Netflix’s latest movie, Badland Hunters, features South Korean director Heo Myeong-haeng in his debut feature film. Myeong-haeng has worked on action sequences for South Korean movies such as The Roundup, Narco-Saints, and Jung_E. The movie is set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world after a devastating earthquake crumbles skyscrapers and society in Seoul. Badland Hunters is a quasi-spinoff and not a direct sequel to Concrete Utopia. It stars human sledgehammer Ma Dong-seok aka Don Lee along with other cast members like Lee Jun-young, Roh Jeong-eui, and An Ji-hye.
The storyline of the movie follows Nam-san, Don Lee’s character, and Ji-wan, played by Lee Jun-young, who are trusted allies that have survived the urban wilderness of the arid wasteland. The ruined city is now plagued by droughts, wild animals, marauding bandits, and even undead zombies. Their journey gets complicated when they find out that a teen girl named Su-na (Roh Jeong-eui) has been kidnapped. Nam-san sees Su-na as a surrogate daughter of sorts, while Ji-wan has a crush on her. The trio embarks on a risky rescue mission, joined by Eun-ho (An Ji-hye), a badass special forces sergeant.
Dr. Yang (Lee Hee-joon), a mad scientist, has taken Su-na and intends to use her for his unethical experiments. He promises that his research holds the key to saving humanity and has built up a large cult following. The residential compound serves as his makeshift lab and fortress, and the unspeakable horrors that his cult and armed acolytes engage in create the underlying plot of the movie.
Badland Hunters delivers on its promise of glorious and gratuitous close-quarter fights, thanks to Heo Myeong-haeng’s expertise in creating heart-pounding set-pieces that are brutal and breathtaking. The movie’s exceptional action sequences from gunplay to hand-to-hand combat are exhilaratingly shot and choreographed, and Don Lee plays his character with the loveable lunk charm that he’s famous for. Props to An Ji-hye, who reportedly performed her own stunts and wowed the audience with her physical performance.
Despite the excellent action sequences, Badland Hunters lacks depth in its storyline. The movie’s script tries to inject emotion into the plot, but the clichéd underlying drama that our protagonists deal with is too predictable and ultimately shallow. While not every action movie requires deep insights into the human condition, some of the finest action flicks like Mad Max: Fury Road or The Raid Redemption stand out because they balance their propulsive momentum and incredible action with simple character beats and ingenious worldbuilding. However, Badland Hunters is simply in it for the mayhem, marvellous though it may be, and ultimately mindless.
Badland Hunters is available exclusively on Netflix, and it delivers what its trailers promised – a rip-roaring, beat-em-up, shoot-em-up bloody good time featuring one of the most charismatic action stars of our time
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