Badland Hunters Review: A Sequel with Lots of Action but Few Winning Ideas

Cast: Ma Dong-seok, Lee Hee-joon, Lee Jun-young, Roh Jeong-eui

Director: Heo Myeong Haeng

Streaming Platform: Netflix

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars)

Badland Hunters from South Korea, the post-apocalyptic fantasy-action directed by Heo Myeong-Haeng and starring star Don Lee. Available on Netflix from January 26, 2024. If you have opened Netflix in the last few days, you will surely have noticed a film that suddenly ended up in the top 10 of the most watched films. It’s called Badland Hunters and it’s a post-apocalyptic South Korean film with a captivating plot. What is he talking about? Of a world destroyed by an earthquake, of a doctor struggling with experiments on human beings, of a new human race that aims to be immortal, of how pollution could be the biggest problem in the future of humanity and much more. So far so good. But what is Badland Hunters like? Is the new Netflix film made in Korea worth seeing or avoiding?

However, the screenwriters, Kim Bo-tong and Kwak Jae-min, do not seem to be interested in exploring the social issues that a seismic event of such magnitude would entail, rather, they focus on showing us a post-apocalyptic world with several homages to the B -movie starring a one-man army. Mad scientists, mutants, and genetically modified soldiers parade across the screen, to be beaten and killed by Nam-San (Ma Dong-seok aka Don Lee), but this sequel is far from the appreciable results of Concrete Utopia, as we analyze in our review of Badland Hunters. If you are looking for a fun and action-packed movie to watch, then Badland Hunters is a good choice. However, if you are looking for a film with a more complex and thought-provoking plot, then you may want to look elsewhere.

Badland Hunters Review: The Story Plot

Three years after a terrifying earthquake wiped out all of South Korea, people are surviving as best they can in small villages built among the rubble where food and water are scarce. In this brutal and inhospitable world, Nam-San (Ma Dong-seok aka Don Lee), a kind-hearted hunter, tries to save Sun-na (Roh Jeong-Eui), one of the few 18-year-old girls still alive, from the clutches of a mad scientist (Lee Hee-jun) who intends to use the girl in his experiments to improve the human race. The survivors of this cataclysm live in the Bus district, where they have to face the daily shortage of drinking water, the siege of criminal gangs, and the threat of giant crocodiles. Nam San (Don Lee), emerges as a local hero, hunting beasts to feed the villagers in exchange for valuable goods. The situation takes an unexpected turn when San discovers that Han Su-na, a young girl he has protected since the natural disaster, is in danger after agreeing to take refuge in an apartment complex.

This place, far from being a refuge, is home to the nefarious experiments of Dr. Yang Gi-su (Lee Hee-jun). Armed with the determination to save her, Nam San, together with Choi Ji-wan (Lee Jun-young) and soldier Lee Eun-ho (An Ji-hye), embarks on a rescue mission full of danger and adversity. Here a courageous hunter named Nam-san (played by international star Don Lee, seen among others in Train to Busan or in the role of Gilgamesh in Eternals ) decides to take matters into his own hands when a teenager dear to him is kidnapped by a deranged scientist who conducts experiments on humans to create a race of immortal men and women inside a “condominium”, the only building left intact after the cataclysm transformed into a fortress. The plot, that of Badland Hunters, represents a rather skimpy basis from which we must not and cannot ask for more than what the authors of the script were called upon to conceive. That something is a dystopian fantasy-action that aims at mere cheap entertainment, as was the case for another similar operation present in the catalog of the Stars and Stripes platform entitled Black Knight, a not particularly satisfying serial adaptation that compatriot Cho Ui-seok based on Lee Yun-gyun ‘s webtoon Delivery Knight.

Badland Hunters Review and Analysis

Badland Hunters is a story closer to Mad Max and other post-apocalyptic films than to its first chapter, and the absence of the characters of the latter leads us into a completely different type of adventure, more inclined towards action, to simple humor and science fiction, which almost becomes a zombie film. Undoubtedly, among the most convincing aspects of Concrete Utopia was the complex screenplay, which sought to analyze human behavior – any of us – within a destroyed world. Of course, one wondered where the rest of Korea or the world was after the catastrophe, but it was still a surprising and fresh script, while that of this sequel is full of clichés, predictable and even clumsy: from the mad scientist to the military to the small community, everything has already been seen and reviewed.

However, there is an advantage that must be recognized in the film: the action scenes, especially those of hand-to-hand combat, are truly incredible and keep the adrenaline high, even if they are unable to support the production, which is certainly lame, especially on the story front. It’s hard to find an action star like Ma Dong-seok today: defined by many as Korea’s Bud Spencer, where he once again shows his impressive charisma, not to mention his enormous talent for throwing shots left and right. Su-Na’s character is also well-defined, as demonstrated by her ability to ask questions (she is the only girl in the facility who doesn’t fall victim to all the lies). Unfortunately, her scenes get lost in the general fray: as a central character, she is relegated to the background, while a thousand different action sequences hinder the narrative.

