Good Setting, Cliché Characters.

     I found this movie to be greatly entertaining, the use of the past and present Korea is very well done and well incorporated within the plot. It’s a good film with a good story, I thought the setting is what made this movie great though the characters were somewhat cliché. The formula used for assembling these characters is one I’ve seen before so many times, there is the protagonist, young and full of potential with a touch of comedy, clumsiness and recklessness but overall very likeable. His faithful companion who can be quite weird but also adds an element of comedy, accentuates every facet of the protagonist’s character and is fun to have around. The love interest, “princess” stuck in a world of chores who aspires to be something more, something different, depicted as an innocent girl with a strong personality who is also later shown as a fiery & sexy woman not to be trifled with. The evil two-faced bad guy who never smiles, never laughs, is always serious and mean, the audience can sense his shadiness a mile away but the other characters can’t. The other secondary character, god-wizards, who never make the right decisions but it’s always “okay” in the end. I have seen this type of cast in so many movies before that I find it lacks authenticity, I mean Disney movies often have similar characters, other Korean movies do the same thing just as much as Hollywood movies. So yes, I guess I clearly did not like the film for its characters but really for its setting, which I thought was used in a spectacular way. The character “formula” I am willing to forgive because the film itself acknowledges that the plot is based on a folktale and if there is a type of story that have very cliché characters, it is definitely in folktale, & I think this goes for any country. I would also be lying if I did not say I enjoyed the movie for its comedic value, it was very simple and “stupid” humor, but still funny. Funny will always be funny.