Natural City

Natural City
by Byung-chun Min

Natural City
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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Doo-hong Jung, Eul-dong Kim, Jae-un Lee, Ji-tae Yu, Rin Seo
Director: Byung-chun Min
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Korean (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Tartan Video

Movie Reviews of Natural City

Movie Review: If Blade Runner had a sequel (3 1/2 stars)
Summary: 3 Stars

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.

Summary of Natural City

Rebuilt after a devastating war, the world of 2080 has given rise to advanced technologies including the creation of cyborgs. Created with artificial intelligence (AI), human-like emotions and great strength, they serve one master for their entire lifespan. When the cyborgs revolt, R (Yoo Ji-tae)and Noma (Yoon Chan), Rs best friend and commander, lead an elite military squad ordered to eliminate the rebellion. Unbeknownst to anyone, R has fallen in love with Ria (Seo Rin), his cyborg, and is illegally harvesting AI chips from dead cyborgs in order to save her life. Torn between his love for Ria and the battle to save mankind, humanitys fate hangs in the balance.

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