Attack the Gas Station! (1999)

This one brought back some unfunny memories (which I thought I'd share, though they have absolutely nothing, really, to do with this movie). I was working in a gas station, late one night, when a pair of would-be robbers tried to get the drop on me. I had a .38 on me and managed to get the drop on them, instead. They fled. About a month later, they returned, during the day, and robbed me at gunpoint in front of literally dozens of witnesses. The company for which I worked promptly fired me. "Standard operating procedure," they lied. (An assistant manager would get robbed twice in the following months and the gas station would eventually close down... but said assman never got canned.) I laughed my butt off when I saw ATTACK THE GAS STATION! I highly recommend it.

This is a rather mediocre film, that doesn't has a lot going for it. It taps into a kind of anarchic 80's sensibility, and that is it's only selling point. The leading quartet is not very likable, and their, at times, sadistic behavior towards their hostages leaves a rather crude impression of the filmmakers.The only ones who have a chance of really liking this film, are troubled teenagers at odds with the world. And even they could do a whole lot better.The plot goes nowhere really, and it doesn't help that you're stuck in the goddamn gas station for the whole movie. I know it is 'that' kind of movie, but it could be done more charming and interesting.

I've seen a good variety of Korean movies but this ranks among the worst I've seen. The story (without spoilers)...4 young Korean guys rob a local gas station for fun. Some time afterwards the guys get bored and decide to rob the same station a second time. This time around the owner has hidden the money, so the gang decide to capture the staff and work at the station to get money.And so the comedy ensues. Or not. The four central characters somehow all manage to act badly and be annoying throughout the movie. Seong-jin Kang is incessantly flicking his hair around and stomping around. Sung-jae Lee is pouting moodily or chewing on invisible gum. Oh-seong Yu has at least half an hours screen time where he does nothing but shout at the characters to kneel with their heads on the floors. Ji-tae Yu is unconvincing as 'Paint'.The inherent pointlessness & stupidity of the storyline makes the movie completely un-enjoyable. Why does the station not have any alarms, video cameras or security? Why do the hostages not put up any resistance against the criminals? Why is the music so embarrassingly 80's when this film is made in the late 90's?Attack The Gas Station reminds me vaguely of 'Airheads', which may or may not be a compliment. If you've contributed to this movie's 7.1 IMDb rating you really should be ashamed of yourself. Let's recommend good movies for fellow IMDb users.

Taking a single location and having all this chaos erupt turns Attack the Gas Station! into one of the more entertaining foreign films to come out in a long time. With many surreal and absurdist moments, the film is hilarious to boot, while offering some insight into Korean culture.Unfortunately, much of the humour doesn't translate properly, while many of the cultural nuances will be lost on a non-Korean audience member. Although Ddan-Ra being chastized for drinking Pepsi and supporting American companies, while he defends himself because the Pepsi logo vaguely resembles the mark on the South Korean flag, should be understood by most.After a conversation with a person more versed in Korean culture, it is easy to see how much gets lost on the non-Korean viewer. The four central characters, set up as a group of tough-guys, play elementary school games during their seige of the gas station (the syllable game, the paper-scissors-rock variant, etc.). While amusing, they don't hold much resonance for a non-Korean viewer, but for a Korean viewer, are much easier to identify with.Sadly, Sang-Jin Kim's follow-up, "Kick the Moon", lacks much of the absurdism and satire of AtGS, instead punching up the level of violence.