THE TIGER is a Korean historical epic with a difference: this one's about the manhunt for Korea's last tiger, nicknamed the 'Mountain Lord' for its ferocity and resistance to capture. I was in two minds about this one, being no fan of films about humans hunting animals, and indeed while certainly well-made, this lacks a certain something. On the plus side, it's well-acted by the entire cast, particularly Choi Min-sik who brings his usual gravitas, and the realism of the era is brought vividly to life.
Unfortunately, it's the tiger itself where this falls down. The CGI effects are sketchy at best, and downright poor in other areas (such as the wolves). It's no LIFE OF PI and indeed during the action scenes I felt like I was watching a LORD OF THE RINGS movie. Even worse, realism disappears when the tiger's around. It acts in human rather than tiger ways, it refuses to follow the laws of physics with impossible speeds and leaps, and it shrugs off devastating bullet wounds with ease. No blood poisoning in this movie, which increasingly becomes a fantasy as the running time goes on. It's also incredibly overlong, so by the end I really struggled with it.
Unfortunately, it's the tiger itself where this falls down. The CGI effects are sketchy at best, and downright poor in other areas (such as the wolves). It's no LIFE OF PI and indeed during the action scenes I felt like I was watching a LORD OF THE RINGS movie. Even worse, realism disappears when the tiger's around. It acts in human rather than tiger ways, it refuses to follow the laws of physics with impossible speeds and leaps, and it shrugs off devastating bullet wounds with ease. No blood poisoning in this movie, which increasingly becomes a fantasy as the running time goes on. It's also incredibly overlong, so by the end I really struggled with it.