[Movie 2019-2020] Ashfall / Baekdusan, 백두산 - No Option For Failure

[rubie]

January 20, 2020

 

Ashfall review: Disaster in Korea

 

By DANIEL EAGAN Film Legacy

 

 

While Parasite racks up awards, at the other end of the Korean film industry is Ashfall, a disaster epic filled with stars, action and special effects. Aimed squarely at mainstream viewers, it’s a fun if not completely successful knockoff of blockbusters ranging from Armageddon and San Andreas to The Wandering Earth. As escapist entertainment, Ashfall works best when it plays with the genre.

 

Directors Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo feint and parry with the story, starting the movie with Captain Cho In-chang (Ha Jung-woo), hero of a bomb disposal unit and proud but distracted father-to-be. He’s caught in a traffic jam when an earthquake hits Seoul, a carefully designed special-effects sequence that’s the most effective bit of filmmaking in the movie.

Turns out a volcano is about to explode, threatening South Korea with an 8.0 magnitude earthquake that would inflict untold casualties and destroy the country’s infrastructure. According to geology professor Kang Bong-rae (action star Don Lee / Ma Dong-seok in a change-of-pace role), the only way to stop the eruption is to detonate a nuclear bomb under the volcano.

 

And the only way to obtain nuclear warheads is to steal them from North Korea, where the US is in the process of securing six ICBM warheads in a denuclearization program. South Korean officials are counting on turncoat defector Ri Jun-pyong (Lee Byung-hun) to help locate and steal the weapons.

 

So Cho and his team fly through clouds of volcanic ash, parachute into North Korea, break Ri out of jail, and head to an underground weapons complex while fighting off attackers and exchanging banter.

Despite all the high-concept twists, Ashfall loses momentum as the filmmakers turn to sentimental subplots and back stories. An abandoned daughter preoccupies Ri; Cho is worried about his very pregnant wife. Kang blames the crisis on government indifference, ready to leave the country as a result. (He makes one of the few political statements in a movie that tiptoes around conflicts with North Korea.)

 

The bromance between Cho and Ri succeeds more on the strength of the performances by Ha and Lee than on credible dialogue or situations. Several ticking deadlines — evacuees waiting at docks, the erupting volcano, detonators on the nuclear warheads — fail to generate enough suspense. Even Don Lee can’t boost the film, especially when he’s relegated to hiding under his desk.

 

But face it, Ashfall isn’t trying to do anything more than entertain viewers. The filmmakers offer several sure fire action sequences as characters try to escape collapsing roads, bridges, hangers, apartment towers, mineshafts and dams. Production values are first-rate, from the persuasive digital effects to an apparently endless supply of junkyards and bombed-out buildings that much of the film takes place in. There’s also a nifty stand-off as Chinese gangsters, American armed forces, and the Koreans all try to nab an armed nuclear detonator. If you have a weakness for kinetic destruction, Ashfall has a lot to offer.

 

The movie is already a success in Korea, and opened January 17 in New York City theaters and across the country from Capelight and MPI Media Group.

 

Art by green_bean0101
 

[rubie]

Posted on IG by the mother of the child(baby girl) playing Ri Jun Pyung's daughter in the family photo.. 

 

Source: s.yooha (disclaimer: Google translate)

 

Finally, I can watch the movie Baekdusan on TV
My friend called and sent it to me.
The chubby Soi just appeared
Actor Jeon Do Yeon came into my family photo
In this movie that Lee Byung Hun's paternal love was outstanding
As a childhood daughter of Lee Byung Hun, I was in their family photo.
It looks like synthetic but it was taken with real actors lol
Soy cried too, and the photo came out with sad eyes
Just meeting some really great actors
Thank you so much 
#This looks amazing
#Go and keep it

 

Source: promflores
 

[rubie]

Photos: haegeum_nary

 

Stunt actors for Ri Jun Pyung and Jo In Chang

 

 

[rubie]

January 18, 2020

 

Ashfall ***1/2

Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode Eye For Film

 

"Against the odds, Ashfall works at a dramatic level, largely thanks to the hard work of its cast and a real sense of commitment to the story that holds no matter how silly things get."

Ashfall is a strange choice of title for this unexpected South Korean mega-hit. Of all the disasters in the film, it's probably the least spectacular.

