Along With The Gods( literal translation is With The Gods: Sin and Punishment) was originally a webtoon in South Korea that had a huge following online. Kim Yong Hwa is the creator of the online comic but Joo Ho Min wrote the script for the live action film adaption. He also directed the film lead by an all star cast of Ha Jung Woo, Ju Ji Hoon, Cha Tae Hyun, and Kim Hyang Gi. Lee Jung Jae, Child actress Kim Soo Ahn, D.O. of boyband EXO, and Kim Ha Neul make special appearances as supporting cast members. The film debuted at the top of the Korean box-office, selling over a million tickets as of the end of last year. It's still currently the second most watched film in South Korea.
A firefighter must face the afterlife after he suddenly dies. He is led through different stages of hell where he must prove why he is worthy of going to heaven. Three Gods of death help him on his journey.
I wouldn't have watched this film had it not been for the casting of Ha Jung Woo and Ju Ji Hoon ultimately. Now that I have gotten this little fact out of the way, My other interest in the film came from the little snippets of trailers that I found floating around the internet last year. These clips made Along With The Gods look like a very intense fun watching experience so I was even more excited to watch when the chance came. I've watched this film two times now and I must say that the film isn't as intense as I hope that it would have been but this film does do a lot of things right in the long run. First of all, the film wastes no time jumping into the most important part of the film's central conflict. I enjoyed this fact a lot because the writer didn't feel that the story needed a huge before introduction to the characters. You learn more about each character as you go along which saves the viewer from watching a ton of boring build up scenes. The scenes to add deeper foundation to the characters are there for the characters that need them in flashbacks. The film focuses a lot on the world in the afterlife at first. This was the most interesting part of the whole film for me. While watching these scenes be executed beautifully, I waited for the action to unfold for that same intensity that was highlighted in the trailers. It takes a bit for Along With The Gods to actually unleash the sword fighting mayhem full throttle. These moments(when you finally get to them) are not disappointing nor are they "jump out my chair and report to momma" kinds of action sequences. We get just enough to not feel cheated out of the few minutes of our lives spent to see them. It's funny that I always state that a film doesn't need to rely on action instead of plot to make a great film. For this instance, Some off the chain action was a must to fill in that missing piece to make everything feel complete to me. I do feel that the script tries to dilute it's dark content into a melodrama mold that wasn't always necessary. Some of the scenes that had to do with the past background story seemed too mediocre. Kind of like it was recycled from an old period Korean drama that aired on television in South Korea already. Been there, done that with the reincarnated characters and that girl from another time scenarios. I'm not going to enjoy the rest of the story if that's where we're going to end up. Family values plays a big part in this film as well. Korean culture values at it's finest to be honest. This element went well with the plot's flow so I didn't mind it. In fact, I enjoyed the attempts at trying to pull at my heart strings. No tears came out of these eyes but I did manage a couple of "Awwws" here and there. Along With The Gods went a little off the correct path when it tried to deliver what it THOUGHT the masses of Koreans would enjoy watching in it's Korean drama fashion. Half of the audience might like this direction of story telling then the other half might want a bit of a change from the normal formula. Leave the over planned out melodrama for televised Korean dramas(These can be good at times.). Other than that, the film finishes up nicely especially since there will be a continuation.
A big part of making this film enjoyable goes to the cast. Everyone was on their A game like they had something to prove to viewers. What's funny is that all of them are very well established actors and actresses. D.O. even attend some acting classes because his acting got better than before. My favorite character would have to be played by Ji Hoon. That guy had jokes all throughout this damn film. He was throwing so much shade at people that most don't catch, making his character even funnier. His acting was the whole core of the comedy element for Along With The Gods. Tae Hyun normally plays goofy characters so it was refreshing seeing him give the clown hang up a rest. Ha Jung Woo's role was a dead give away. Dude could have come on set drunk off Soju and still acted the hell out of that role. I threw my hands up in defeat when he acting in the scene like a lawyer pleading his case. Fans of him know that he can play roles like these in his sleep. Kim Soo Ahn once again comes out not playing any games with folks. This young actress is a terror because she is extremely talented at such a young age. She giving the older actresses a run for their money already! Imagine how good she will be years from now. I hope I'm around to see what she becomes as an actress. Kim Hyang Gi's acting was the symbolism of someone who can see the good in a person when all else is telling you he or she is the opposite. You could feel her support in her performance. The last few scenes of this film with her in them are especially powerful performances from her as an actress.
The special effects when their airborne fighting remind me of the one's used in Harry Potter films. Dementors want their moves back guys. All of the effects were done well. From the green screen settings and beasts down to the action sequences. I just could help remembering the last few movies of the Harry Potter series and what their fighting scenes looked like. Take away the wands then you see no difference between both film's special effects. Oh yeah, and one of the swords looked like Cloud's sword from Final Fantasy…….. [INSERT ME LAUGHING HARD]
Along With The Gods: Two Worlds has some bumps in it's road on the way to being a masterpiece. That doesn't damage all that the film has going for it though. The continuation was filmed along with this part as a whole film so maybe I will have a different opinion when that's released this summer.
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