Johnson Thomas 

D-War

Direction: Shim Hyung-Rae
Cast: Cody Arens, Robert Forster, Jason Behr
Rating: *

D-War is a Korean film aiming to ape an American production and that is one of the major reasons why it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s about a Korean legend with legions of resurrected dragons making mayhem in California. Director Hyung-rae Shim’s narrative is fashioned around innumerable twists and turns and the end result is a great deal of confusion.

There are two creatures in this legend, a good Imoogi and a bad Imoogi, both of whom want heavenly powers. Then there are other Imoogis who are of the non-dragon variety resembling giant snake-dragons and some ludicrous prophecies to add mystique.

Every 500 years a woman is reincarnated along with her male protector and she has the mark of a dragon which identifies her as the person an Imoogi needs to bond with or eat to achieve divinity. That is the mystical curve to an otherwise unintelligible story.

It’s all told in a series of flashbacks. Ethan (Jason Behr) goes back in time to a childhood encounter with a magical junk shop owner Jack (Robert Forster) who in turn meanders back in time to speak about the Imoogi legend.

The plot is totally baffling, the sound-effects ear-splitting and the acting downright atrocious. There is plenty of action and drama but it never reaches the realm of thrills. There are explosions aplenty, with dragons fighting each other, smashing helicopters and generally trying to look ferocious.

Budget constraints notwithstanding, they could have done a more believable job. The entire gamut of fury unleashed appears more humorous than scary. It’s utter chaos out there!A still from D-War