Created as a directorial debut of the stunt director Heo Myung haeng, Badland Hunters is a sequel to Concrete Utopia (2023). There is no way you can fault this post-apocalyptic science fiction for anything except its action choreography. It has plenty of highly realistic hand-to-hand combat, expert use of weapons and other tools (machetes, etc.), scenes.
Here too Ma Dong-seok’s deadpan comic timing comes to the fore. But all this counts for not much when weighed against an end of the world story that is pretty predictable. Scarcity of vital supplies necessary for survival (food and clean drinking water), these being controlled by evil men pretending to save mankind, well-intentioned people suffering from social Darwinism, heroes trying to return some semblance of order in a world gone mad; scientists using humans as lab rats for the future direction of their kind. None of those parts looks even slightly new, leave alone unique.
While some portions feature good acting in it, each successive frame reduces the depth quotient. Train to Busan was such an impactful zombie apocalypse film because it could be interpreted widely. Its psychological effect was long lasting on viewers. Yes there are many cool action set pieces running through it but it’s those actual stories within larger narrative about apocalyptic survival that get you hooked. Badland Hunters tries to delve deeper and present the significance of human relationships at a time when society could collapse any moment now.” Nevertheless, average execution and somewhat crowded narration stop this from happening .”
Respected trackers Nam San (Ma Dong-seok) and Ji-wan (Lee Joon-young) hunt animals and barter them with inhabitants inside Bus District a decaying neighborhood nearby Seoul railroad station. The latter is his young partner/student, while the former combines bear-like physique with equal mastery over fists/legs or crossbow/knife alike. There is scarcity of food, which makes potable water even more precious. Much talk is done about a place referred to as the “apartments” (it is the only building standing since earthquake) where there are whispers of basic human necessities being found in abundance.
A young girl Su-Na (Roh Jeong-eui), who now lives with her grandmother, has no memories of this cataclysmic event that took place in Seoul. She was the only minor around. Armed gangs go wild through the streets for looting. However, one day nearly getting abducted by a gang and some other people including Su-Na were saved by Nam San and Ji-wan at the right moment. Some time later an official delegation arrived to find out if any family still had children among them. Meanwhile, Su-Na’s granny was told about a certain location where all resources were abundant, as it turned out, it was what she needed most to hear. Since kids’ survival is crucial for species propagation, they are accorded priority when selecting places to settle families with minors inside such premises. However precocious Su-Na remains doubtful while her grandmother longs for her beloved granddaughter to have a better life so much it hurts. Seeking advice from local hero Nam San who once saved his life he gives his consent after putting forward few direct questions about the plan in question. And off they go .
Remove all the thrilling action and probably, the only thing that remains to be wonderful about it is Ma Dong-seok. Either his hilarious deadpan manner of bringing bad guys down to their knees or those awkward moments of eye contact with an over-jewelled yet neighbourly woman who hits on him, acting range is a delicacy in him. By her ability to question things (she is the only child in the facility who doesn’t fall into all the lies), you can sense Su-Na’s characterization quite well. However, amidst all these chaos around, her scenes get lost. She is moved from being a central character to just being forgotten as a thousand different action sequences interfere with storytelling.
The writers should have made Nam San’s mysterious past more central. The conversation he had with an ally from special-ops about not being a hero seemed like it was leading into a flashback but it did not happen unfortunately. The trope of the “apartment/facility” mad scientist and his crazy researches, his line of devoted protectors and gullible parents sending their wards without questions does not get more cliché than this.
Badland Hunters has its high points. Ma Dong-seok and Roh Jeong-eui are still the strongest performers though. In terms of relationships seen between characters for instance between Su-Na and her grandmother, title hunters among others- even more could have been built by the writers maybe though they rather know what they do best indeed. Don’t make any mistake, stunts are good but if there uses minor action scenes to fill holes in story telling then it becomes worse off. Badland Hunters overall goes towards so many direction even if at times it can be engaging here and there.
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