THE GREAT BATTLE
The Great Battle (Hangul:
안시성; Hanja:
安市城; RR:
Ansi-seong; lit.
Ansi Fortress) is a 2018 South Korean historical action film
[1] directed by Kim Kwang-sik. It stars Jo In-sung, Nam Joo-hyuk, and Park Sung-woong. The film was released in South Korea on September 19, 2018.
[5]
Cast
Main
- Jo In-sung as Yang Man-chun
- Nam Joo-hyuk as Sa-mul
- Park Sung-woong as Li Shimin
Supporting
Special appearance
Production
Filming began on August 23, 2017 and finished January 24, 2018.
[15][16]
The filming set featured a replica of the
Ansi Fortress which was built 11 meters (36 feet) high and 180 meters (590 feet) in length.
[17][18]
Release
The film premiered in South Korea on September 19, 2018, with
age 12-rating.
[19] The film was released alongside
Fengshui,
The Negotiation, and
The Nun, considered the most competitive week on Korean Box Office this year.
[20]
The film was released in North America on September 21, 2018.
[21]
As of September 21, the film had been sold to over 32 countries, with
release date in United Kingdom, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan,
and Singapore set in October 2018.
[22]
It was released on
V.O.D on October 24, 2018.
[23]
Reception
Critical response
The
film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Praise was given to
its cinematography, Kim's directing, the action sequences and acting
performances. However, there were criticisms on
Yang Man-chun's portrayal and the historical accuracy of the film.
[24][25]
Yoon Min-sik from
The Korea Herald
wrote, "Director Kim did a clever job of masking his actors' weak
points and making the most of their strengths in this action-packed
flick. Jo’s voice still seems out of place in a period piece, but his
character refrains from making any more big speeches, taking action
instead. It is very unlikely that Yang Man-chun was in his mid-30s, or
that there was a squad of beautiful women shooting blowguns, or a group
of borderline super-soldiers fighting without their helmets, but this
movie throws historical accuracy out the window and the result is a lot
of fun."
[24]
Shim Sun-ah from
Yonhap News Agency wrote, "Visually striking, imaginative and compelling,
The Great Battle
easily claims its status as one of the most impressive war epics to
have come out of Korean cinema in a long time. Since little is known
about the battle and Yang Man-chun, making a tentpole based on
long-forgotten ancient history with a relatively untested director was a
massive gamble and could have gone horribly wrong. However, he combined
his energetic style with spectacular slow-motion sequences depicting
every detail of the battle's ferocious brutality and the fear of the
outnumbered Goguryo soldiers as they see the swarming Tang invaders."
[25]
Cary Darling from the
Houston Chronicle
wrote, "Director Kim Kwang-shik has a surprisingly keen eye for
wide-screen, CGI-embellished action choreography that is often wildly
impressive...
The Great Battle rings with the echoes of such sweeping, cinematic blitzkriegs as the Battle of Helm’s Deep in
Peter Jackson’s
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or any number of
Game of Thrones assaults."
[26]
Box office
The film grossed
US$194,200 from previews and pre-sales.
[27]
On its opening day, the film finished first place at the box office by attracting 122,699 moviegoers with
US$870,571 gross.
[28] After four days of strong performance, the film surpassed 1 million admissions on September 23.
[29] During its opening weekend, the film topped box office with
US$9.1 million gross from 1,128,374 attendance, leaving
Fengshui and
The Negotiation in second and third place respectively.
[30]
On September 24, 6 days after its release, the film surpassed 2 million admissions, sooner than 2012
Chuseok's hit
Masquerade which surpassed the milestone in 8 days.
[31] The film surpassed 3 million admissions two days later.
[32] On September 29, the film surpassed 4 million admissions after topping the box office for 10 days.
[33]
The film maintained its position at the top of the box office charts
during its second weekend, though having a 29% drop in gross with
US$6.5 million from 815,042 attendance.
[34]
The film surpassed 5 million admissions on October 6, 2018.
[35] During its third weekend, the film earned
US$1.8 million gross from 234,886 attendance, 72% lower gross compared to its second weekend. The film finished third, tailing
Venom and
Dark Figure of Crime.
[36] The film finished in fifth place during its fourth weekend, having a 70% drop in gross compared to the previous weekend.
On October 22, the film surpassed its break-even point at 5.4 million admissions. As of November 8, 2018, the film attracted 5,436,463 moviegoers with
US$41.5 million gross.
