12-08-2007, 11:55 AM
Attack the Gas Station! directed by Sang-Jin Kim
This movie has a very surprising opening.
There's this gas station, see? It's in a remote part of a city. Cars pulls in now and then for gas. The staff is young. The boss is older, and he manages the money inside. Cut to the shadows across a parking lot. Four punks watch. And then they start to walk. And boy do they know how to walk. As they reach the gas station, they pick up boards and pipes and start smashing windows, ad signs, even the pumps themselves, and they rough up the staff and the boss inside. They take the money from the register and off they go.
I never saw it coming.
Next scene: The four punks are in a cafeteria line putting food on their plates. They're all looking bored. Suddenly one of them looks up, a gleam in his eye. "Let's hit the station again," he says.
I won't tell you what follows.
But let me sum up a few things. ATTACK THE GAS STATION! (remember to shout it, because there's an exclamation point) is a surprisingly good movie. It starts out simplistic and juvenile, but with every passing minute it matures and gains depth. I laughed out loud on several occasions, at humor that is sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle. There are several great scenes, like the time a police car pulls in for gas. Or the time the hostages ask the dumb punk guarding them how he would handle multiple attacks in a fight.
ATTACK THE GAS STATION! (remember to shout it) isn't high art, but it is full of insights and commentary on Korean culture and human nature in general, and it's a lot of fun to watch.
This movie has a very surprising opening.
There's this gas station, see? It's in a remote part of a city. Cars pulls in now and then for gas. The staff is young. The boss is older, and he manages the money inside. Cut to the shadows across a parking lot. Four punks watch. And then they start to walk. And boy do they know how to walk. As they reach the gas station, they pick up boards and pipes and start smashing windows, ad signs, even the pumps themselves, and they rough up the staff and the boss inside. They take the money from the register and off they go.
I never saw it coming.
Next scene: The four punks are in a cafeteria line putting food on their plates. They're all looking bored. Suddenly one of them looks up, a gleam in his eye. "Let's hit the station again," he says.
I won't tell you what follows.
But let me sum up a few things. ATTACK THE GAS STATION! (remember to shout it, because there's an exclamation point) is a surprisingly good movie. It starts out simplistic and juvenile, but with every passing minute it matures and gains depth. I laughed out loud on several occasions, at humor that is sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle. There are several great scenes, like the time a police car pulls in for gas. Or the time the hostages ask the dumb punk guarding them how he would handle multiple attacks in a fight.
ATTACK THE GAS STATION! (remember to shout it) isn't high art, but it is full of insights and commentary on Korean culture and human nature in general, and it's a lot of fun to watch.
I'm nobody's pony.