The Wilderness (2024)

Un film d'action post-apo entraînant

Il n'est pas nécessaire d'avoir vu Concrete Utopia pour voir Badland Hunters. Le film se suffit à lui-même et tant mieux. Si on sent qu'il manque un bagage sur les personnages, cela n'enlève en rien le bon moment qu'on passe devant ce film.

Les scènes d'action sont excellentes. J'aime les univers post-apo pour des tas de raisons. Mais lorsqu'on ajoute de bonnes scènes d'action, tout devient plus intéressant. Badland Hunters n'est pas avare et offre tout un spectacle. Les scènes sont à la fois visibles, explosives et rapides, mais aussi d'une fluidité impressionnante.
Qu'on le compare à Mad Max, en revanche, me fait un peu hausser un sourcil. Parce que je suis une grande fan de la franchise de George Miller, mais aussi parce qu'à mes yeux, le film n'a que son genre post-apo en commun. Donc, non. N'attendez pas un Mad Max coréen, ce serait trompeur.

Le casting est superbe. De Ma Dong Seok en tant que boxeur sans pitié. Lee Jun Young qui amène la pointe d'humour, mais se révèle plus profond qu'il n'y paraît. Ahn Ji Hye qui casse des gueules avec classe. Et bien sûr Lee Hee Jun en tant que médecin fou, mais où son personnage s'avère plus développé qu'il n'y paraît.

Quoiqu'il en soit, Badland Hunters est un film d'action post-apo simple et efficace avec des scènes de combat spectaculaires.

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Will someone please think of the children!

When your introduction to a movie is a mad scientist and then an alligator wandering in the ruins of the city, you know you are in for a wild ride. Badland Hunters won’t be remembered for its riveting plot but when you have Ma Dong Seok swinging his mighty fists and a giant serrated machete it really doesn’t matter.

Three years after an earthquake that leveled Korea, Nam San along with teenagers Choi Ji Wan and Su Na live in an encampment called the Bus District. Due to a devastating drought, water is the most precious commodity. Nam San and Ji Wan are hunters for the people. They trade meat for whatever their neighbors can spare. A well-dressed group comes to the encampment looking for teenagers. The newcomers promise Su Na and her grandmother all the fresh water they can drink, shelter, and food at the only apartment complex to survive the quake. In a dystopian future when armed men come promising “heaven on earth”, best to be suspicious. It doesn’t take long for everyone to realize that heaven is not all it seems to be when a mad scientist is running the place. Nam San was ready bring hell to the complex to rescue Su Na.

It would have been nice to have some background info on our main characters, but in this sort of movie it’s not overly necessary. Though it stumbled about in regards to narrative, the fights were right on point. Nam San had to take the scenic route on the way to the apartment complex so that he, Ji Wan, and newcomer Eun Ho could battle their way through two gangs. While the story didn’t add anything new to the genre except for maybe the whole “I am the Lizard King” angle, the fights were well choreographed. Most of the hand-to-hand combat was in close quarters and bloody. Very bloody. Lots of dismemberments and decapitations. The big draw to a film like this was watching Ma Dong Seok do his stuff. I love this big ahjussi hitter.

The production values were fairly high though some of the destroyed city sets looked familiar from other dramas and movies set in the dry ruins of Korea. Badland Hunters didn’t set itself apart in this genre but it was entertaining. I could have used 25% more ahjussi hitter. I’m just happy Ma Dong Seok is still making this kind of fun action film at the age of 52. If you are looking for a taut script with new thrilling elements in the ruins of the future, you might need to look elsewhere, especially if you’ve seen a number of this type of movie. But if, like me, you enjoy watching the big guy pummel his way through baddies, even ones with long forked tongues, you might want to give this a try.

26 January 2024

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