 

Remember how the US piled one disaster on top of another in Roland Emmerich's 2012? This is the point at which South Korea steps us and says "Hold my beer." Sure, human civilisation itself is not in peril this time, but it doesn't need to be, because the rather more adept Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo give us characters we actually care about, making the events we see much more meaningful. It begins with an earthquake taking place just as explosives expert Jo In-chang (Ha Jung-woo) is on his way to join his pregnant wife Choi Ji-Young (Bae Suzy), who is getting a scan in the hospital. In the scenes reminiscent of The Quake, skyscrapers crumble, Jo frantically weaving his car between them. Many filmmakers would have found enough to keep them busy with this scenario alone, but in Ashfall, everything goes one louder.

This quake, you see, is only the first of four likely to be generated as a series of magma chambers inside Baekdu Mountain collapse. Only one scientist has a plan that might save the peninsula from utter devastation, and it's a long-shot. If a mixed team of soldiers and techies can cross stealthily into North Korea and rescue spy Ri Joon-Pyeong (Lee Byung-Hun) fro a high security prison camp, he may be able to help them steal uranium from missiles in a US-guarded base which they could then use to blow a hole in the side of the volcano to relieve the pressure. In order to avoid an international incident that could spark a nuclear war, however, they can't kill anyone. Attempts at international collaboration are rife with double-crosses. And Ri may be a double agent. When one of the two planes sent on the mission is downed by the thick ash in the air, Jo, roped into the techie team, unexpectedly finds himself the leader, a job for which he is completely unprepared. And his wife might give birth at any minute. And he hasn't told her where he's going.

 

With a plot as complicated as this it would be easy to go astray, delivering a series of clumsy escalations without any real sense of tension. Against the odds, Ashfall works at a dramatic level, largely thanks to the hard work of its cast and a real sense of commitment to the story that holds no matter how silly things get. The action direction is of variable quality and sometimes the CGI lets it down, but overall it's a lot more coherent than one would expect. The pacing never lets up for a moment and the dramatic tension between Jo and Ri - which occasionally spills over into comedy - holds the attention even though most viewers will have a fair idea how their relationship will ultimately pan out. What's more, the action isn't limited to those on the mission, with every supporting character getting moments of peril and opportunities to be heroic. Bae makes her character much more than a helpless love interest and there's also good work from Jeon Hye-jin as a civil servant determined to give her country - and Jo's mission - the best chance they can get.

 

In keeping with Korean cinematic tradition, there's more sentiment here than most Westerners are used to, but it doesn't weight the film down - there's too much happening for that. The North Korean public is presented as cowed and despairing, in need of rescue by those from the South, but this isn't a difficult position to relate to in light of what's going on, and otherwise there's relatively little politics. Jo is a likeable central character and Lee keeps us guessing with his rakish portrayal of the spy. Ashfall may be over the top in every way but it has a solid core and it certainly knows how to entertain.

 

Art by hso0913

 

[rubie]

January 2, 2020

 

Review: Single Hand Review

 

3 fingers = 3/5 stars

 

[rubie]

March 4, 2020

 

North Korean News Agency Publishes Scathing Critique of South Korean Depictions of North Korea

 

By William Schwartz on HanCinema.net

 

 

On March 4th the North Korean news agency website Uriminzokkiri published a short opinion piece criticizing South Korean media depictions of North Korean life. Though no specific titles were mentioned, the piece described the media as a reactionary provocation that depicted a false image of living conditions in North Korea.

 

The chief specific complaint levied against South Korean media in this regard was the overemphasis on military culture, and the implication that change moving toward reunification must be unilateral. This defies the official North Korean policy on reunification as a collaborative civilian-led process, which is also the current official policy of South Korea.

 

The piece does not mention any specific titles. However, the references to reunification and military culture suggest "Ashfall" is the most likely film being discussed. "Ashfall" depicts a ruined, dysfunctional North Korea in the aftermath of a national disaster and ends with South Korea magnaminously working to rebuild a unified Korea with no mention being made of North Korea's prior authority.

 

Ironically, in "Ashfall"'s internal continuity, the South Korean military is not portrayed as particularly trustworthy or competent. One major plot point also revolves around South Korea effectively being subservient to the demand of the United States military, an issue that is ultimately left unresolved in the film's generally upbeat ending.

 

"Crash Landing on You" is another likely reference, which deals with the piece's discussion of falsehood and imagination in media construction. "Crash Landing on You" alleges to show a realistic picture of life in North Korea for its South Korean audience and has been praised for this among defectors. However, the Uriminzokkiri piece accused such depictions of being overly black-and-white, exploiting the problems of the common people for commercial pieces.

