I first thought this was going to be another fictitious movie with a lot of shock value. Instead it turned out to be a very endearing and heartfelt movie, but honor and integrity. It touches on the warm and beautiful side of the human heart. This film just kept on building and building and got better and better. Sure, Lee Byung-hun is a deceiver when it comes to girls and doesn't have integrity when it comes to marriage. But he is a actor playing a character. It even has those cute moments driven by integrity, compassion and love which I thoroughly enjoyed. As the story kept building I got more interested. While so many Korean films focus on the bleak side of things, it's nice to see a fictitious and yet realistic movie that focuses on the good of humanity. If that makes any sense. This movie is actually a Korean take on the "The Prince and the Pauper" story. Except "I Am a King" is a more close take on that story. However I liked this film a lot more than "I Am a King". Most of the movie takes place in a palace and there is little to no action scenes. However because the director did such a good job of transcending from dark to bright it meshes together well enough that the a lot of action isn't necessary. It might actually have taken away from this movie. A movie like this shows that it's not by birth that paves the way to greatness as a human being but what you do.
8.7/10
8.7/10