Shin-gi-jeon (2008)

Shin-gi-jeon: Directed by Yoo-jin Kim. With Jae-yeong Jeong, Eun-jeong Han, Joon-ho Huh, Sung-Ki Ahn. An historical, epic tale of Korea’s creation of Singijeon, a variation of the Chinese fire arrow.

“Set in the middle of the fifteenth century tensions are high between the Kingdom of Korea and the more powerful Chinese Empire with the latter trying to dominate the former. The Koreans have secretly developed a new weapon but Chinese agents have found out and stolen the calculations required to develop the weapons. The Inventor is killed but his daughter escapes and helps continue the work on the weapons. There are many difficulties in the development; they must get the ingredients to make the gun powder and they still need the calculations. Inevitably the two sides will eventually meet in battle and the new weapons will finally be tested.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile this might not be historically accurate that didnu0026#39;t affect my enjoyment of the film… perhaps because I donu0026#39;t know much about Korean history. The story is interesting with plenty of exciting moments leading up to a fairly spectacular final battle. As well as some impressive close quarters fighting we see two fearsome weapons deployed; one that uses rockets to fire hundreds of arrows and great range and a the second, a missile with considerable explosive force. The characters are interesting and while we do get an inevitable romance it doesnu0026#39;t detract from the main story. The cast does a good job bringing their characters to life. Overall Iu0026#39;d recommend this to fans of far-eastern action in an historical setting… especially if you want realistic action rather than the highly choreographed, super-human fighting that features in many films.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThese comments are based on watching the film in Korean with English subtitles.”