Title: Tube (2003)
Director: Baek Wun-Hak

Studio: KD Media
Rating: 15 Up
Genre: Action (Thriller)

Synopsis:

After months of preparation, the promotion staff behind Tube, a local subway-action film, was getting ready for a nationwide release in late March. But then, a little over a month before it was to open, the Taegu arson attack occurred, killing 198 passengers of a subway train. The nation was in a state of shock, and ``Tube,’’ whose content was considered too similar to the tragedy, was postponed indefinitely. Some feared it would never be released.

A little less than four months later, ``Tube’’ has finally arrived, although those involved in the film are still carefully avoiding the subject of Taegu while discussing the work.

``Tube’’ isn’t the first film to draw unintentional parallels with real-life tragedies. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ``Collateral Damage,’’ in which a terrorist bomb kills the main character’s family, was postponed because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. With its sniper plot ``Phone Booth,’’ was held back after a real sniper began terrorizing the Washington area. And although ``28 Days Later,’’ an upcoming horror film about a killer virus in London, was made before severe acute respiratory syndrome began to make international headlines, it still seems ``eerily prescient,’’ according to Caryn James of the New York Times.

But putting its unfortunate connections aside, ``Tube’’ is not a film that has a lot of basis in the real world. Rather, it is the latest attempt by a local film company to make an elusive ``Hollywood-style movie.’’ Costing some 7.4 billion won to make, which is considerable here, the film, which takes its name from a British slang for subways, tries to recreate the adrenalin rush and pure entertainment that Hollywood films are known for, a difficulty given the disparity between the budgets of the industries.

Try as they might, none of the recent action-oriented local films has yet to succeed on a large scale. Tube Entertainment, the company behind ``Tube,’’ took a big-budget gamble last year with Resurrection of the Little Match Girl, a chaotic, almost psychedelic science fiction art film, and lost heavily. (The company breathed a sigh of financial relief when its quieter and more understated The Way Home became a surprising success.) Other recent ambitious projects, such as R U Ready? and Yesterday, didn’t get close to earning back their respective film companies’ investments.

That’s not to say that ``Tube’’ might not beat the odds. The film has already sold its distribution rights to Japan and other countries during the Cannes film festival last month for some $2.5 million, which comes to about half its production cost.

The film’s plot, about a jaded detective trying to stop an ex-government agent from blowing up a subway train, is nothing that hasn’t been seen before. Audiences will immediately recognize the influences of Hollywood, particularly ``Speed,’’ ``The Rock’’ and the ``Die Hard’’ series.

The characters are also predictably cardboard. Kim Seok-hun, a leaner version of Chow Yun-fat, plays the tough detective, who, for reasons we find out later in the film, always has an unlit cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth. Bae Doo-na, as the love interest, does a lot of pouting and seems more challenged by the physical demands of her role than anything else. Park Sang-min, as the film’s villain, does a better job than anyone here, exuding a slick evil that is cool and creepy at the same time.

The action scenes are somewhat impressive, with plenty of computer-enhanced explosions and crashes to keep people interested, but ultimately, ``Tube’’ feels a little hollow inside. It’s as if the film is trying its best to measure up to an older, and far richer, sibling. And given the quality of films that the local industry has been able to make in recent years, it’s puzzling to see why it should be trying so hard to do so.

Starring: Kim Seok-Hun, Park Sang-Min, Bae Du-Na

taken from: http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvdasian/16082.html

IMO:
yet another hollywood blockbuster wannabe... blue is much better in the way things develop as the show goes on... tube didnt go into too much depth of their character's history... just a brief glimpse and then focus its attention on the action... watch if you like bae doo na cos she's so cool in it!

Rating:
3 out of 5 snoopys