Emergency Declaration
South Korean disaster movie/thriller elevated by star turns from Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun.
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When I was approached about reviewing the disaster movie/thriller “Emergency Declaration” (now available on VOD, Blu-ray and DVD) all I needed to see was the names of actors Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun attached to have my curiosity piqued.
Song and Lee are two of the finest South Korean actors working today. Both men appeared in “Joint Security Area” and “The Good, The Bad, The Weird.” The former starred in “Parasite,” “Snowpiercer,” “Memories of Murder,” “The Host,” “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance,” “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” and “Thirst.” The latter acted in “I Saw the Devil” and “A Bittersweet Life.” Their combined filmographies are essentially the crème de la crème of South Korean cinema.
Thankfully, “Emergency Declaration” is largely worthy of the two men’s talents.
Jin-seok (Im Si-wan) is a disturbed young man who’s unleashed an experimental virus aboard an inflight plane. Also aboard the flight are disgraced former pilot Jae-hyuk (Lee), his eczema-afflicted daughter Soo-min (Kim Bo-min), head flight attendant Hee-jin (Kim So-jin) and pilot Hyun-soo (Kim Nam-gil). As passengers begin getting sick and dying the plane starts running low on fuel and Hyun-soo with Jae-hyuk’s assistance scramble for a place to land.
On the ground investigating the case is Detective In-ho (Song), whose wife Hye-yoon (Woo Mi-hwa) also happens to be a passenger aboard the plane. Assisting In-ho in his investigation are his partner Yoon Chul (Hyun Bong-sik) and state official Sook-hee (Jeon Do-yeon).
“Emergency Declaration” is written and directed by Han Jae-rim and is his third collaboration with Song following “The Show Must Go On” and “The Face Reader.” This is the first of Han’s films I’ve seen and I have to say I was pretty impressed. It’s a tad too long at 138 minutes (it’d likely play better at two hours on the nose), but I found it to be an affecting thriller with strong performances (Song and Lee are especially good to no surprise). Ultimately, it’s a movie that’s equal parts scary (a lot of this could actually happen – here’s hoping no wackadoos are watching and taking notes) and moving (there’s plenty of heroism and sacrifice at play and poignant usage of Claude Debussy’s “Clair de lune”).
If you’re a fan of South Korean cinema, disaster movies, Song or Lee, you’ll likely enjoy “Emergency Declaration.” Han even manages to work in an inverse of the steak or fish gag from “Airplane!” into the mix, which was appreciated.