Kundo – Pakt der Gesetzlosen (2014)

Kundo – Pakt der Gesetzlosen: Directed by Jong-bin Yoon. With Ha Jung-woo, Dong-won Gang, Lee Sung-min, Cho Jin-woong. A period action film centered on a militia group who turn against an unjust nobility.

“Imagine if you took an Italian western, Kurosawau0026#39;s u0026quot;Seven Samuraiu0026quot; and u0026quot;Robin Hoodu0026quot; and then transported all this to 19th century Korea. This is pretty much what you get in Jong-bin Yunu0026#39;s masterpiece, u0026quot;Kundo: Age of the Rampantu0026quot;. Itu0026#39;s a new martial arts epic that I cannot recommend strongly enough–and fans of this sort of picture are bound to be satisfied with this excellent film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film begins during the latter years of the long Joseon Dynasty. The country is racked with famine, disease and locusts. But these locusts arenu0026#39;t the kind youu0026#39;re thinking of…theyu0026#39;re the human kind. These are the various lords and governors who exploit the people and make the suffering and starvation even worse–as they strip the land from the people and force them into slavery. However, an honorable gang of bandits have made it their mission to right wrongs, care for the poor and punish the evil men in charge. For a while, their mission goes off without a hitch, as bureaucrat after bureaucrat are captured and sentenced for their crimes. However, one of these evil men, Yo-Joon, is something else. He is not only among the most evil and bloodthirsty, but heu0026#39;s an incredible fighter and more than a match for any of these Robin Hood-style bandits. Plus, he has his loyal band of seven evil warlords and an army…what good could these bandits do against such odds? Well, being heroes, they do what heroes must do even if the mission seems like certain death.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe filmu0026#39;s plot is very reminiscent of an old western and the music really heightens the effect. Itu0026#39;s not exactly Ennio Morriconeu0026#39;s in style but has many similarities to his scores that this great and very prolific Italian composer wrote for epics such as u0026quot;The Good, The Bad and The Uglyu0026quot; and u0026quot;A Fistful of Dollarsu0026quot;. Itu0026#39;s rousing and energetic to say the least. And, the main bandit, Dochi, is also cut from the same mold as these great old films. All in all, a terrific film that features top-notch acting, music and production values–as good as any martial arts movie you could find. See this film…just donu0026#39;t take your young kids. Only a crazy person would let them watch this film or films like it. Itu0026#39;s extremely realistic in its violence and bloodshed–as you would expect. So, even if they beg you, find another film for them and watch this one when the little ones are asleep, as it clearly earns its R rating.”