The Flu

Ratings: 8.5/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Action Drama (Korean)

I can't believe I actually watched The Flu twice in a single week and not be bored by it. I was impressed the first round, though unexpected because I have always silently hoped for a good virus movie comparable to Hollywood's Outbreak and yet didn't think there ever would be one. There was a good mix of light-hearted humor, and a rather well-thought-of myriad of possible character traits should a city ever fall into chaos because of an unspeakable virus. 

Ok, straight up-front, not everything makes perfect sense, there were some forgiveable questionability in the time-frame at which the virus spreads and how it wasn't able to infect the male lead, but for dramatic sake, these easily slide by. Though there was a line mentioned somewhere in the film which explained that the infectivity rate was about 50%. 

*major spoilers ahead* There was one particular scene near the end with all the dead bodies that made me feel like I was sitting through a zombie apocalypse movie, positively speaking of course since I'm a huge fan of zombie flicks. That was just unexpectedly awesome, coming from a Korean movie - it had a Hollywood blockbuster flair to it though I'm almost sure you haven't even heard of this movie before. 

When it came out in the movies, I had wanted to watch it so badly, but missed it due to a hectic work schedule. And then there I find myself silently hoping to find it on the shelves of any TS video stores (which specialises in selling Korean dramas), only to puke blood after realising that they were all closing down (few months back). And just when I was about to give up all hope... I found it in the most unlikely of places... Kinokuniya! Which is now my number one spot to hunt for Jap and Korean movies! A little side story about where I found these little gems from. 

Anyhows, there was even an "extended" ending, with the little kid repeatedly shouting "Don't shoot at my Mummy" at a whole troop of trigger-ready militants. It was a powerful scene. 

What I liked about The Flu is that it's very dynamic. The themes and the personality traits of its characters. There wasn't just one "bad" villain, in fact the main villain was a "good" person in the first place. And under such circumstances, it's saddening to see how people react selfishly to preserve their survivability. There's no clear right or wrong, because though selfish, most of the acts are rather "right" if you put yourself in their shoes. And everything happened for a reason. Something I found out during my 2nd viewing. One seemingly selfish act led to a new window of hope, so on and so forth. 

But what I liked most about it is the innocence of the lead actor. He's truly altruistic, but naively altruistic if you look at the big picture. I mean he can easily win the hearts of many because there's no doubt in anyone's mind that he's the true hero in the movie but it was because of his naiveness and his refusal to believe in the higher ups' false claims that made it uncomfortably realistic. His "stubbornness" to save people might in fact jeopardise the safety of the world. 

An air-bound viral infection is spreading through the city of Bundang and this is a movie about how a rescue officer and his loyal buddy, an infectious disease specialist doctor and her daughter, the president and his cabinet's members battle the worst epidemic the nation has ever seen before it's too late...

A movie worth coughing out blood money for...

PS.: There's a stinger after the first half of the closing credits. Worth waiting for.