The Tiger (2016)

Regardless of the "origin stories" and what the straw grabbing naysayers may target to diminish this movie, this is indeed an awesome movie. Beautiful, poignant, suspenseful and oh my gosh, the drama. While some scenes seem to drag a couple seconds longer, than we are used to, the final 10-20 minutes made the other couple hours worthwhile. This movie doesn't have a twist ending and the little "surprise" is almost logical. But if you are really into the movie, you will get a rollercoaster ride. When you, after holding back tears, are finally wiping them out, there comes another shot to the heart that re-open the floodgates.

The epic South Korean blockbuster ''The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale'' is a mixture of a historical drama and an action-adventure movie. To fully understand this movie, you have to be aware of the fact that the tiger is a symbol associated with Korean people and their resilience to keep their culture, identity and values alive despite the hardships this people has gone through and is still going through today. That's why the obsession of the Japanese invaders to exterminate the peninsula's last tiger is related to the fact that if they achieved that goal, it would mean that the resistance of the invaded country would finally be broken. This context also explains why many Koreans despise the Japanese, fear the consequences of the hunt and respect the tiger by calling him the Mountain Lord. Still, some of the Korean characters want to see the tiger dead as well for many different reasons: reputation, revenge and wealth among others. If the tiger were to die, it should at least die at the hands of a Korean hunter. The movie introduces us to three different groups that end up hunting the legendary tiger: Japanese soldiers, Korean hunters and the lonesome main character.Obviously, this philosophical movie doesn't only deal with the symbolism related to tigers but also touches profound topics such as dealing with forgiveness, honor and loss as well as family values. The story of the old hunter and the old tiger has a lot of parallels as well. The tiger almost seems human in this movie and one can somehow identify with the majestic beast. Most people will probably end up rooting for the tiger's survival. In my opinion, it's quite an achievement from the makers of this film to make us feel this way without making this movie too melodramatic. It also helps that the CGI of the tiger is surprisingly dynamic, majestic and realistic. Despite a lot of screening time for the true feline hero of this tale, the initial first impression never really lets go. In addition to this, the landscapes on and around Mount Jirisan are truly impressive. The calm camera shots that never shake unnecessarily, the rich classical soundtrack and the contrasting lighting techniques add to the atmosphere of the movie.I must also point out the numerous fight scenes between the tiger and his enemies. In contrast to the movie's overall rather calm pace, these action sequences aren't only fast and powerful but also quite gory without ever getting gratuitous. They make the tiger's desperate fight for survival even more realistic in my book. The acting performances are overall quite good. Main actor Choi Min- sik is authentic, entertaining and intense as always and proves once again that he is at least one of the very best contemporary Asian actors. I only thought that the villains of the story could have been a little bit more detailed, diversified and present in this film.The only other issue I have is the movie's slow-paced storytelling. This film could have been about half an hour shorter and it wouldn't have taken anything away from the character or story development at all. Patient fans of Korean cinema are already used to the smooth development but those who aren't familiar with this style might find the movie's introduction somewhat pointless, overlong or even boring and they might have a point this time.In the end, ''The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale'' is an atmospheric, epic and sophisticated film that mixes contemporary action sequences with slightly patriotic historical fiction and philosophical topics that never feel too dry. Fans of Asian cinema will like this release and it's definitely a welcome change to the hollow superhero movies in our Western world, so you might as well give this movie a fair try.

I was entertained. I will stop watching 10 minutes into a movie if I feel it is too boring, cheesy, etc. and I made it to the end of the movie. My wife, who normally hates Asian films, got interested halfway through and had to watch it to the end. My 8 year old granddaughter started watching, unbeknownst to us, and started crying when a significant character was killed. Don't let your young kids watch this film; it's violent and gory in some spots.The scenery was nice, the hunting scenes were riveting, and I like the story the was slowly revealed about the old hunter and the tiger, especially at the end. I think the movie was a little too long and slow; not enough to make me stop watching but enough to sometimes fast forward to the next scene.This is a fantasy film with CGI animals. I feel that the CGI was good in most places but sometimes the animals' movements were obviously unreal. However, I feel the same way about some of the action scenes in the recent Marvel movies. If you like the Marvel movies combat scenes then just think of the tiger and other animals as a Marvel superhero and the anonymous CGI bad guys, and you'll be fine.The movie has a cast of interesting characters. I personally did not like the main character, the old hunter. I could not sympathize and I felt that he brought all his misery on himself. I did, however, relate to the old hunter's son. And my favorite characters were the Mountain Lord tiger, the younger scarred hunter who led the hunting hunting band, and the scarred hunter's buddy/sidekick. My suggestion is that if you don't care about the old hunter, which I didn't, there are other characters who are worthy of attention.

...and what a grand Mountain Lord this one is.A magnificently CGI-ed tale of two families: human & tiger, and how the brutality of life atop the mountain doesn't detract from their interspecies bond of gratitude, agony, vengeance and ultimately, comprehension. Unlike Pi's tiger, this beautiful creature is at once awe-inspiring and pitiful, as the forest is ravaged by Japanese-led Korean troops in a vainglorious exercise to get obtain pelts of this fabled beast. The father-son relationship is raw and well-acted, as is the sad plight of the Korean hunters who are forced into a bind for the sake of their livelihoods.Strictly for feline lovers only -- dog people may empathize with the wolves instead.