Summary
There are few chances to sleep, pretty darling, in a relentlessly fast-paced thriller that rarely pauses for breath. This remake may follow a formula, but sometimes formulas work for a reason.
The endless cycle of remakes, sequels, and reboots isn’t just a Hollywood phenomenon. GOLDEN SLUMBER (골든 슬럼버) is actually the second adaptation of the novel Remote Control by Kotaro Isaka (Fish Story), having previously been adapted in 2010 in its native Japan by director Yoshihiro Nakamura with Masato Sakai in the lead role. Despite the familiar territory, director No Dong-seok’s cracking thriller hits all the right buttons.
Gun-Woo (Gang Dong-Won) is a parcel delivery man who never quite lived up to his youthful dreams of keeping his band together. After a surprise reunion with former bandmate Moo-Yeol (Yoon Kye-Sang), he finds himself falsely accused of assassinating a presidential candidate. The man on the run gets by with a little help from his friends, but soon discovers a conspiracy behind his predicament even bigger than he imagined.
Like the source material and the previous adaptation, GOLDEN SLUMBER takes its title from The Beatles song. An English-language cover of the song peppers the soundtrack at key points, and the recurring motif is tied directly to the connections Gun-Woo has made throughout his life. Breaking up the action plotting with flashbacks to Gun-Woo’s halcyon days, his bandmates/friends (played by Kim Sung-Kyun, Kim Dae-Myung, and Han Hyo-Joo) are slowly integrated into the narrative without sacrificing the momentum.
Wile there may be arguments to be had about the original versus the remake, the 2018 version of GOLDEN SLUMBER unquestionably rips along at a pace. Within an explosive few minutes of the slick, screen-splitting opening sequence, Lee Hae-Jun and Cho Ui-Seok’s adapted screenplay kicks into The Fugitive mode and never stops. Followers of The Boys of Tomorrow director No Dong-Seok’s career will note that he is working on a much larger scale than his previous films. Yet despite a handful of traditional action moments, he and cinematographers Kim Jung-Wook and Kim Tae-Sung keep the camera grounded and at an interpersonal level.
The casting of Gang Dong-Won (1987: When the Day Comes) as the everyman is inspired, and his likeable presence immediately puts us in his corner. Every new character introduced is immediately treated with suspicion, from the enigmatic Mr. Min (Kim Eui-Sung) to the string of well-wishers and law enforcement working on either side of the fence. There’s also a few cameos in there for fans of Korean cinema too, including a brief appearance from Choi Woo-sik (Okja, Train to Busan) and Jung So-Min (Daddy You, Daughter Me).
As would be expected from a mainstream thriller, GOLDEN SLUMBER adheres reasonably closely to the ‘wrong man’ formula. It only really stumbles in the final act, when the script gives us a couple of exhausting double-bluffs designed keep the audience guessing right up until the finish line. Even so, it’s an athletic sprint rather than a marathon from the audience point of view, and the film capably carries that weight right up until the end.
2017 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: No Dong-Seok | WRITERS: Lee Hae-Jun, Cho Ui-Seok| CAST: Gang Dong-won, Kim Eui-sung, Kim Sung-kyun, Kim Dae-myung, Han Hyo-joo, Yoon Kye-sang| DISTRIBUTOR: Magnum Films/ChopFlix (AUS)| RUNNING TIME: 108 minutes| RELEASE DATE: 1 March 2018 (AUS)
