What Is the Story About?
Hansan : Rising Dragon depicts the historical battle of Hansan that took place five years before Battle of Myeongnyang depicted in The Admiral. In June 1592, post the sea battle at Sacheon, daimyo Wakisaka Yasuharu arrives at the Japanese Naval base in Busan to take charge of the fleet and counter the threats posed by Joseon Naval Commander Yi Sun-sin. From some terrified survivors of the battle and spies, he learns about a new, fully enclosed Joseon battleship. The last sea battle engagement exposed some critical flaws about its design. Wakisaka joins forces with the rest of the Japanese navy to ensure a decisive success in their campaign to conquer Joseon and from there on, Ming China. The battle of Hansan and what will eventually happen to Admiral Yi Sun-sin forms the rest of the story.
Performances?
Park Hae-il carries the baton of Admiral Yi Sun-sin from Choi Min-sik in The Admiral (2014). He is absolutely composed and dignified as the extra skilled strategist that the whole of East Asia fears of. But for the acting calibre that he has, the film doesn’t give him much to do in comparison to the previous film in the trilogy.
Analysis
Hansan: Rising Dragon is the second film in the Kim’s Trilogy directed by Kim Han-min from a screenplay written by Kim Han-min himself and Yun Hong-gi. The film features the naval battles led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, arguably the most prolific Naval Commander of the Joseon era, and also acts as a prequel to the 2014 film The Admiral : Roaring Currents. Hansan : Rising Dragon follows the historical battle of Hansan that took place five years before the happenings of the The Admiral.
Hansan : Rising Dragon begins with Japanese Naval Commander Wakisaka Yasuharu taking charge at Japan’s naval base at Busan and strategising a war with the Joseon Kingdom’s Navy. His ultimate objective is to perish Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who has become more like a fearful figure for the Japanese Army because of his strategic finesse. Wakisaka joins forces with the rest of the Japanese navy to conquer Joseon and from there on, Ming China.
What follows for almost an hour is a series of planning, plotting, strategising and spying on either sides of the war. One could see spies being caught, tortured and slaughtered on either ends. Unlike The Admiral : Roaring Currents, Hansan: Rising Dragon does suffer from pacing issues when it comes to the drama phase of the film. It does test your patience at times, but the battle scenes in the second hour makes up for everything with an even well conceptualised climax.
The film beautifully succeeds in creating a larger than life aura of mystery around Joseon’s closed major battleship called bokkaisen (Japanese word for sea monster). It gets the elevation and treatment of a character and no wonder why the climactic battle gets juicier with bokkaisen’s entry. The battle scenes in Hansan : Rising Dragon are well picturised and battle strategies, often reminiscent of John Woo’s Red Cliff (2005). The making is also extremely ambitious, but unlike The Admiral : Roaring Currents, the film fails to generate curiosity around the main protagonist Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Now that we’ve seen how big of a strategist is Yi Sun-sin in The Admiral, at the back of our heads we know that he’s never losing even when tides are not in his favour.
For those unversed with Korean History, Hansan : Rising Dragon would definitely be a joyous experience. The scale and battle scenes effortlessly sticks to the concept of ‘larger than life cinema’. But it does suffer from badly written characters and pacing issues.This is precisely where the film fails to ape John Woo’s Red Cliff. The actors are individually fine, but they fail to invoke the energy their predecessors had in the previous film.
In short, Hansan: Rising Dragon is a popcorn entertainer with some epic battle scenes and brilliantly conceptualised naval architecture of Joseon era. If you’re ready to let go irrelevant characters and a bit of pacing issues in the first hour, The Admiral (2014) and Hansan could make for an entertaining weekend double bill feature.
Other Artists?
Byun Yo-han plays the Japanese Admiral Wakisaka. Although a good actor, he doesn’t invoke any fear or imperial antagonism.This is one the reasons why Hansan: Rising Dragon fails to match up to the previous film which had a fantastic antagonist in the form of Ryu Seung-ryong. Kim Sung-kyu should have had a meatier role to play for all the talent he possesses. The rest of the cast doesn’t register enough.
Music and Other Departments?
Kim Tae-seong’s music and camera-work in Hansan: Rising Dragon is as good as his work in The Admiral : Roaring Currents. The score goes bonkers in the second hour and the pre-climactic elevation for bokkaisen is something else. The lighting and coloring is also very good. Unarguably, the theatrical experience would’ve been one of a kind.
Highlights?
Battle Scenes
Climax
Drawbacks?
Poorly written characters
Supporting Cast
Pacing issues
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes
Hansan: Rising Dragon Movie Review by Binged Bureau
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
