Seo Bok is a South Korean film that was released last year. The film stars Squid Game actor Gong Yoo and popular actor Park Go Gum. Architecture 101 director Lee Yong Gu takes the chair for this Sci-fi action film that went to the top of South Korea's box office during release, however, Seo Bok still failed to earn back the money used to make the film. As a result, the film was pulled from theaters after a few weeks.
An ex-special agent is tasked with protecting South Korea's first human clone from getting into foreign hands. They form a bond causing both him and the clone to take a harsh look at the meaning of life as well as death.
Seo Bok is that film you have to take in the same way you breath in air. The plot is fairly simple to follow so you can easily get the deep dark undertones about life itself. There's an equal amount of action and character building. I was surprised that the action, while used sparingly, was exciting enough to glue eyes to the screen. Seo Bok's powers were unmatched so it was fun to see him kinda beat up on those who wanted to capture him. The character building takes a good chunk of the film's second half but doesn't feel slow like other films such as The Witch's first hour did. Seo Bok and the agent's ever growing relationship was a fun watch. They had humor that didn't feel forced. Then there was also conversations about the tides of life which seemed to trouble Seo Bok the most. Some other secrets are in mixed in too. I'm not going to spoil it for you, Don't worry.... Considering Seo Bok's situation, you can guess the outcome. Endings where you have no other choice always hit my heart hard. I believe the only issue I had was the last five or ten minutes and how these scenes felt rushed and tacked on in my opinion. No rushing was need at that point in the film because most who watch will have developed a connection to Seo Bok's character, causing them to be more invested in the finale. Sadly, the last scene took away from a film that was almost perfect. A heartfelt flashback scene would have drove everything home instead of that beach scene.... I also have questions about the agent's health now...... None of this was answered when it could have been.
Gong Yoo and Park Bo Gum had amazing chemistry together in their respective roles. Just seeing their scenes together actually was the highlight of Seo bok. What was a bit hollow was the director''s unwillingness to take the Agent and Seo Bok's relationship to a romantic level. I could see the two character's heading in that direction as they grew closer but I guess the investors and director were too afraid to make them "gay". I don't want to put a title on it because two men who are close can love each other to that extreme and never feel that way about another man in their lives. This was that edge that Seo Bok was missing to really spice things up. Korea's little brother or big brother complex wasn't enough this time. (Even thought what the actors did with what they had was powerful too..) I think that giving that extra push would have had Korean people talking and the film would have made more money back....
I enjoyed Seo Bok like I knew I would. I've never been let down by a film that Gong Yoo has been in. Seo Bok isn't perfect. What film out here really is though?
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