Ashfall (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Byung-seo Kim, Hae-jun Lee
	Actors: Byung-hun Lee (G.I. Joe 1-2, I saw the Devil), Jung-woo Ha, Hye-jin Jeon
	Country: ROK
	Genre: Thriller, Action, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 26.06.2020, FEFF2020, 14" computer screen
Synopsis: In a fictional future where North Korea is about the be freed from nuclear weapons, Mount Baekdu, on the border between Korea and China, is about to erupt triggering a super-quake that will destroy half the peninsula.
Review: The big Action movie that opened the 22nd edition of the Far East Film Festival (even though you could watch it anytime as the Festival was online). I didn't have very high expectations of quality so I was not bothered by the poor special effects, the political winks or the absurdity of some story points. Ashfall copied the model of American blockbuster disaster movies like the recent San Andreas, but even more over-the-top, borderline 2012. In particular it starts with a huge destruction scene the likes of which you will not see in the next 120 minutes. It adds to it its own political context which I didn't know was allowed to be shown: the fratricide relationship with the North, the domination of American culture... The disaster story is boring (volcano with perfect timing, nuclear weapons, all on the shoulders of one guy...) so the best in this movie is in fact those political moments that make it different. It is funny that there is more criticism of the USA than of North Korea in fact, the topic of the latter being in fact carefully handled (no bad politicians or soldiers from the North, just a few people among the big empty cities). As often in Asian productions, the soldiers are dumb and unable to follow orders to the point that you wonder how they got the job (it reminded me of  Starship Troopers 5: Traitor of Mars). Brush all of that aside and what is left is the evolving relationship between the two main characters, a father-to-be which is brave but not a leader, and a spy with no attachments looking for redemption. Pretty watchable if you don't expect too much.
Rating: 4 /10