By Landon Graybill
Intro: Seoul Vibe Review
Where to Stream It? Netflix
Starring: Yoo Ah-in, Park Ju-hyun, Lee Kyoo-hyung, Ong Seong-wu
Directed by: Hyun-Sung Moon
Seoul Vibe is a slick action film with high octane racing featuring an ensemble cast with enough boyish charm and costume design that you might forgive the generic plot. It’s cheesy, overacting fluffy goodness where things work out in the end because, well, it’s a movie.
Obviously the best parts are when our main characters are pulling off driving stunts, but I think people will also enjoy the chemistry of the main cast, whether they are in a montage of upgrading their car or negotiating with underground criminals. It’s fun, energetic, and lighthearted!
Nostalgia Drip
Let Seoul Vibe transport you back to the late 80’s, just a few months before the 1988 Olympics in South Korea. Driver Park Don-wook has just returned from delivering arms around Saudi Arabia, but unfortunately has drawn the attention of a federal prosecutor who can put away him and his team for a long time. However, this prosecutor has other ideas in mind.
Don-wook’s team is offered the task to infiltrate a crime organization within Korea that is laundering large sums of money. In exchange none of them will go to jail. They accept, and after a tryout of sorts -competing against other would-be baby drivers- are initiated into the underground crime ring.
I really think you could guess what happens next. After running some jobs the gang leaders eventually find out that they are working for the feds and when backed into a corner by two different sides, Don-wook pulls off a crazy driving stunt to take down the gang leaders, and keep a large sum of money for themselves without the feds knowing. Pretty standard stuff here.
Seoul Vibe works by not reinventing the wheel, but instead plastering a thick layer of late 80’s sheen over every frame. The bright color palette isn’t too much too be gaudy, but enough to make every shot pleasing to look at. Characters are always wearing these stylish outfits, and there’s so much visual variety that your eyes will not be bored.
Stalled Engines
Unfortunately, the story is less stimulating than the set design. I think it starts out strong reflections on the transition of power in South Korea during this time in history. When Don-wook first arrives back home he sees his childhood neighborhood has been reduced to the ground so that it is not an eyesore to the backdrop of the Olympic stadium. But this is never really brought up again, and I don’t think the movie has anything more to say about it.
The movie is just too long. It's over two hours and the middle section drags hard. Which is a shame because it has a charming enough start and then a genuinely thrilling conclusion, but I’d imagine some people will not get there. The neon cassette tapes that serve as a vehicle for the movie’s soundtrack (it’s fire), do help however.
Final Thoughts: Seoul Vibe Review
Seoul Vibe serves as a fitting title, as this movie serves to provide an aesthetic, a feeling, a vibe. This is what a car action movie set in South Korea looks like. If you put “South Korean 1988 car action movie” into that AI that makes those images based on your prompt, you will get frames from this movie. Unfortunately I think the script was also written by an AI.
If you like racing movies, and love the late 80’s, give this a shot. I wouldn’t recommend it as someone's designated “movie night” movie, but definitely in the background while, say, cooking or walking on the treadmill.
