per se, but it also sometimes really takes the wind out of it. You can see where this is going - that doesn't mean you can't have fun with it - on the contrary. This really is something that kids may be able to enjoy, having good and bad, family drama and so much more