davidbello777 Jang Joon-hwan's Save the Green Planet is a jet black comedy with a serious message. Through the veil of farce, scenes containing high-intensity drama can easily be upstaged if not careful about their comedic approach in this 2003 South Korean film. Although Joon- hwan's portrayal of a descent into madness keeps us guessing and excited over which side to support, Save the Green Planet is really a story with a moral call-to-arms about saving the earth. The main character is falsely convinced that the end is coming from aliens, when it is really from us humans.Lee Byeong-gu is a man who's lost a lot and replaced it with insanity and conspiracy. Dressed in a makeshift Ghostbusters-meets-Back-to-the-Future type of gadget suit, complete with accessory belt and makeshift body bag poncho, we can easily recognize that a screw or two is loose in his brain. After convincing his dimly-lit bulb of a girlfriend that aliens are planning to destroy the earth in a week's time, he informs her of his plan to kidnap the CEO of a large chemicals company, who is believed to be an impostor in human skin; a high- ranking alien official from Andromeda who communicates with "The Prince" of his race concerning the destruction of the Earth. This is where we begin our drama. Through scenes of abundant energy and boundless ambition, the interrogation of, and police search for, CEO Kang begins. But we discover that Kang is not Lee's first victim. In our era of modernity we find many innovations in cinema. As the plot progresses, Korean genre-bending takes full hold to balance scenes of emotional genuinity contrasting farce, futility and madness. Of course Kang is just a prickish CEO and underneath the quest to save the Earth by killing aliens, Lee also has a bone to pick with the president of the company his mother worked for until an accident comatized her, but what really makes this film memorable is its intertwining of dramatic pull for both sides. We want to sympathize with the wounded Lee, whom society has wronged all his life, but we want to see justice brought to the victims of his murders and Kang released. There is a touching scene in which the second police officer is thwarted and Kang admits to being an alien and tells the story of their presence on the planet. He explains that humans are dangerous, destructive, just as violent as they are powerful and have carefully been given another chance. As the decision approaches to keep or destroy humanity, Kang reveals that Lee's comatose mother is one of their many experiments. Whether or not this is a ploy to buy time or remains to be seen. There is a nostalgic musical motif that follows the images of the destructive humanity which has been seen in many flashbacks of Lee's life and how it made him a psychotic killer.There is a visually stunning scene of a detective being attacked by bees kept by Lee, in which he tries to shoot the swarm of bees with his revolver, only killing one or two. in the midst of this futility and comic outcome, there is a stark parallel to Lee's attempts to save the earth by killing alien suspects, most of whom he has ultimately determined were in fact human. The aim of the criticism Lee unleashes is very anti-capitalistic, as Kang has no sympathy for idiots like him that try to come on top. After the death of his mother, Lee leaves all of his books of research and information on the aliens to a tied-up detective and says that if he fails in defeating them the responsibility lies in detective's hands. Lee's tenacity shows itself in the several times he is seemingly killed during the climax of the film, but always gets another hit out on Kang. The police ultimately catch up with them and finish Lee off.Upon Kang's narrow escape and multiple wounds, he is once again treated as royalty by the police who escort him to the car and all is well. Or is it? Unexpectedly, but not all unpredictably, Kang is whisked off to an alien spaceship, the details of which corroborate with his story perfectly. Disgusted by the torture and corruption of the humans which have even sickened the planet's core, he then sentences the earth to destruction as he says it is a "failed experiment." After its brief destruction, the credits roll alongside a television projecting the happy memories of Lee's childhood, once more with the nostalgic motif playing.Lee's last words are "Now who will save the Earth?" As they appear to be the stubbornness of his madness unto death, we are left to peer past the words of the madman and ask ourselves the same question. The detective, representing the archetypal every man, is left with the responsibility of being the catalyst to the change which may yet be barely enough to save the earth.