[rubie]

March 4, 2020

 

N. Korean media accuses S. Korean movies, dramas of anti-republic fabrication

SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korean state media on Wednesday slammed South Korean movies and dramas for engaging in "anti-republic" propaganda with fakes and fabrication about the communist state.

 

Uriminzokkiri did not specify its targets for criticism, but they might include such recent hits as TV drama "Crash Landing On You" and blockbuster movie "Ashfall."

 

"Crash Landing On You" is a love story between a daughter of a South Korean business tycoon and a North Korean solider. It paints North Korea as a poor and economically backward country.

 

"Ashfall" features two South and North Korean military officers' efforts to prevent a massive eruption of Mount Paekdu on the North's northern tip. It frequently shows severely devastated North Korean villages.

 

"Recently, the South Korean authorities and movie producers are bent on strategic propaganda by circulating anti-republic movies and TV dramas full of fakes and fabrication," the website said in a commentary.

 

"We cannot hide our shock to see South Korean authorities' circulation and praise of such disgusting anti-North Korea and confrontational movies aimed at passing the buck for the destruction of peace on the Korean Peninsula after spoiling inter-Korean relations through pro-U.S. submission and reckless behavior of military confrontation," it added.

 

The propaganda website also noted that related makers and those who distribute such content would "pay the cost" for "completely" fabricating facts about the North and hurting the minds of their compatriots.

 

Moviegoers pass by a poster of the latest big-budget disaster movie, "Ashfall," at a theater in Seoul on Dec. 29, 2019. The previous day, the movie exceeded 5 million viewers in the 10 days since its release. (Yonhap)

kokobj@yna.co.kr

[rubie]

March 7, 2020

 

N. Korea pans Crash Landing On You, Ashfall

 

Source: The Straits Times

SEOUL • North Korea's media outlets lashed out at South Korea's latest hit television drama series and a film featuring the country, calling them an "unacceptable and atrocious provocation".

 

"Recently, South Korean authorities and film producers are releasing anti-republic films and television dramas that are deceptive, fabricated, absurd and impure, putting all their efforts on making strategic propaganda," Pyongyang said via an editorial published by online propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri on Wednesday. "It's an unbearable insult against the same people and is an unacceptable and atrocious provocation."

 

The editorial did not name the shows, but it appears to refer to popular drama series Crash Landing On You and the film Ashfall.

The outlet went on to condemn the productions for treating the tragic division of the two Koreas as a source of entertainment and profiteering, adding that the people who enjoy such content "have no shame and are immoral".

 

Crash Landing On You, a romantic comedy from tvN, tells the story of a chaebol heiress, played by actress Son Ye-jin, who accidentally crashes in North Korea while paragliding.

 

She is rescued by a North Korean military officer, played by Hyun Bin, who protects her and risks his life to get her back to Seoul.

 

While there has been controversy in South Korea over the glamorising of the reclusive nation as a peaceful and liveable place, the drama series largely illustrates the North as lagging behind its more advanced southern neighbour.

 

The film Ashfall depicts the camaraderie between the two Koreas to prevent a volcanic explosion from Mount Paektu in the North.

 

Mount Paektu is considered a sacred place in Korean folklore and plays a key role in the North's propaganda promoting the ruling family's bloodline.

 

In the blockbuster flick, there is a scene in which a building, presumed to be the headquarters of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea, collapses.

 

The movie stars Lee Byung-hun, Ha Jung-woo, Ma Dong-seok and Bae Suzy.

 

Meari, another North Korean propaganda outlet, released a similar article the same day, accusing the productions of "slandering our republic (and) causing outrage of our people", describing the productions as false and scheming.

 

THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

[rubie]

Amazing art by marcusminervino (Open Art Gallery)

 

[rubie]

Behind-the-scene filming clip from Service Vision

 

Source: ㅅㄹㅎㄱㅎㅈㅅㅇ @lOxOla

 

 

Spoiler

 

[rubie]

ASHFALL artwork and review by 무비쉐어(by. Akuk)

 

[Leksa178]

Nice action movie but i hope that South Korea Makes even more movies wich have some connection to the North. All in all i liked it but the ending was partly sad.

[peonie]

June 3, 2020

 

Congratulations to Lee Byung Hun, winner of the 56th Grand Bell Awards:  Best Actor for his portrayal in "Ashfall".

