Great Film!
Added 1/21/2009
I'm a giant cyberpunk fan, and a Blade Runner fanatic. So when this movie was referred to as 'A Korean Blade Runner' I had to own it. It is a great film, almost a cross between Blade Runner and The Matrix. Superb visual effects, and a solid DTS soundtrack. It is in Korean however so if you don't like subtitles you may not like it. But it is a solid example of Korean film potential and definitely worth a look.
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What a disappointment!
Added 12/30/2008
This movie is a real disappointment.
It is based on "Blade Runner", but lacks all the deep ideas that made Blade Runner so good. Blade Runner is full with violence, true, but the violence is for the purpose of the movie. Here, the violence is just for "action", and does not serve the movie at all.
It is just bad another action movie that uses Blade Runner as a makeup.
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Has a monumental demonstration of heroism
Added 12/6/2008
I watched Natural City for the first time by curious chance. I later set it to my DVR and watched it again and again, obsessively. It misses the mark by being a rambling movie. It is too hard to forge a connection to R, the main character. The key to this movie is to dismiss R (the main character) and to focus on every one of the other characters. Ria shows you innocent sweetness. Best of all is Noma: who has a heart-bracing scene of heroism that makes the whole movie worth watching.
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If Blade Runner had a sequel (3 1/2 stars)
Added 8/29/2008
Right off the top, this film loses a star for putting Doo-hong Jung in the flick and totally underutilizing him. The guy is the king of Korean martial arts flicks and he gets relegated to a few, sparse action sequences.
As for the film itself, it's not bad. For those people who feel that "Blade Runner" is the end-all, be-all of human/cyborg love and that no other film should ever be done that deals with that subject: stay away from this film. While it does deal with the same basic premise, it certainly sets itself apart from "Blade Runner". Sure, it has that very cyber-punk futuristic feel, but the story almost would pick up where BR left off. We find our main character in the last few days of his cyborg love's life and what he's doing to try and save her. But we also find the familiar Asian themes of brotherhood and love vs. loyalty/duty, self-interest vs. greater good, whereas in BR the main theme was "what is life?" and that was about it. So NC tends to be a bit more complex (but I still like BR far more).
The visuals are well done and the acting is pretty solid. It does have a very stylized visual approach that will remind some of "The Matrix". The story was just play. It seemed to wander a bit here and there and the main character's actions often seemed to contradict what the whole movie was about (read: he sure has a funny way of showing affection). Maybe there's something deeper, some underlying motivation that I missed, but I thought he just came across like a d-bag to his woman. And that runs counter to the stated purpose of the whole thing.
Basically, it's a decent movie that could have been better. The action feels restrained and the story tends to try and make itself deeper than it actually is. Performances and visuals are overall solid. Sci-fi fans should enjoy this one. Action fans will feel cheated by seeing talented martial artists going to waste. I enjoyed it, and maybe I'll watch it again someday...just not anytime soon.
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Better Than Blade Runner, Unique and Well-Acted.
Added 6/6/2008
I am one of the original oficionados of Blade Runner. This means that when no one thought it was worth a $&*&, I was already lost inside of it. Here was a film that investigated so many deep things and yet... it entertained.
Natural City is possibly even better, but this is 2008. We have learned a lot about film making. Like Blade Runner, it has a lot of action, it offers something (without hammering it into your head) to think about and surprise... A great yet unannoying love story.
The acting is great, story line efficient and visuals will pleasantly keep you lost for the length of the film, and wanting more.
Like Blade Runner, it will take you many painless viewings to appreciate how good this film is.
To the director, cast & crew: Please send more... I would lose myself in Natural City.
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