Let’s start by saying that Badland Hunters embraces different story genres from post-apocalyptic to splatter, from thriller to action film. A mix that succeeds in theory but only occasionally in practice, creating a story that is eventful but a little confusing for the viewer. But let’s take one step at a time and, for now, let’s focus on the plot of the film. We are in Seoul, a post-apocalyptic and wild Seoul where there is no longer clean water and the survivors of a big earthquake have returned to founding society on barter and hunting. The protagonist of the film is a hunter, a good and tenacious man, as well as an ex-convict, who decides to take matters into his own hands and face the enemy when a teenager very dear to him is kidnapped. Behind this kidnapping, there is a crazy doctor who conducts experiments on humans and who is the only one who has clean, drinkable water.

A plot that fascinates and pushes you to immediately choose this film among the many new Netflix offerings. This must be said. Watching Badland Hunters, in fact, we immediately find narrative elements that, like magnets, make us stay glued to the screen from the beginning to the end of the film, even though during the viewing we are faced with the limitations of this film and plot implications that are not always convincing. But in the end, does all this intrigue add up to a satisfying ending that makes us look back and be glad we chose to watch Badland Hunters on Netflix? Does this sense of mystery about what could be hidden behind the film satisfy expectations at the end of the viewing? Not entirely. Let’s say that this action story with splatter elements convinces the original basic idea but a little less for how the script translates on the screen. Badland Hunters is a film that intrigues but does not satisfy, that fascinates but does not touch the heart, a film with good potential but which gets lost in wanting to be more than it can be, becoming more of a spectacle for lovers of action and splatter who an unforgettable and unmissable film.

Hellbound, Sweet Home, and All of Us Are Dead are just some of the successful South Korean products that have arrived on Netflix in recent years and have taken audiences on a whirlwind journey through the anxieties of human existence and the paralyzing fear of the end of the world. And it is precisely to this (still too short) list that Heo Myeong-haeng’s latest effort is added. Despite the absence of infernal demons and brain-eating zombies, Badland Hunters – just like the recent K-Drama Gyeongseong Creature, starring the magnetic Park Seo-Joon (The Marvels, Parasite, Dream) – brings to the scene a horror story that shows (and reminds) how all the evil in the world can, most of the time, arise from human cruelty and greed.

Blinded by the desire to give a second chance to himself and his dying daughter, Yang Gi-su undertakes reckless and atrocious experimentation to create what not even God was able to give: human immortality. And it is precisely from the diabolical presumption and senseless obstinacy of Yang Gi-su that monsters are born (such as the frightening soldiers locked in the basement of the building) and monstrous individuals (including the teacher and the sergeant who become accomplices in violent murders with the sole intent to obtain protection and a “dose” of that immortality). Thanks to the collaboration with director Heo, the acclaimed action star Ma Dong-Seok, known to international audiences as Don Lee, officially debuts on Netflix as the introverted but valiant Nam-san. Known to the world for successes such as Train to Busan and Eternals, Don Lee has managed – during his twenty-year career – to conquer the demanding South Korean public thanks to the cinematic image that has been tailored for him: that of a “gentle giant”, as big and rough as he is kind and good-hearted.

Defined by some as the “Asian Rock” and by others the “Korean Bud Spencer”, Don Lee, therefore, gives a new demonstration of his talent and, with irony and humor, brings to the small screen a great hero who has little to envy of eternal Gilgamesh. With a gripping and frenetic narrative punctuated by violent action choreography, Badland Hunters forcefully grabs the viewer to drag him, scene after scene, into a story steeped in natural disasters and human cruelty, but also in audacity and resilience. While visually enchanting, however, Heo’s film ends up emphasizing the action so much that it bitterly sacrifices both the psychological depth of the characters and the coherence and integrity of the plot.

Badland Hunters Review: The Last Words

An indirect sequel to one of the most popular recent Korean action films, Badland Hunters is not up to the standard of its first chapter, even if it could win you over with its comic inserts and its raw violence. The obvious plot overshadows the meticulous action scenes, but Don Lee’s magnificent screen presence is certainly a winner. If you want something light, not too demanding and that doesn’t last long, Badland Hunters is a good choice but if you expect something more, then it’s better to avoid it because perhaps you will be a little disappointed by this story.

Badland Hunters Review: A Sequel with Lots of Action but Few Winning Ideas - Filmyhype

Director: Heo Myeong Haeng

Date Created: 2024-01-26 18:46

Editor's Rating:
3

Pros

• Brutal and stylish action sequences
• Good acting, particularly from Kim Yoon-seok
• Fun and entertaining

Cons

• Lack of originality
• Predictable plot