Operation Chromite is a south korean film that was directed by Lee Jae Han( 71: Into the fire, A moment to remember) and stars Lee Jung jae, Lee Boem soo, and Liam Neeson with special appearances by Kim Sun-a, Park Sung-woong, and Choo Sung hoon. The film took number one spot in its opening week and sold over seven million tickets sold. The film takes the title of Battle For Incheon: Operation Chromite for it's stateside release.
This film is a fictional retelling of the US/CIA military operation with the code name Trudy Jackson that took place before the actually landing operation in Incheon during the Korean war.
Please keep in mind like stated above, the plot is a fictional version based on true events. I did wonder however, how events in history would have been different if the US army had had such a deep connection with the south korean army like in this film. A History book should already told you that America aided in helping South Korea with their war and this film does a good job setting up a story for entertainment purposes only. I enjoyed watching both sides from the two different perspectives. One was the US army and the other the South Korean Solders who have entered North Korea's territory. Because this is a Korean film, you witness more of the Korean side of things but the American army had a enough screen time that they are not forgotten. Their presence even uplifts the plot somewhat. Just like other Korean films about historical wars, Operation Chromite keeps the process of patriotic storytelling. Someone always gets sacrificed for the greater good. I've viewed a ton of korean historical war films in my day so things got predictable in terms of foreshadowing who was going to get the boot and who was going to get kicked but end up getting only a few scratches. It was kind of like watching the J-film battle royal, without the war theme or them killing each other. Korean on Korean war is kinda them killing each other though.... Guess I take that back. The script finds a way to make it heart wrenching non the less thanks to a thought provoking plot that connects both the US and South Korea. The way that the connection was formed and how it was shown stuck with me after the film had finished.
Jung Jae and Beom Soo make sparks fly on the battlefield with their no filtered acting skills. Both of them are very talented and I could see why they were casted for this film. A new pair of shoes couldn't have fit better than the roles given to these two men. I wonder if speaking the lines were hard for any of the actors and actresses. The way of speech in Korean back then is not the same as the speech spoken in modern day Korean. I noticed the huge difference in speech right away. Most young er generations of Koreans don't know about the old way to speak Korean and hearing those lines must have felt outdated and historical. Liam Neeson is one of the first foreign actors to act in a Korean film that didn't feel like a robot reading lines without any emotion. He was there for the role he was given and put the upmost effort in doing so. The other actors who acted in many of his scenes with him also gave a convincing performance as the US army who lays in wait for a plan that may or may not work. Jung Jae also showed through his acting that while we are different races, we all want justice for humanity. During the scenes where the film would cut to Liam Neeson's situation then to Jung Jae's situation and then to evil Beom Soo's scheming showcased a joint human emotion to strive for change away from the current situation Korea was in. Moments like these in the film made me see that humans all share a common goal no matter what the color of your skin may be.
I did not think that I was going to like this film at all. Surprisingly, Operation Chromite was a good film because of its underline meaning to connect humans together. To some people it might look like another patriotic war film but take the time to read between the lines and you'll find something wonderful.
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