t-d-t-m82 An incredibly well acted and paced film about an individual who has consumed his life being in hold of knowledge of an alien species communicating from planet earth to their home via their hair strands. He is adamant that a genetical alternation results in that individual being an alien.He has seen it as his quest to thwart and challenge and overpower these individuals. Once these individuals are in his care he takes them to a mountainess compound full of gizmos and human extracts such as limbs and also his faithful dog - Earth.There he embarks on an Oldboy style vengeance sequence on these individuals whom he dictates as being aliens. He uses a voltage machine to see how much punishment they can stand and if they stand a certain amount then they have to be an alien species.He also has a sick mum who is in need of constant care which is costly. She is also his hope as she is also a believer of aliens being on earth.The plot is basically the above and the man captured is Klang. The police are on the hunt for Klang as he is very high up. They need to find Klang to save their jobs. The ex superhero Detective finds Klang but finds a sinister alternative. His budding apprentice to speak is then kean to find what is going on. This leads to a dramatic build up which has been supurbly paced.The drama is wonderful. The pace is spot on. The camera shots are reminiscent of Park Chan Wook's directing and with a polished style ala Kim Jee Woon. The movie is full of comedy; film noir and revenge. The cinematography is flawless. The only gripe is not enough wide shots of the mountainess area ala end of Oldboy. This could give a greater understanding of the remoteness of the area.All in all it's a superb effort by this ex film studies Director. This film has the quirky silly drama South Koreans are so exceptional at combined with the revenge sequences which propelled Kim Jee Woon and Park Chan Wook to fame. The acting is really top notch. The fight sequences are not spectacular but look real. The atmosphere is a huge element in this film and it is pulled off supurbly. The tense and build are long however thoroughly enjoyable.This is all in all a very typical South Korean film for those who follow South Korean cinema however it is backed up by awesome acting and great cinematography. A few more attention to camera work and maybe more early film direction could be interesting such as what happened before Klang was taken hostage (first sequence of the film lasting 1hour and 50 minutes at least).Get it and become entertained. I'm hoping this awesome new wave of South Korean directors doesn't stop. It's great news for cinema.

benjamin_lappin NO EXACT DETAILS HAVE BEEN MENTIONED WITHIN MY REVIEW, BUT I HAVE TICKED THE SPOILER BOX BECAUSE MY QUALMS DERIVE FROM THE FILMS FINAL TEN MINUTES...Rarely do we see films that blend together so many elements and genres into one single spectacle, however 'Save The Green Planet' manages to achieve this near impossible feat successfully...until the end.Fusing elements of science fiction and comedy with notably darker moments of psychological tension, Save The Green Planet is an extremely watchable film, which will have you hooked right from the get-go, the unfortunate issue being that by the films conclusion you may end up like myself being completely and totally revolted.My revulsion does not derive from the perceived "torture" scenes, which are notably not as grim as other reviewers would have you believe (infact the graphic nature almost pales in comparison to "Sympathy For Mr Vengeance), but from the films conclusion, but we shall come to that during my own conclusion.Save The Green Planet, for one hour forty minutes is a superb film, the fusion of the genres while possibly seeming far-fetched is an utter success but more importantly the narratives and sub plots which drive the story forward are plausible and engaging. The tri-tiered nature of the film stems from Byung-Gu's internal angst with his history, his insanity and his prisoner, and carries on throughout the film with Byung-Gu's abduction of the alleged alien, his mentally underdeveloped 'girlfriend' and her questioned loyalty to him and the police forces attempts to find Byung-Gu (not to mention the internal angst within various elements of the department).The film is gripping, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable which keeps you hanging on til the end, when everything crumbles like a house of cards caught in a gust of wind, and the problem stems from everything that is so successful with this film. While Save The Green Planet has managed to fuse several styles, the director decides at the last minute to change direction and completely shift the dynamic of the film, so what works unravels. The point of Byung-Gu throughout the film is that due to the harsh upbringing he received, through all the violence that was bestowed upon him and the lack of love he received (tipified by his "losing it" when his mother dies) becomes a shell of a man who treads into insanity and is addicted to drugs which only further his delusions. However, after the twist everything is shattered. Byung-Gu's actions them become entirely justified, and all momentum all point and purpose of the film is lost. Those who have seen the film will know of what I speak, and some may derive enjoyment from the somewhat geeky twist, but I felt it spoilt what was turning out to be a riproaringly successful film, and trivialised it. Yes, you could say it's more in tune with the comedic nature of the film, but for me the comedy was only present to provide relief from the excessive tension and furore that was stemming from the battles within Byung's mind and his "laboratory".I apologise for the somewhat disjointed nature of my review, but then the entire nature of Save The Green Planet is disjointed. It manages to fuse together so many genres and yet at the end, does not know what genre it wishes to be. There are so many possible endings for this film (and having noticed there are deleted scenes on the DVD, hazard a guess at one or two being alternate endings), but even if there are not the film should have stuck to its path. It was successful merely by the incorporation of the styles, without a need to chop and change between them, it worked well as a whole, but the director in the films finale breaks them up, throws away all the elements which were brought together and focuses on one. This film would have been an eight or higher had the ending just not been so damned infuriating. It does not make it funny nor poignant, and to be frank I don't want to have to watch this film again and be on the side of Byung knowing the outcome. This film had such promise and it pains me to be so scathing of it, I really enjoyed watching this film, but the ending for me has Spoilt The Green Planet.

