It is really cool that Netflix is expanding their movie library with international movies as well these days. Being a great fan of Asian cinema, it is very nice to see that a growing number of these movies can now also be found on Netflix. A lot of disaster movies have been made throughout the years, and it is always a moviegenre that I enjoy watching a lot. Not because I like to see disasters happening. Just to make sure you don’t get the wrong idea, mind you. But it usually means that ordinary people are put into situations that let them become heroes. Browsing through the Netflix library I came across this movie that has just been added, and is both an Asian film as well as a disaster movie. Well, this is bound to be winning combination I would say. Let us find out if that is true or if this movie is erm, a disaster.
Jae-Hyeok lives with his mother and some other family members in a small Korean town. Near this town is a nuclear plant, the same plant where his father lost his life as a employee a few years back. He is working there himself now, following in his father’s footsteps, but it being a very old plant, he is very worried about the conditions there. Ofcourse as is so often the case, nobody listens to him. Unfortunately mother nature strikes and an earthquake hits the town and the nuclear plant. It is not long thereafter that Jae-Hyeok finds himself in the middle of a nightmare. A large cloud of radiation has already been released, and there is a further disaster threatening in the form of a nuclear meltdown. With the lives of the entire Korean country hanging in the balance, some daring men must find a way to stop the meltdown. But time is running out, and with everyone who is helping getting more and more exposed to the radiation, certain doom seems almost unavoidable….
Now this movie is ofcourse a very grim reminder of the Fukushima disaster that happened in Japan. When watching this movie, one can certainly imagine how horrid those conditions must have been in 2011. If there is one thing this movie does right, it is in showing how a disaster of this magnitude can cause a panic. I was very impressed by the way the crowds were filmed in this movie, that try to flee from the horrible radiation cloud that is coming down upon them. That said, the entire movie was shot very well, and has a very good mix of special effects and beautiful cinematography.
The acting in this movie was pretty decent. Jae-Hyeok played by actor Kim Nam-gil, is a character that you instantly like, but I do have to say that most of the characters in this film lack depth. There is not much room for character development,which in a movie such as this is pretty important. Especially if you want to care about the people that are going through this horrible event. And ofcourse, this being a disaster movie, it is filled with the usual cliches. We get a government that is not listening despite certain warnings, and try to cover up things along the way. People that make heroic sacrifices, and ofcourse a few (at times overacted) tearful moments. Still, there is very little wrong with this movie. There is certainly enough tension throughout the film to keep you on the edge of your seat. The movie has a pretty good pace, and despite it having a length of over 2 hours long, I was not bored by it for a single moment. If you like disaster movies, you certainly might want to give this one a try.
I give Pandora a 7 out of 10 score.
This sounds like a nice, normal disaster movie. I liked them too and no, I don’t particularly enjoy natural disasters or their own sake either. But they do expose interesting sides of the everyman.
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Sounds like a movie for me! I love disaster movies. I find they frequently don’t spend a lot of time on character development though. It’s usually important for me to at least connect with the main characters fairly quickly so that I can feel for their journey. That’s usually what makes the difference in a good or bad disaster movie for me 🙂
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Agreed, you basically watch movies like these for the entertainment value, and in that regard this one does not disappoint. Besides a bit overacting near the end of the film, this movie had pretty decent acting, and a truly impressive way to make you feel like you are somehow witnessing this disaster for real. Hope you will enjoy it, if you get around to watching it 😊
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By pure coincidence, I added Pandora to my watchlist this morning, so I had to read this review before watching it. Glad to see this movie wasn’t a disaster at all. 😉 Nice review!
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Thank you very much 😊 Haha, that is really a coincidence. Hope you are going to enjoy the movie.
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Sounds like an interesting movie. I watched a similar Korean movie awhile ago called Flu (2013) and another recently called The Tunnel (2016) which I think you’d enjoy which deal with an epidemic disaster of sorts. Flu being more widespread and the Tunnel is about a man collapsed under a tunnel trying to survive with his daughters birthday cake and a small bottle of water for weeks whilst they try to save him. This was a great review. ☺
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I read about Tunnel and after reading it, I am already keeping my eye out for it. Love stories such as those. Unfortunately living in Holland we pretty much have to wait for everything here to be released on dvd….which sometimes takes months. But then again some things are worth the wait 😊 As for Flu have not yet heard about that one, but will check it out, thanks for the recommendation 😊And ofcourse thank you for the kind words: always appreciate it 😊
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I undestand. It’s pretty similar here in the u.k too. I had to buy/rent a lot of them online which is not always accessible. The foreign movies I want to watch seem to hardly ever be available on mainstream apps so streaming (ahem shh) always seems a drastic measure to resort to but that’s always a controversial topic heh. You’re welcome as always. ☺
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I love disaster films as well! And this is on my must watch list! I will totally watch this soon! Have you watch the Korean movie “The Flu” I highly recommend this, if you haven’t watch it yet~ 😀
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Actually this is the second time that someone mentions that movie. I haven’t seen it yet, but I am definitely interested in it now. Thank you for the recommendation.😀
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Cool~ 🙂
I think you’ll like the movies “The Tower” and “The Phone” 🙂
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I spotted this on Netflix yesterday, the trailer was intriguing, so I added to my list. This encourages me more as you like many of the films I do if previous posts are anything to go by
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Thank you😊 This movie was definitely not bad. Except for a bit of an overacted scene near the end of the film, this movie was pretty good and highly enjoyable. Hope you will like it too😀
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Disaster genre does make a movie interesting to watch huh? It sure gives a good starting point for the movie to take action from there. I’m starting to notice your movie reviews has characters who are lonely and loss of parent to doing something great. Situations put them in a position to defend themselves. Really, it’s just like reading a book 😊 I haven’t been on Netflix for 6 months but last time I was there, I did noticed Korean movie selection is big and mostly dramas. My friend suggested me to watch Cunning Ladies. Have you saw? As always, excellent review!!
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Yeah, completely agree 😊 There are some very good disaster movies out there, abd I do love watching them exactly for those reasons. Seeing what ordinary people can do in extraordinary situations 😊 I have not seen Cunning Ladies, I just looked, but I can’t find it on Netflix here (the European version has different content than other parts of the world). I will keep my eyes peeled for it though. Thank you again for your comment 😊
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He said the Cunning Ladies are hilarious drama series.. but how cool that Netflix is in your part of the world as it is on mine hehe.. Ordinary people have extraordinary powers but they didn’t know until the time called for it is definitely amazing to watch.. I will have to look up Pandora when I have the chance 🙂
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