Secretly, Greatly (2013)

This had many elements for you to enjoy. It obviously speaks to the teens of South (and North) Korea more than someone like myself, but I think you can find solace in the family-like community that Dong-Gu grows to appreciate in the end. The heartwarming bromance between Dong-Gu, Hae-Jin and Hae-Rang - all three is a joy to watch. The scenes when they are at dinner or the anchovie scene were beautiful. Dong-Gu. I like the the idea of them having to use their training in their fight scenes come later in the film. The scenes themselves were predictably brutal in Korean fashion. Although the exection of some plot points like Sang-Gu being evil or whatever felt really flat.

The ending was pretty sad with Hae-Jin and Hae-Rang dying from their sacrifices and Dong-Gu persumably being killed - at least there is a bit of hope.

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seriously.... skipped quite a few good movies cause i read comments that indicated the need for countless tissues boxes to be at the ready. this one had few "warning" about it being sad, but OMG - broke my heart. why can't a korean comedy be just that -Aish!

anyway yeah great movie, freaking moved me to tears how sad these kids had it, and then that ending and that old lady just finished me off.

i feel the message at the end was written by Seo Soo Hyuk [NIS team leader], pretty sure no one can survive being shot and then falling from a freakin tall-ass building (especially as Dong Gu was the one who took all the impact), Dong Gu was pretty kickass but all the training in the world doesn't make him indestructible.

*slept on it and i think the one that survived was Lee Hae Jin, as he was wearing protective-gear which could've included a bulletproof vest, and as Ryu Hwan / Dong Gu took the majority of the impact from the fall - maybe - just maybe there is a way he survived. and given Dong Gu's words before the shoot-out and his clutching the bank-book, Hae Jin knew he was referring to going back to his present life with Jun Son Rim (the old lady who treated him like a son and cared for him)... just a thought.

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campy and wonderful up until the very end

This movie treats you to a cliche but very enjoyable time with lovable characters and mostly very good acting---up until the last 8 minutes, when with no warning at all the movie punches you in the face and breaks your nose, and then steals your wallet. It wouldn't be so brutal or shocking if the movie hadn't done such a great job of making you care, so that's one point in its favor... but personally, being punched in the face makes it hard for me to appreciate the good stuff that happened earlier.

Watch #2 made it clearer to me that:
1. this is kind of a Bad Movie. Pick at most 3 genres, or at least do a better job of cycling between them instead of doing a linear speedrun? The confusing political side of the plot is revealed by rewatching as just very thin and absurd. I don't mind dumb action movies as long as they've got heart, characters, and good acting, and this one does, so we'll call it a draw.
2. this delivers very concentrated gay vibes and [what reads to westerners as] innuendo --- even for a Korean drama
3. ....I just really liked it, ok!!!!!!
4. I still don't rec watching the last 8 minutes (even the last 30, once they get up on the roof, is all pretty samey), but do listen to the voiceover at the very end (see #2).

Can't comment on the music because I didn't notice it. Can comment on the fact that they love breaking car windshields, but then (every single time!) there's a continuity error where the window is immediately whole again. This happened at least 3-4 separate times and made me feel a bit crazy. Also, the point of pointing a gun at someone is to shoot them if they attempt to do something you don't want them to do, but in the back half of this movie it's used more like punctuation marks on what the characters are saying and is never prevents any character from doing exactly what they want regardless. Why bother!!

In short: if they wanted this to be a serious movie, they had to try harder at being serious. I don't feel bad about mentally cutting it up for parts!

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Honestly, i started watching this because of the musical. some of my favorite people were casted as some of the main characters in the musical. and though i could only see a few numbers that's available on the internet, I really like those that I've seen, but that wasn't really enough for me to be okay with it and move on, cause I'm curious about the storyline, so I watched this. Idk what i expected, but it exceeded it. Not gonna lie, I expected there to be more wholesome interactions between the three main characters, but that's because of one specific number that I watched. And honestly, it surprised me because the numbers I saw were scattered and didn't know which one happens before or after another.

[SPOILERS PLEASE LOOK AWAY IM LITERALLY NOT MOVING ON FROM THIS PART]

The one number that I first watched and really loved because it's beautiful and sad is titled "Ordinary Country" where the three main characters talked about what they would do if they were reborn. And as I said, I don't know the exact order of the numbers, though I expected it to be in the middle. And that was what I expected from the movie. I thought maybe they're having the talk when they were picking out the fish and all. But it didn't happen. But I wasn't wrong either, it is from that part. But they really cut off that part and put it in the end..... Like..... the audacity to make me cry.... I REALLY tried to hold back my tears when Haerang sacrificed himself, and even when Ryuhwan was hugging Haejin as they both get shot I still tried to hold back my tears.... BUT WHEN HAEJIN STARTED TO ASK WHAT RYUHWAN WANTED TO BE IF HE WAS REBORN.... I LITERALLY JUST BURST OUT CRYING... And now that I know the full storyline, the number hits SO MUCH harder than before......

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Had its good moments

I did enjoy watching this so don't let the average review fool you — my only gripe with it is that it just kind of focused on the wrong thing.

I could have done without a lot of the North Korean military commander scenes, and I wanted to see more of the different characters interacting with each other in domestic settings. I loved the ML's scenes with the different people in the community but never got that with the other MLs, who felt very randomly inserted into the community with nobody asking any questions.

Essentially, I feel like overall this movie could have been better served going the Miracle in Cell No. 7 route and being more subtle and heart-warming with the comedy than also trying to be an action flick, even though KSH is absolutely amazing at those.

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"Undercover Brilliance: The Secret Lives of Spies”

Secretly, Greatly” is a captivating film that weaves together comedy, action, and drama. Set in South Korea, it follows the story of three young men who are trained as killing machines and sent as spies to infiltrate the local society. Here’s what stood out:

The lead character, while acting foolish and funny, is secretly calculating every possible permutation of events. His double life requires dedication and perseverance.
The second half of the film transforms into an intense action thriller. The three men defy orders and engage in brutal fist fights. Their seemingly omnipotent fists become a marvel to viewers.
The subplot about the idiot spy’s longing for his mother is touching. In their native country, loyalty to the party overshadows blood family, creating a deep-seated struggle.
As everything culminates, the film delivers an emotional and action-packed climax.
“Secretly, Greatly” is a gem that deserves to be seen. It surprises with credible drama and keeps viewers engaged throughout. While it tries to balance comedy and action, it’s worth watching for its unique blend of genres.

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This movie is just excessive altogether. Yes, I liked how it was a fence-sitter for a while between insanity and secrecy. But how it went on to deliver that was through BORDERLINE over-the-top disgusting and redundant behavior.

Sure, no one suspects the mentally handicapped person, but at a certain point you go from avoiding attention to gaining attention. What pisses me off is how many people had themselves convinced that this was the right way for it to go and gave this a full 10/10.

I mean, CLEARLY they could've done better, CLEARLY there was no need to make this audaciously insulting to the mentally handicapped.

The action scenes weren't great, it felt like some typical action anime live-action. The SFX were really bad at times. Honestly, this felt more like South Korea just overall mocking North Koreans.

Cinematography was decent.

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