ALIENOID: RETURN TO THE FUTURE
(director/writer: Choi Dong-hoon; cinematographer: Tae-Kyung Kim; editor: Shin Min-kyung; music: Jang Young=gyu; cast: Kim Tae-ri (Lee Alun), Ryu Jun-Yeol (Mureuk), Kim-Woo-bin (Guard/Thunder), Choi Yoo-ri (Lee Ahn or Ean), Shin Jung-geun (Right Paw), Lee Si-hoon (Left Paw), Jin Seon-Kyu (blind swordsman), Yum Jung-ah (Heug-sol), Jo Woo-jin (Cheong-woon), Lee Hanee (Min-Gae-in), Kim Eui-sung (Magnetic Field/Ja-jang), Jo Woo-jin (Cheong Woon); Runtime: 122; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Soo-hyun Ahn; Well Go USA; 2024-South Korea, in Korean with English subtitles)
“The sequel is less fun and harder to follow than the disappointing original.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
An incoherent big budget sequel to Korean writer/director’s Choi Dong-hoon (“Assassination”/”The Thieves”) incoherent 2022 sci-fi magic film that previously bombed among the western critics. The unnecessary sequel (made as a single film from the original) blends together sci-fi, martial arts, fantasy and slapstick comedy, in a wacko manner with South Korean fantasy that seems puzzling if the viewer is not versed in Korean fantasy. The sequel is less fun and harder to follow than the disappointing original.
It opens with an explanation of events from the previous film.
It tells of the missing Divine Sword that is sought after because it opens a time-traveling portal which would bring back the alien convicts from the 1400s trapped as prisoners in the human brains of those in present day Seoul. The humans are unaware of the prisoners and the dangers they present.
Thunder and Guard (Kim-Woo-bin, plays both characters) are time-travelers (from medieval Korea to Seoul in modern times) and shape-shifting aliens, who make sure the prisoners don’t escape from their prisons on Earth. Guard adopts the human orphan baby girl called Lee Ahn (Choi Yoo-ri) in 2002, ten years later she returns to a devastated Earth.
Alien prisoners escape and release a toxic chemical (haava) to destroy the human world, as urged by their evil shaman leader, the Controller, Ja-jang (Kim Eui-sung).
It’s up to Lee Ahn to travel through time to find the Divine Sword to save the world. She’s helped in her quest by the magician bounty hunter Mureuk (Ryu Jun-Yeol), who once saved her life. He has two pals-Left Paw (Lee Si-hoon) and Right Paw (Shin Jung-geun). They are cats who live in his magical fan and turn into humans, whenever.
The film tries to spice-up things by the colorful costumes worn by the characters from the olden times and that its sequences of time-travel are well-crafted, but its juvenile humor by the playful Sorcerers-played by Yum Jung-ah and Jo Woo-jin (don’t translate well for a western audience).
The sequel introduces a new character, a blind swordsman (Jin-Seon-kyu) also seeking the Divine Sword.
It’s a confusing and overlong film that overstays its welcome.
dennisschwartzreviews.com
REVIEWED ON 5/16/2024 GRADE: C