markbeardslee The genre line of the IMDb description for "Save the Green Planet" says a lot, but not nearly all."Horror, comedy, drama, sci-fi," it reads. But no mention is made of parody, satire, absurdity, gore, farce, irony, social commentary, insanity, fantasy or, in the end, mystery. And it is this final element, the mystery, that keeps viewers watching this bizarre film to a predictably ambiguous conclusion. For, indeed, who IS going to save the earth? Beekeeper, mannequin builder, erstwhile factory worker and all-round cuckoo Byeong-gu (Shin Ha Kyun) kidnaps Kang (Baek Yun Sik), CEO of a large chemical conglomerate, and accuses him of being a prince from the Andromeda galaxy who will unleash destruction upon Earth by the next lunar eclipse. Byeong-gu only seems to be interested in prodding Kang to admit to this extravagant plot; what to do to prevent humanity's destruction is ignored. The proud Kang (reminiscent of Gordon Gecko from "Wall Street") refuses to be broken by Byeong-gu's increasingly horrific torture tactics. When screwball Detective Chu (Lee Jae Yong) happens too close to Byeong-gu's lair, he winds up grotesquely murdered and fed to the dog, aptly named Earth. More traditional detectives unveil Byeong-gu's woeful past, a subplot that can make viewers feel momentary compassion for the insane Byeong-gu. All the while, however, Kang attempts escape after escape, enduring bloody consequences with superhuman endurance. Byeong-gu's accomplice, the unpleasantly plump Sunni (Hwang Jong Min), eventually departs in disgust, leaving Byeong-gu to delve deeper into his madness, trailing the audience behind him. Along this littered path, director Jung Jun Hwan lets us know what he has seen. Elements of films as divergent as "2001: A Space Odyssey" to "The Silence of the Lambs" appear, usually for mere seconds, but for profound seconds. Indeed, a film aficionado can enjoy this film just to see how many hidden tropes from cinema's past can be unearthed. I'll mention a few I found: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; "The Matrix"; "The Shining"; "Bladerunner"; "12 Monkeys"; "Misery"; "The Day the Earth Stood Still"; "Terminator"; "Armageddon" and a delightful plot-twisting nod to "The Usual Suspects." Its "Wizard of Oz" score adds to the surreal concoction, as do numerous Hitchcock tricks and a suffocating retro techno resemblance to Terry Gilliam's "Brazil." But for all this, Jung fails to create his own distinctive tale-telling style for this laudable film. Perhaps it is intentional. Perhaps Jung is that cynical postmodern artist proclaiming the inherent absurdity of all things, including everything in his work and the very skin, guts and bones of his work as well. If that was Jung's intent, then he succeeds marvelously. If not, then I'll just congratulate the stellar acting of the cast members who probably had no idea what they were in for when they signed on for this supremely clever, psychopathic, enigmatic, entertaining but ultimately confounding cinematic offering.