Typhoon

Review:

Director: Kyung-Taek Kwak

Starring: Dong-Kun Jang, Jung-Jae Lee, Mi-yeon Lee

All North Korean Sin wants to do is find his sister. They have been separated for 20 years after the pair of them went through hell together: their parents were killed whilst the family was escaping North Korea to South Korea, and the siblings only just survived a massacre by the North Koreans. Now he needs to find her, and save her from North Korean and Chinese bandits by any means possible. And by any means, I mean any means: he is perfectly happy to steal a secret weapon from South Korea and the United States, and swap it for his sister. Outraged at the North for how he was treated, and equally at the South for double crossing his family and not allowing them entry, Sin is bent on revenge.

Lieutenant Kang Sejong (Jung-Jae Lee) has been assigned the task to stop Sin from putting his plan into action which, in the process, will lead to him dumping nuclear waste on the Korean peninsular at the exact time an imminent typhoon is due. Kang begins tracking Sin down, but when he discovers the reasons that explain the poor escapee’s actions, Kang starts to understand the injustices that Sin has suffered.

This action thriller boasts the biggest film budget Korea has ever seen, and it was worth every penny. Kwak’s skilful direction certainly gives Typhoon that little extra depth. Indeed, his insistence to include flashbacks explaining Sin’s tragic past definitely put the storyline into greater perspective, ensuring the viewer has a real affinity with the leading protagonist’s plight.

Furthermore, Typhoon has a cast of the very best of Korean actors. The line up includes Dong- Kun Jang, who successfully makes his character of Sin rage with a psychotic fury. Equally, the compelling Lee Mi-Yeon as sister Choi knows how to truly jerk tears.Admittedly, the plot of Typhoon is a little silly, but once you’ve passed that, you can sit back and let yourself get taken in and root for the unfortunate exiled Sin.

Laura Sparshot