The Tower (2013)

If you enjoy disaster movies and found enjoyment in "Backdraft" then you should most definitely sit down and watch the South Korean movie "The Tower" (aka "Ta-weo"), because it far outshines "Backdraft".The story is about a disaster striking at a celebration in twin skyscrapers in South Korea. A group of people are trapped in the burning skyscraper and time is running out as the fire spreads like an ever-consuming hunger and the structure of the building is starting to give way. Firefighters struggle against impossible odds to save those trapped in the towering inferno.I will say that there are many similarities to the tragic events of 9-11, and as such, I don't doubt that not everyone will find enjoyment in "The Tower", or might actually find it distasteful. I, however, saw it as entertainment, nothing more, nothing less. It is only a movie after all.The CGI effects in "The Tower" were phenomenal and came off as quite realistic and believable. And that would be a deal breaker had the CGI been bad. A movie such as "The Tower" is heavily reliant on CGI effects for obvious reasons.There was a good flow to the storyline and director Kim Ji-Hoon managed to put together a captivating story and movie.The acting was good from everyone on the cast list, which really did help add to the overall enjoyment of the movie."The Tower" is well-worth watching, even if you don't particularly like Asian cinema.

This film is basically a remake of The Towering Inferno post 9-11. There's a twin tower building full of people that catches fire by accident. There's no water available on the critical floors so the fire spreads. There are lots of people trapped inside the building and rescuers doing their best to save them.Really, you know what you're going to get, there's no surprises, and it all comes down to how well executed the action sequences are and whether we care about the people involved in the tragedy. For me, this film works. Granted it's Korean and subtitles take some of the tension away as your eyes are flicking to the bottom of the screen to see what's bring said. But, this film really works as a 21st Century disaster film.There's lots of big action sequences, big fires, explosions, burning bodies, falling bodies, tons of special effects. It's all exciting stuff in a very PG sort of way.Taking advantage of knowledge gained in the 9-11 disaster, we see steel frameworks buckling, people tacking pleas to find their loved ones on nearby walls, burning debris falling from the top of the building; everything that happens to modern buildings when they burn.My biggest criticism of the film is that there are too many characters. The film takes 30 minutes before the fire starts and in that time we meet the maintenance manager and his child, the restaurant manager, the head chef, the incompetent chef, the incompetent chef's girlfriend, the maintenance manager's friend, the rookie fireman, the fireman sergeant, the work obsessed fireman, the lottery winner, the Christian, the mother of a college student, the college student, the building manager, the building owner, the snooty woman and her dog, and so on and so on. Really, there are just too many. Cutting the number down and shortening the introduction would have improved this film a lot, allowing us to care more for fewer characters.Whilst most of the film is deadly serious, there is some light relief provided to make the film more watchable - two hours of relentless disaster is just too depressing. In particular, the character of the fireman sergeant is likable, comical, but still very serious in his actions. My favourite moment comes when he prays for, and gets, a tsunami, dozens of floors up the building.I can't imagine this film being made in America, post 9-11, and many Americans may find it too distressing to watch but, as a reboot of the disaster film genre, it's great success.

The film opens to the apartment of single father Dae-ho and his pre-teen daughter Hana. The weather prediction for Christmas is for above normal temperatures and no snow. Dae-ho tells Hana there will be snow, and makes it a promise. It's not a safe bet promising a child something for which you have no control.There's a big cast, with several story threads. There are the members of the fire department, including a new recruit, and a group of weary veterans. The cooking staff gets quite a few frames. There are representative inhabitants of the towers, families and businesses, and those who interface between tower management of the clients. There is a lot of money invested in the Tower, and a lot of liquidity used to keep it going.Early on, hanging weaknesses are made clear: some pipes had frozen, and sprinklers between floor 60 and floor 80 were rendered inoperable. The discoverer was told to re-prioritize on the Christmas party. A second group brings up an issue with the chairman of the managing company: there is a danger of a sudden updraft near the Tower. This would make helicopter flights near the Tower more risky. The Chairman asks to be put in touch immediately with the Commissioner of the relevant regulatory agency.Dae-ho and his co-worker Yoon-hee have a number of interactions. When Hana appears to be unhappy, Yoon-hee helps Dae-ho out.During the evening celebration, there are fireworks and helicopters flying nearby to provide a simulated snowfall. It all looks rather nice. People in and near the Tower are quite impressed. Hana is really happy that Dae-ho's promise came to pass.However, the updraft problem manifests, and a couple of the helicopters go out of control, resulting in crashes into the Tower. A fire starts an spreads rapidly. The other hanging weakness falls, since the fire started in levels between 60 and 80, where the sprinklers are blocked.Just about anything that can go wrong, does go wrong. There's a fire in the elevator well. Some of the elevators do not work. There is no way out for many. By chance, Yoon-hee and Hana are together, and they get rejected from riding the elevator in the well with the fire. Yoon-hee's observation and quick thinking save them when the fire bursts open the elevator door.The various story lines follow characters through the fires, falling architecture, rescue attempts, and difficult decisions made in trying circumstances. Who will survive? Will the idiots who set up the conditions that led to the disaster be taken to account?------Scores------- Cinematography: 10/10 Excellent.Sound: 6/10 Incidental music is florid, hyperbolic.Acting: 8/10 Well done for most characters in a big cast. A small minority were remarkably bad.Screenplay: 8/10 Combines a number of easily recognizable human traits: stupidity, avarice, cutting corners, courage, self-sacrifice, heroism. The exposition was good for the many difficult situations the characters faced.SFX: 10/10 Impressive.

THE TOWER is nothing more than a modern-day remake of the Irwin Allen disaster classic THE TOWERING INFERNO, updating the storyline with modern technology and modern effects but dealing with exactly the same type of logistical intrigue and scared survivors drama. It's slightly melodramatic, as is the case with a lot of Asian cinema, but it's also highly efficient with it. It may not be up there with the best of the genre, but it's better than the comparable likes of AFTERSHOCK and THE SINKING OF JAPAN.The narrative takes on a familiar construction with the first half hour building the characters before letting rip with a major accident, then working its way through a series of alternative disaster scenarios. Survivors are fried, dropped, blown up and put into various perilous situations, and it's all handled with more than a modicum of efficiency by director Kim Ji-hoon. It's also well paced and technically efficient, with decent CGI adding to the peril and some well-placed comic relief offsetting the more dramatic moments.Is THE TOWER original? Not a jot. Is it as good as the original? Not by a long shot. Is it entertaining? Oh yes. It may be no classic, but as modern disaster cinema goes this is one of the better ones you'll find out there.