Asura: The City Of Madness is a film that was released in 2016 directed by Kim Sung-Su and stars Jung Woo Sung, Hwang Jung Min, Ju Ji Hoon, and Kwak Do Won. The film is the fourth time that director, Kim Sung Su has worked with Jung Woo Sung directing a film.
An undercover detective gets purposely found out by the power hungry mayor of Asura in order to get more money to help his cancer sicken wife. This decision pulls everyone involved with the detective into a war where people will do anything to be in a position of power. Asura isn't a place that was built on greed and drugs alone.
Asura opens like a functioning machine already in progress. The characters, setting, along with a strong motive are already set up for the viewer. A viewer literally walks into Asura like a lost puppy while the narration gives you a quick picture of what's going on. The picture the plot paints makes you automatically not like this city. Nothing good seems to come out of existing in Asura. Well, that is unless you're willing to get your hands dirty for the people in power. Our film's plot centers around doing crime to live another day and Asura's mayor is at the center of it all. I always say that you can't do bad in this life then expect to live life happily. What you did will come back on you in a different form. It doesn't always have to be a person trying to seek revenge. Life will get you back in another way. When certain people are going through hard times and they used to be rude to others, I always remember the time that they did something that hurt another person. Those hardships are that person's pay back sent to them by good old karma! My words connect to Asura because every single character really was crazy or "mad". I didn't feel anything for the characters but their struggle to dethrone the mayor was excellently used to charge up the progression of the plot. You're on edge the whole film since you know that this film can't end well. Every character has too much blood on their hands for the result to end well. I could only watch while holding on to the side of my bed. The action is to live for even if its graphic…… Not too graphic for viewers who are used to gangster films. Just graphic for those who might not be into the nitty gritty.. I saw some reviews saying that the film was over the top however, I don't think that this was anymore over the top than other Korean gangster films. In fact, what you will see here is very normal compared to other films I've seen. Killing was like a damn game in Asura though. HEY! Don't pretend like we weren't all watching for the dark stuff.
Jung Woo Sung has played gangster type roles for years. Nothing new about his role in Asura since he doesn't have anything to prove with his acting ability. I'm pretty sure that the director knew he would be perfect for the role. The deep conflict in Asura was defiantly shown in his acting. His character seemed like he didn't know what to do with himself at time so he lashes out violently. Watching him in characters made my stomach twists up like I had to look over my shoulder every five minutes during the film. Having a sick wife in the hospital just made matters worse. Hwang Jun Min played the mayor that everyone loves to hate. Min's acting also showed another deep rooted quality that existed in the people of Asura: being cold hearted. I hated his guts and couldn't wait for someone to do him in. Sadly, his character had a lot of protection. Don't you hate people who talk big but don't do things for themselves? Ju Ji Hoon's character was the most innocent character out of everyone involved….. but he has character developments that put him in the ring with the other characters. I did feel a little something for the brotherly relationship that Jung Woo Sung and Ju Ji Hoon's characters had with one another. There was a protective feel in the relationship but you can only care about another's well being for so long before they have to also care about their own well being. (Some characters don't use their common sense in this case.) The rest of the cast also brought a relentless rawness to the film that was both sad and entertaining.
Camera shots do great introducing Asura to us with overhead shots of the city. Shots like these are used constantly to set a new scenes while the inside of Asura is shot on location in the slums of the city. Looking at the scenery in this film doesn't make you feel good for the most part and that's the point. Asura is a city of destruction meant to fall to the ground eventually.
Asura: The City Of Madness was a great film from the first scene to the hard smacking conclusion. The replay value is also very high so I will be watching this film again for a second time. I came for Ju Ji Hoon and left with another great film to add to my collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment