Korean director Na Hong-jin's Hope plays with a variety of genres, putting a heavy emphasis on action. In some ways, Hope, which also leans toward horror and sci-fi, might be called a highly skilled helping of shlock. I mean that as a compliment. Na and an able cast add a humorous gloss to a preposterous story about monsters that terrorize a small Korean town, reducing it to rubble.
Na waits nearly an hour before giving us a look at the monster, a large ungainly creature that runs at breakneck speeds, smashing everything in its way. Hwang Jung-min plays the local chief of police. Initially skeptical about a monster's existence, the Chief soon finds himself walking through the town, rifle at the ready.
Na also introduces us to a group of hunters. Zo In-sung plays the Chief's second cousin; he leads his hunters into the forest to destroy the monster.
The production goes full carnage when it comes to the destruction wrought on the village of Hope Harbor, which is close enough to the DMZ to create discomfort. The creature, more like a giant mutant version of a human, proves fiercely determined. It may be indestructible.
Eventually, a deputy (Hoyeon) shows up to help, adding flavor to the proceedings that brim with invention, speeding cars, and enough bullets to stock several wars, all enhanced by cinematographer Hong Kyung-Pyo's wide-screen framing, which is a pleasure to behold even when the camera has its eye on sights that are designed for revulsion.
The movie isn't without its share of gook and gore. Flies buzz rotting carcasses and ... Never mind. I think you get the idea.
After its first hour, the movie slows a bit, and it's difficult not to think Hope has lost its momentum. Na uses these scenes to flesh out the story, letting us know that there are multiple monsters and adding an absurd bit of humor in which a village old-timer recounts his efforts to hide from a monster during a severe bout of diarrhea.
I've waited as long as I could to add another detail. The monster isn't a monster at all; it's an alien, and it's accompanied by other aliens who have arrived on Earth for reasons the movie only hints at. I've read that Na says he's working on a sequel.
We're left to speculate. Na shows a creature autopsy. A buzz saw is needed to penetrate the monster’s thick skin, presumably a comment on the human approach to encounters with strangers.
After this mid-picture interlude, Na again evs up the action for his finale. This closing display of action again elevates the proceedings with a white-knuckle display in which a man on horseback tries to leap into a speeding police car while a relentless alien pursues.
By this time, it may seem as if Na, who already has demonstrated his superior action chops, is showing off. But he gives the action a few new wrinkles.
It's almost as if Na is saying, "Look, I know there are derivative elements here, but I'm going to prove that I can make them fresh, urgent and cinematically alive."
So what are we to make of this wildly conceived movie? Na tries to add a thematic boost at the end, making us wonder whether the earthlings might be less principled than the invaders, but the message is ambiguous and not entirely satisfying.
A footnote: Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender do voice and stop-motion work toward the end when the aliens abandon their terrifying shrieks for a bit of conversation, which Na conveys with subtitles.
I wish I could say that Hope was great, that I had no reservations about anything in its two-hour and 40-minute length. But even if it isn't, Hope so often operates at peak levels that the movie establishes itself as a crazed entertainment with greatness in it. That's more than you can say about most movies.
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