Alienoid, released in 2022, was a disaster for the Korean film industry and director Choi Dong-hoon. The exact production cost of the film is unknown, but it needed to attract over 7 million viewers to recoup its production and marketing costs. The film’s cumulative theatrical audience was only around 1 million, resulting in a massive loss.

Director Choi Dong-hoon also suffered a major blow from this film. His previous films were highly successful in Korea. Especially, his two films, Assassination (2015) and The Thieves (2012), sold over 10 million tickets, making him a leading commercial film director in Korea. Alienoid left a serious blemish on Choi’s career.

Alienoid: Return to The Future (2024) is a sequel to the previous film. Although the first film failed miserably at the box office, Choi filmed the sequel simultaneously with the first film. Therefore, Choi Dong-hoon and the production company are in a situation where they need to somehow make this film a hit to recoup their losses.

Alienoid Part 2 continues directly from the cliffhanger ending of the previous film. The aliens’ plot to change the earth’s atmospheric composition is still ongoing, and the protagonist, Ean (played by Kim Tae-ri), must travel through time to find the key to thwarting their scheme.

The beginning of the film is devoted to introducing the setting and characters. The process involves numerous comedic elements. These comedic elements are not very effective, and the excessive use of proper nouns to explain the background makes the audience tired. This is a point that was also raised in the first film.

In the film, the characters gain energy when they are transported to 2022. The shaman ‘Muruk’ (played by Ryu Jun-yeol), who travels from the 14th century to the 21st century, wears an ‘Iron Man suit’ made with alien technology. The scene where Muruk, initially confused by the unfamiliar technology, soon learns to use it to fight against the aliens provides the audience with immense catharsis. The meeting of medieval Korean civilization and alien civilization is the unique appeal that the film sought to highlight, and this appeal is fully expressed in the last hour of the film.

However, it is clear that this appeal came too late. The audience probably wanted to see a medieval Korean sorcerer wearing an Iron Man suit made with alien technology, even if it was in the middle of the first film. This appeal is not at all evident in the first film, and it can only be seen in the second film after enduring the dull introduction.

At this point, it feels like there was no need to make the film into two parts. The first film is entirely dedicated to explaining the background of this story. It does not show the appeal of this story and worldview at all. It is only in the second film that the story truly begins, and it is a level that can be enjoyed without knowing the background explained in the first film.

Alienoid Part 2 is a pretty decent film that combines Sci-Fi and Fantasy. However, the shadow of the failure of the first film looms over the entire film. Even after thoroughly enjoying the film in theaters, there is a sense of regret.