 

 

[Helena]

OSEN | 2020. 06. 03.

Lee Byung Hun, Jung Yoo Mi win big at 56th "Grand Bell Awards"

Actors Lee Byung Hun and Jung Yoo Mi received the Best Actor/Actress awards at the 56th "Grand Bell Awards".

At the 56th "Grand Bell Awards" taking place from 7 pm (KST) June 3 at Grand Walkerhill Seoul, Gwangjin District, Seoul, Lee Byung Hun was given the Best Actor award and shared his wish, "Wish you all good health."

First, Jung Yoo Mi was named in the Best Actress award for her work "Kim Ji Young, Born 1982". Director Kim Do Young received the award on behalf of her and shared her thoughts, "Actress Jung Yoo Mi currently has a filming schedule so she can't attend. I think she will be happy to hear this news. As a director, I feel extremely excited and honored with this award. Once again, I would like to thank actress Jung Yoo Mi for being Kim Ji Young's face. I will give this award to her personally."

Next, Lee Byung Hun received the Best Actor award for his movie "Ashfall". Lee Byung Hun said, "Thank you very much. 'Ashfall' is a disaster-themed film, but I think the reality we are living in is more like a disaster than any movie. So even though I was not new to awards ceremonies, I feel especially strange and awkward today. It seems like it has been a long time since everyone went to the cinema to watch movies comfortably. Now it's hard for people to have fun watching movies at the cinema, so I hope that the day when I can cry, laugh, and be touched with the characters in movies like before will come soon."

Lee Byung Hun added, "I would like to share this honor with co-star Ha Jung Woo, the director and all of the cast and crew of 'Ashfall' as well as the viewers watching the movie. Wish everyone good health."

 

OSEN = Reporter Seon Mi Kyung /seon@osen.co.kr
Photo = Reporter Jo Eun Jung /cej@osen.co.kr
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[Ephoenix]

June 17, 2020 

 

 

https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/udine-asian-festival-lineup-online-edition-1234625227/

 

 

Udine Asian Festival to Open Online Edition With Korea’s ‘Ashfall’

By Patrick Frater

 

Korean disaster action film has been set as the opening movie of the Far East Film Festival in Udine. Due to coronavirus and social distancing measures still in place in Italy, the festival will be held entirely online this year.

The festival is normally held in late April and early May. This time it will run June 26-July 4 with a slightly reduced selection of 46 films from East Asia.

The festival will be hosted on the MyMovies.it online platform. Organizers explained that some titles will be available worldwide, some only in Europe and some exclusively in Italy. They include 4 world premieres, 12 international premieres, 10 European premieres and 17 Italian premieres.

Organizers have arranged the line up in a loose daily schedule, but say that they have “also left open the possibility of choosing independently when to watch movies by accessing the on-demand section.” And only 3 of the 46 titles (the previously announced “I WeirDo,” “My Prince Edward” and Derek Kwok’s surprise hit “Better Days”) will be shown exclusively in the time slot indicated in the schedule.

Other titles selected include the previously announced martial arts epic “Ip Man 4: The Finale,” Johnnie To’s musical latest film “Chasing Dream” and Chinese disaster action drama “The Captain.”

Special sections include: a tribute to the late Obayashi Nobuhiko, whose final film, the 180 minute, “Labyrinth of Cinema” the festival pitches as his final eccentric masterpiece: and a four film springboard for Japanese stylist Watanabe Hirobumi.

 

Nine titles from Japan include the world premiere of sports comedy “#HandballStrive,” “Dance With Me” and sex toy drama “Romance Doll.”

The 10-film Korean presence also includes “The Man Standing Next,” sexy crime thriller “Beasts Clutching at Straws,” and “Crazy Romance.” Released theatrically in December, “Ashfall” follows events that follow the sudden eruption of a volcano. It stars Lee Byung Hun, Ha Jung-woo and Ma Dong-seok, and this week earned Lee a best actor prize at the Golden Bell Awards.

Two films from Indonesia are both directed by Joko Anwar: “Impetigore” and modern superhero saga “Gundala.”

