"Myeong-ryang" or "The Admiral" is a South Korean action film/historical epic, is a film about the military campaigns and incredible story of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. And this movie is a very underrated movie that shines light on the military genius, who during the Japanese Invasions of Korean, which lasted from 1592-1598, won every single battle without a casualty. And helped in preventing Korea from being taken by the Japanese. In my opinion, an underrated historical figure, this film shines light on the man's life, and does it quite well...
I was very invested in the movie and found it to be quite entertaining and well made. The production value is quite high, and the action scenes are incredible. The movie historically accurate, except for a few areas, which is something I will discuss in the next paragraph. The film also has wonderful visuals and cinematography, and the movie is something to be invested in.
Now, my flaws with the movie are few and far between, but still there. They lie in two things, I will get the minor flaw out of the way. The film depicts the battle with the naval battle with the Koreans only winning with the skin of their teeth. And loosing a lot of ships, when the battles were very one sided as I mentioned before, however I understand the reasoning for this creative liberty. I mean, if the film was the Koreans winning every battle with relative ease, you would loose investment. I mean, if they just won with ease, why care? But it's still a major inaccuracy, and the movie could have still worked without that change. My other criticism are the really cheesy scenes with the Korean people being inspired by the character's actions. They never really happened and it's obvious they didn't. Now, again, I see the reason, the people represent the country's spirit. But it's still very cheesy, and a little unneeded.
Regardless of the criticisms, I love this movie. The praises I mentioned before are all valid, and I think this is some of South Korea's best work in the filmmaking department. It's a great historical epic, and one of the best movies about history. And it's a movie that makes it's changes for a good reason, unlike movies like "Braveheart" that make so many changes 'till it's complete fiction. And it's a movie I highly recommend to anyone.
I was very invested in the movie and found it to be quite entertaining and well made. The production value is quite high, and the action scenes are incredible. The movie historically accurate, except for a few areas, which is something I will discuss in the next paragraph. The film also has wonderful visuals and cinematography, and the movie is something to be invested in.
Now, my flaws with the movie are few and far between, but still there. They lie in two things, I will get the minor flaw out of the way. The film depicts the battle with the naval battle with the Koreans only winning with the skin of their teeth. And loosing a lot of ships, when the battles were very one sided as I mentioned before, however I understand the reasoning for this creative liberty. I mean, if the film was the Koreans winning every battle with relative ease, you would loose investment. I mean, if they just won with ease, why care? But it's still a major inaccuracy, and the movie could have still worked without that change. My other criticism are the really cheesy scenes with the Korean people being inspired by the character's actions. They never really happened and it's obvious they didn't. Now, again, I see the reason, the people represent the country's spirit. But it's still very cheesy, and a little unneeded.
Regardless of the criticisms, I love this movie. The praises I mentioned before are all valid, and I think this is some of South Korea's best work in the filmmaking department. It's a great historical epic, and one of the best movies about history. And it's a movie that makes it's changes for a good reason, unlike movies like "Braveheart" that make so many changes 'till it's complete fiction. And it's a movie I highly recommend to anyone.