The Great Battle

Grandly mounted and filled with sweeping battle scenes, filmmaker Kim Kwang-sik’s South Korean costume epic retells the true story of the invasion of Goguryeo—a kingdom on the Korean Peninsula—by the Chinese Yang Empire in the 600s. Korean pop star Zo In-sung stars as General Yang, commander of the Ansi Fortress, who refuses to abandon his post despite orders. His 5,000 soldiers are all that stand between the 200,000-strong Yang army and the Goguryeo capitol and he holds the enemy at bay as the latter construct a towering wall from which to launch an assault on the fort. The story features a garrison of female archers, a royal oracle taken prisoner by the invaders, and a holy crossbow that, according to legend, can only be wielded by a god—all of which give this real-life incident a decidedly larger-than-life treatment. The physical production is impressive, with long shots filled with thousands of soldiers in battle (a mix of physical crowds and CGI additions), and numerous epic fights that are directed with a sharp eye for detail and design, but the script is built on familiar tropes (the loyal lieutenants and soldiers who heroically sacrifice their lives in doomed missions), and the characters lack personality or depth. So while being colorful and swiftly paced enough to satisfy fans of Asian period epics, it also lacks the dramatic punch or visual poetry of the best Chinese battle dramas. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)