 

 

[Ephoenix]

June 27, 2020

 

ASHFALL Directors Kim Byung-seo and Lee Hae-jun sending their greetings to the viewers of Far East Film Festival online through a video. The FEFF22 is being held in Udine, Italy. The movie ASHFALL has been selected as a opening movie for the festival and it will be conducted online because of the current ongoing outbreak of COVID-19. ~ 

 

 

 

[Ephoenix]

July 27, 2020 

 

‘Ashfall’: Udine Review

BY JOHN BERRA 26 JUNE 2020

 

 

A rock-solid Korean blockbuster boasting volcanic action sequences opens the Udine Far East Film Festival

Dirs: Lee Hae-jun, Kim Byung-seo. South Korea. 2019. 128 mins

“I was scheduled to be discharged today! I should be a civilian! But I was dragged here to steal a nuke and get shot at by Americans!” Ashfall is the kind of incident packed, high-stakes blockbuster that often requires a quick plot recap before the third act. In this case, it comes from an explosives technician who has already endured earthquakes, an aircraft malfunction, shoot-outs and double-crosses in a valiant effort to prevent an erupting volcano from destroying the Korean peninsula. Patently ludicrous but no less enjoyable for it, Ashfall is a rock-solid disaster spectacle bolstered by the savvy star pairing of Lee Byung-hun and Ha Jung-woo as unlikely allies tasked with a borderline impossible mission.

Shot in appropriately gritty, almost apocalyptic tones by cinematographer Kim Ji-yong, Ashfall barrels along in muscular fashion with the reported $17 million budget very much up on screen

Ashfall proved to be a massive box office hit domestically, grossing $58 million to rank as the fourth most successful local title of 2019, just behind fellow disaster movie Exit. A suitable choice to open the 2020 online Udine Far East Film Festival, it should enjoy robust international streaming revenues as the appetite for expertly staged South Korean genre fare shows no sign of waning.

The natural threat here is Mount Baekdu, the volcano straddling the border between North Korea and China which erupts and triggers an earthquake just as North Korea is about to denuclearise. Seoul is severely damaged with ash choking the sky, but the worst is yet to come as geologist Robert Kang (Ma Dong-soo) predicts that the volcano will erupt two more times, eradicating the entire Korean peninsula. He theorises that its eruptions could yet be stopped if a nuclear missile is launched into its side to release the pressure, but this plan has only a 3.48% probability of working.

In order to obtain a nuclear device, a team including bomb disposal operative Captain Jo In-chang (Ha) is dispatched to North Korea to make contact with Ri Joon-pyeong (Lee Byung-hun), a North Korean agent who has turned against the secretive state and knows where the nukes are stored. Things soon go awry. Jo is forced to assume command when a botched airdrop costs the lives of special forces while Ri is not particularly cooperative after being extracted from a military prison. Despite ideological differences, Jo and Ri manage to forge a necessary alliance but must evade interfering American and Chinese troops if they are to save the day.

As this is a South Korean blockbuster, Ashfall refuses to limit itself to one genre so within the disaster movie framework there are elements of spy thriller, road movie and buddy comedy which compensate for the fact that the scenario has been cribbed from Armageddon (1998). Shot in appropriately gritty, almost apocalyptic tones by cinematographer Kim Ji-yong, it barrels along in muscular fashion with the reported $17 million budget very much up on screen. The opening, which finds Jo perilously stuck in traffic when the initial earthquake hits, is a real attention-grabber with the variable quality of the special effects offset by the sheer ferocity of the sequence. Subsequent set pieces are efficiently orchestrated by co-directors Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo, particularly a burst of vehicular mayhem when yet another squabble between Jo and Li sends their armoured truck careening through the treacherous landscape.

The emphasis on breakneck action means that characterisation often gets short shrift, but the cast nonetheless fully commit. Ha nails Jo’s everyman mix of capability and insecurity while Lee’s introduction about half an hour in gives the film a calculated jolt. Alternately slippery and sincere, Lee’s role allows the actor to lean into his signature poker face charm to deliver another finely coiled performance amidst the escalating chaos. The two leads play well off one another, thriving on some sly capitalist/socialist banter which undercuts the encroaching sense of doom, although the script (credited to five writers) struggles to give their dynamic a credible payoff. Back in Seoul, the burly Ma is cast agreeably against type as the flustered geologist, while K-pop star Bae Suzy makes a strong impression as Jo’s feisty pregnant wife Ji-young who gets her own survival story.

Politics are dealt with in broad strokes with Mount Baekdu representing national identity in a divided nation and the central partnership instilling hopes of reunification. The films core aim, though, is to entertain which it does with great confidence and a sense of mounting urgency, if only sporadic originality.

