Product ReviewsReview This Movie

Overall rating

4 / 5

Comedy on a Grand Scale

PostedFebruary 24, 2013

Noman624

from Queens, NY

Dialogue

4 / 5

Special Effects

3 / 5

Art Direction

4 / 5

Acting

4 / 5

Story

3 / 5

Camerawork

4 / 5

I haven't laughed this hard at a South Korean period piece set during the 16th century Joseon Dynasty since... well, I guess I never have. I'm very hard to please when it comes to comedies but this one had me rolling. It does so with a top rate cast, led by Lee Byeong-heon (I Saw the Devil) as both the king and the pauper. I was aware of Lee's capacity for communicating intensity and inner turmoil, but was pleasantly surprised by his skill as a comedic actor.

The film expertly shifts between comedy and drama. The photography is jaw-droppingly beautiful, vibrant colors and rich, large-scale settings that capture the opulence of the era. With a running time of over two hours it tends to drag near the end. Anyone familiar with the prince and the pauper story knows how it ends and yet I was still a bit disappointed it didn't take a different route. Or maybe they just didn't feel like rewriting Korean history. Sigh, hasn't Tarantino taught us anything? Still, a comedy done on this scale, with this budget and this amount of talent is a rare breed indeed.

Pros great actors

Yes, I recommend this movie.

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