Summary
A kind of reversal of roles from the first entry while still following the same basic formula. A little on the long side, but the Ma Dong-seok is worth the price of admission.
Continuing the adaptation of the webcomic series by Joo Ho-Min, ALONG WITH THE GODS: THE LAST 49 DAYS (신과함께-인과 연) represents one of the biggest box office successes in South Korean history. Breaking pre-sale records and doubling the first day audience of Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds, it’s undoubtedly the largest Korean blockbuster on the 2018 calendar. As a bonus, it’s ridiculously fun as well.
Picking up moments after the first film, afterlife guardians Gang-rim (Ha Jung-woo), Hae Won Maek (Ju Ji-Hoon), and Duk Choon (Kim Hyang-Gi) bring former vengeful spirit Soo-Hong (Kim Dong-Wook) to trial as their new paragon. While Gang-rim guides him through the various hells, Hae Won and Duk Choon must ascend an elderly man who is overdue on his lifespan. Unfortunately for them, the man and his grandson are fiercely guarded by the artistic God of House (Ma Dong-Seok). In the process, they all learn some shocking secrets about their own past lives.
Produced at the same time as the first entry, it follows some of the wash/rinse/repeat structure of its predecessor, especially as we revisit Injustice Hell and Murder Hell with Gang-rim and Soo-Hong. The main difference is that Kim Dong-Wook, unlike the paragon played by Cha Tae-hyun in the first chapter, is pretty nonplussed and laid-back about everything he encounters. In this way, it mirrors the original web comic’s sense of humour.
The biggest addition, in every sense of the word, is Ma Dong-Seok. Having just rolled off the arm-wrestling film Champion, the muscle-bound star is charming and charismatic. His interactions with the guardians, and attempts to secure a future for a young ward, take the series into very different territory. It’s a much lighter subplot that the military murder of the previous film, allowing Ma Dong-Seok’s natural inclination for comedy to shine through. It’s also where we get a lot more backstory for the three main guardians, including a complex tale of war a millennia old, one that links the trio of guardians with King Yeomra (Lee Jung-Jae).
It’s here that writer/director Kim Yong-Hwa’s film takes on a bigger sense of scale, leading audiences high into the mountains, across ancient battlefields, and into courtly intrigue. The impressively lensed sequences are only matched by the outstanding special effects, developed by director Kim’s Dexter Studios. Directly referencing Jurassic Park, Gang-rim and Soo-Hong are chased by raptors in a fun sequence, and later ride in the belly of a dinosaur. Despite a comparatively smaller budget than its Hollywood inspiration, it’s as slick as the films that inspired it.
Kim Yong-Hwa still has a keen sense for melodrama, and the emotional roller coaster of the possibly overlong second and third acts will test the patience of some. Yet a payoff to that complicated story comes in a mid-credits sequence, revealing a massive bombshell that will ensure you want to go back and watch the film again for clues. Heavily hinting at a possible story for a third chapter, ALONG WITH THE GODS: THE LAST 49 DAYS is still a mostly satisfying follow-up to one of Korea’s biggest home-grown cinema franchises.
2018 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Kim Yong-Hwa | WRITERS: Kim Yong-Hwa (based on the webcomic by Joo Ho-min) | CAST: Ha Jung-woo, Ju Ji-hoon, Kim Hyang-gi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Dong-wook | DISTRIBUTOR: Tangren Cultural Film Group (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 141 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 2 August 2018 (AUS)