 

Spoiler

 

Production companies: CJ E&M, Dexter Studios

International sales: CJ Entertainment, Yejin Chang yj.jang10@cj.net

Producers: Lee Hae-jun, Kim Byung-seo

Screenplay: Kim Byung-seo, Kim Tae-Yoon, Kwak Jeong-deok, Lee Hae-jun, Lim Joon-hyung

Editing: Kim Hye-jin, Kim Jin-oh

Cinematography: Kim Ji-yong

Music: Bang Jun-seok

Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Ha Jung-woo, Ma Dong-seok, Bae Suzy, Jeon Hye-jin

 

 

 

ASHFALL 

 

 

[Ephoenix]

October 22, 2020 

 

CONGRATULATIONS ASHFALL TEAM FOR WINNING “VFX OF THE YEAR” AWARD AT THE 20th DAEJON VISUAL ART TECH AWARDS!!

 

 

 

[Ephoenix]

October 26, 2020

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO MOVIE “ASHFALL” AND THE WHOLE TEAM FOR MAKING INTO THE LIST OF TOP 10 MOVIES BY THE KOREAN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION. 
Source: Naver

 

[Ephoenix]

October 27, 2020

 

Ashfall – London Korean Film Festival 2020

 Amy Walker

2 hours ago

 

 

The line up for the London Korean Film Festival is an impressive one, with a broad range of genres designed to appeal to people who are fans of very different films. One that immediately jumped out from the list was Ashfall, a big, bombastic action adventure blockbuster that looked like a load of fun.

 

Ashfall (original title Baekdusan) follows bomb disposal technician Jo In-Chang (Jung-woo Ha), who’s planning to retire from his dangerous job to spend more time with his wife and their baby, who’s close to being born. However, when Mount Paektu, an active volcano on the North Korea/China border suddenly erupts, his plans are cancelled.

 

The eruption causes extensive damage across the Korean Peninsula, destroying cities in North and South Korea. When it’s discovered that this is only the first of four eruptions, and that the final one is going to be large enough to cause massive devastation and loss of life, the Korean government must come up with a plan to prevent this.

Jo In-Chang and his team get dispatched to travel into North Korea, contact double agent Ri Joon-pyeong (Byung-hun Lee) who’s in one of their detention centres, and discover the location of North Korean nuclear weapons. They will then have to steal one of these weapons in order to detonate it beneath the mountain, providing enough pressure relief to prevent the final eruption.

 

This plan sees Jo and his team travelling into hostile territory, that puts them against both the North Korean forces, and those of the USA who have travelled to Korea to take part in nuclear disarmament procedures. But when things go wrong, Jo and his technicians, who are not trained for combat, must complete the mission, alongside a double agent intent on escaping and screwing over the team if it means his freedom.

 

Ashfall opens big, with the first eruption of Mount Paektu within the first ten minutes causing massive damage across Seoul. Buildings come crashing down, cars crash, and Jo is left dashing through the destruction as carnage and ash rain around him.

 

From here the film hardly lets up, and uses the constant threat of follow-up destruction to keep the cast of characters moving forward at all times, fighting towards their end goal. However, it doesn’t just rely on the threat of geological disaster, but throws a lot of action, espionage, buddy comedy, and even some surprisingly emotional moments into the mix too, meaning that the audience never has a chance to get bored with events.

 

The film really picks up when Jo and his team encounter Ri, who doesn’t seem to care about anything but his own personal goals throughout. He’s constantly at odds with Jo and his team, and this means that you’re never sure which side he’s going to be on at any moment. The interplay between Jo and Ri is great, and keeps the audience guessing right up to the end; an end that manages to hit a perfect note.

 

These constant shifts in tone, jumping from action and espionage to silly moments where the two leads are battling against each other and trying to get the upper hand, mean that Ashfall never feels dull or takes itself too seriously. This helps to balance out against some of the stark and realistic depictions of destruction, and the massive stakes that Jo has on his shoulders.

 

Ashfall is the kind of film audiences often get from big budget American studios, where it would be the US Army riding in to do the impossible and save the day, so it’s refreshing to see that formula subverted a little, where not only is it another country that gets to play at big budget heroics but the US military is an active antagonist.

 

Overall Ashfall is a really enjoyable film. It has some great pacing, big action and disaster sequences that work really well, and a central cast who are a genuine delight to watch. Definitely a film that I would recommend.