Carter (not the coach)

Back for another not-so-professional movie ‘review’ – and given that a couple of months ago I had stated that it would prove interesting to keep an eye on Korean cinema, now it is an appropriate time to write this article. That being said, Carter is a 2022 Korean action movie directed by Jung Byung-gil staring Joo Won.

Now for the less professional bit: I would describe Carter as Korean John Wick meets Crank (pushing even the boundaries of High Voltage), with a dash of ‘resident-eviled’ style zombies…everything on steroids. I will state this once more since I feel the need to emphasize it: the action in this movie is on steroids and considering it is a two hour-long movie, it is (almost literarily) a blast for any action-flick aficionado. There are so many fighting scenes and so many explosions that even Michael Bay would be proud. Also, special mention to Hardcore Henry for those who know.

Whereas the plot does not concern us, there are several considerations to be made on the technique used to make the movie. The intent behind the filming process is that of making the movie feel like a single unique long take (Hitchcock approved). Why am I saying intent? Well obviously because it was done in multiple takes and subsequently edited, but in the end Carter delivers; except for two or three moments where you can notice the difference mainly because of editing, it is as if you are watching everything happening without a pause (even through the flashback). This also adds an extra layer to the intensity of the action. To further clarify, it is as if the movie is shot with a drone-cam that follows the protagonist, continuously gliding and zooming on the scenes. It is something that I may have seen in animation or in game cinematographic, but a technique that I have certainly not encountered in other movies, not to this extent at least. It is refreshing to see that there is still room to experiment, especially in a day and age when everything seems a repeat, a remake or a rehash of previous works and techniques. I would even say that this ‘experimental’ approach has potential to lead to new developments and new ways of perceiving or making movies (as long as people don’t start simply copying the same style and using it over and over again – as it usually tends to happen).

Under normal circumstances I would give this movie a 5 out of 10 ‘hory-shit-that’s-a-lotta-action-for-just-one-movie’; I will however give it a special 7 out of 10 for the effort of innovation.