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 olcano
High" (or "Volcano High School") is a South Korean action/comedy
picture that utilizes a lot of the special effects pioneered by
their American counterparts, and employs elements of Hong Kong farce
comedy and stylized Asian martial arts moves that relies more on
posing and looking good (i.e. cool) rather than doing actual martial
arts. In a word, "Volcano High" is all about flash and style without
any hint of substance anywhere to be found in its nearly 2 hours
running time.
Not that all
style is bad, because "Volcano High" is certainly a fascinating, if
mostly unfocused, film. It's about Kyeong-su (Hyuk Jang), a troubled
student with spiked blonde hair who transfers to a new school (the
Volcano High of the title) for the 8th time in his
schooling career (much to his parents' heartache) and finds himself
in a battle between various superpowered groups, cliques, and
faculty members – all for supreme leadership of the school. Or
something like that. The point is that plot is a relative thing in
"Volcano High," since it only matters for the immediate occasion
when plot is necessary to move the film. Otherwise "Volcano High"
resembles a silly juvenile action comedy that goes for pranks and
laughs with its goofy faces and pratfalls. It does all that quite
well, I might add.
The characters in "Volcano High"
seem to all live, eat, sleep, and fight in and around the school,
which is located somewhere in the South Korean countryside. (Don't
ask for specifics because I doubt if screenwriter Dong-heon Seo
bothered to write something as mundane and boring as details such
as: Where do the kids go after school? Do they have a home? Where
are their families? Is this a boarding school?) What's important is
that the school is in constant turmoil as the various students and
their respective school clubs fight for the right to say, "My kung
fu is better than your kung fu!" Of course no one actually utters
those lines, but it's essentially what the entire hubbub is about.
Among those vying for power is the
wrestling team led by tough guy and resident loudmouth Jang Ryang
(Su-ro Kim, who steals much of the show), and the kendo team led by
the icy but beautiful Chai-I (Min-a Shin), who new-kid-in-school
Kyeong-su of course immediately falls for. How could he not?
Although she hardly ever smiles, those lips are mighty tempting.
And along the way some evil
teachers show up after the principal is almost assassinated (don't
ask). The new teachers end up beating on the students, which is a
bad thing since the superpowered Kyeong-su, the only one who can
beat the newly arrived black trenchcoat-wearing faculty, refuses to
fight because he doesn't want to get kick out of yet another school,
thus forcing his parents to move yet again. And there's also a
running subplot about a Secret Manuscript that's supposed to give
the reader even more superpowers. Or something.
Who really cares about plot with
this film? The filmmakers don't, and the audience certainly won't,
either. The movie is almost all special effects, since almost all of
the characters possess some kind of super power that allows them to
open doors with their mind and throw each other around like bouncing
babies, all without breaking a sweat. Speaking of which, it's a
little odd to see effects pioneered and used to death by American
filmmakers finally making it to Asia. Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui
Hark's "Legend
of Zu" was equally almost all special effects, and now South
Korea has their own sfx-extravaganza with "Volcano High," a film
that relies heavily on an sfx technique used extensively in Alex
Proyas' visually brilliant "Dark
City."
The film will no doubt be
considered another "Matrix"-rip-off
by kids who thinks the "Matrix" was the first film ever made by
modern civilization. But if you look closely, "Volcano High" is more
of an adaptation of Proyas' "Dark City" than the latter film by the
Wachowski brothers. In fact, "Volcano High"'s ending sequence, where
two characters square off while afloat in the air, is almost a
scene-by-scene translation of the final battle sequence in Proyas'
film. I hasten to call it "theft," but perhaps "unabashed homage"
seems appropriate enough.
There are no big stars in "Volcano
High," which is probably for the best, since it means the filmmakers
can put all their money into the visual effects rather than spend it
on high star wages. The film also has some nice visual flairs, with
cinematographer Yeong-taek Choi and director Tae-gyun using a
bleached-out style reminiscent of David O'Russell's "Three
Kings." The film looks good and camerawork by Choi is
appropriately wacky and loose, meaning the camera climbs up walls
and does wild maneuvers right alongside the characters. If it hasn't
been made clear yet, gravity doesn't exist in "Volcano High."
In a backhanded sort of way, I am
impressed with "Volcano High"'s ability to be completely without any
substantial merit, and I laughed at many of its jokes. Star Hyuk
Jang's "I look mentally deficient, but I'm really not" acting style
is quite off-putting at first, but becomes endearing. Min-a Shin, as
the love interest is appropriately pretty, although she is mostly
relegated to background status. Su-ro Kim steals much of the show as
the loudmouth Jang Ryang, who seeks to wrest power from the faculty
and be named "top fighter" of the school. There's also a supporting
character name Song Hak-lim who was not used enough, which is a
shame because the character was very interesting.
"Volcano High" is "Fight
Club" without that other movie's insights on manhood; it is
"Dark City" without the breathtaking visual treats; and it's "The
Matrix" without the "Wow I've never seen that before" vibe. In the
end, "Volcano High" is what it is – a mishmash of genres, other
movies, and nothing to call its own.
But it was a heck of a crazy ride;
I'll give it that.
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