0
Audiences who have seen the film "HOPE" are drawing attention as they split into supporters and critics, pouring out their respective arguments and reasoning across social media and online message boards. / Photo courtesy of Plus M Entertainment

Support and criticism regarding the film HOPE are shifting toward active encouragement or dissuasion of viewing. Audiences leaving the theaters are splitting into "highly recommended" and "not recommended" camps, pouring out various reasons across social media and online message boards.

According to the film industry on July 23, supporters are awarding the highest marks to the relentless action unfolding over two hours and 36 minutes. Aligning with director Na Hong-jin's statement that he "designed the action to substitute for narrative," the chase scenes and slaughter stretching across Hopohang Port, the forest, and mountain roads are earning praise as being well worth the steep ticket price.

Among these, the town scenes that keep the aliens unseen, alongside Zo In-sung's "horseback one-man show" in the latter half, are receiving unanimous acclaim. Even critics and film YouTubers arguing low overall completion draw comparisons between the first 50 minutes of HOPE and Jaws—which generated terror through camera work and music without revealing the shark until halfway through—agreeing that "at least until the alien is revealed, it is undeniably a brilliantly crafted film."

Unexpected comedy bursting out in surprising moments is also analyzed as fueling the box office success. Starting with the rapid-fire banter exchanged between main characters Beom-seok (Hwang Jung-min) and Nak-yeon (Lee Sang-hee) as they track the alien that laid waste to their village, the audience reactions overflow with confusion over whether the film is an action or a comedy. Highlights include quirky dialogue from Jung Ho-yeon playing police officer Seong-ae, a manic alien autopsy conducted by Hwang Seok-jeong playing the health center director, and Lim Hyun-sik as Uncle Hae-sul recalling his first sighting of the alien in his signature speech style.

"I laughed so hard my stomach hurt," said a university student surnamed Jang from Seocho District, Seoul. "While some moments induced absurd laughter, like Seong-ae's line 'I love you, oppa,' most had strong black comedy elements pointing out the miserable aspects of human nature through the dissonance between situation and speech, leaving a bitter aftertaste after a good laugh."

		0
Director Na Hong-jin (right) of the film HOPE drew attention during a conversation with Director Bong Joon-ho at Megabox COEX in Gangnam District, Seoul, on July 15, revealing, "I hoped audiences would interpret the ending in their own different ways," and adding, "During the editing process, the swear word alone was removed over 200 times from the dialogue." / Photo courtesy of Plus M Entertainment

On the other hand, a significant number of voices advise against viewing, citing poor probability, unoriginal creature designs, dialogue heavy on profanity, and an unfriendly ending. Specifically, criticisms center on points such as: "There is no explanation regarding the automatic firearms possessed by Hopohang residents," "It makes no sense that aliens boasting a level of civilization advanced enough to travel in spaceships would fight humans bare-handed," "The first alien to appear is a twin to the giants in the Japanese anime Attack on Titan," "If you remove the profanity, there is almost no dialogue left," and "It is an unmanaged ending, not an open one."

Such divided audience reactions appear to be serving as a positive factor for the box office, at least for now. According to the Korean Film Council's integrated computer network for movie tickets on July 23, HOPE surpassed the 2.5 million milestone just eight days into its release, recording a cumulative attendance of 2,533,448 as of the previous day. This marks the fastest pace in drawing moviegoers among all domestic and foreign films released this year. An official related to HOPE hinted, "The debate surrounding the film seems to be working to its advantage at the box office, sparking curiosity among those who have yet to see it and prompting repeat viewings among those who have."

                                                                                                          Cho Seong-jun