Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard

     I know that Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard is based on Korean folklore "The Tale of Jeon Woochi" but I do not know how much it resembles the story. In this film, Jeon Woo-chi and other characters transport from the Chosun Dynasty to the Present. To make this happen, there are a lot of technological effects involved. We started to see these effects from Korean modern movies and dramas starting in 21th century (Volcano High school, Arahan Jangpung Daejakjeon). Kyung Hyun states that “Modern films in Korea largely depend on glossy images generated by 3-D technology, computer graphics that place human characters somewhere between live-action and animation and visuals and narratives reminiscent of video games” (Kim 202). While I was watching this movie, I was amazed by all the 3-D technology and the computer graphics; however, it made me very difficult to concentrate from time to time. I feel like all these fancy wire actions, CGs and editing were way too distractive. These effects makes me think that this movie was made for teenagers. I’m sure teens were fascinated by the wire actions including characters flying and walking on walls. To me, Jeon Woo-chi was not a hero. He was just a weird character with special power.

     It wasn’t just 3-D technology that distracted me. This film had terrible pacing especially in the first part of the movie where it was not linear at all. The director did not give the audience any cues when he made the several big jumps from the Chosun Dynasty and the present. With the fast pacing, I did not have the chance to really enjoy the effects.

     At the end of this movie, the only thing I remember is Kang Dong Won (Jeon Woo Chi). I never expected Kang Dong Won to play characters like this. He was always the HOT one in the movies or dramas. Kang Dong Won is also in Haunter, which came out a year after. This movie switches genres from comedy to drama with many CGs and 3-D technology just like Jeon Woo-chi. I will watch Haunter over the weekend to compare the difference. I wonder if all the 3-D technologies, wire actions, and CGs were necessary in this film. Did it really help the audeince to focus? Was it just me who felt distracted by these effects?