The Great Battle (안시성): A Budget-Friendly Korean Action Film

It's personally fascinating to me that the Korean film 'The Great Battle' (Ansi-seong) is being mentioned as a must-watch Korean film in English-speaking blogs and media. I saw this film at a premiere screening in a Korean theater, and around halfway through, I thought, 'This film is going to flop.' In reality, it barely broke even in Korean cinemas before finishing its run.

However, I thought that if this film were streamed on Netflix or Peacock instead of being released in theaters, it could be quite a good watch. After all, one of the big strengths of Korean cinema is its cost-effectiveness. In fact, 'The Great Battle' (Ansi-seong) had a production budget of 20 billion won, which is just over $15 million. I think a Hollywood film with that scale of action sequences would have cost at least $100 million.

This film tackles one of the most famous events in Asia. In 645 AD, Emperor Taizong (played by Park Sung-woong) of the Tang Dynasty in China led 200,000 troops to invade Goguryeo, an ancient Korean kingdom. Taizong was known as one of the most brilliant politicians and military strategists in Asia, and even Goguryeo, which always won in wars against China, faced a tough battle this time.

Taizong's army captured the castles on the way to Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, but Ansi Fortress wouldn't fall. Yang Man-chun (played by Jo In-sung), the respected castellan, defended the fortress with his excellent strategy and the strong bonds between his soldiers. Taizong spent two months building a massive artificial mountain to scale the fortress walls, but even that was captured by the soldiers of Ansi Fortress. The film ends with Taizong retreating after suffering an eye injury.

The fact that this film didn't do well in Korea reflects poorly on its quality. Actually, after his death, Emperor Taizong was revered as one of the greatest rulers in East Asia. The fact that he suffered a humiliating defeat at Ansi Fortress was talked about by all countries and peoples in Asia for over a thousand years. Even Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, mentioned the Battle of Ansi when celebrating the surrender of Goryeo (a medieval Korean kingdom that succeeded Goguryeo), expressing his joy.

Despite the appealing subject matter for Koreans, only about 5.4 million people saw this film in theaters. In reality, the film's script is quite poorly written. The characters' actions lack logic, and many of them don't fit well with the film. When there's no action, the film is dull, and the dialogue feels like eating bland, frozen food.

It also didn't receive good reviews for forcing sad emotions onto the audience. In the past, this kind of over-the-top emotional manipulation appealed to Korean viewers, but it has increasingly become a target of criticism, and in the 2020s, it rarely leads to success.

However, many people praised its cost-effective action scenes, and I think that's what attracted non-Korean viewers to the film. For $15 million, it delivers action on par with a $100 million Hollywood film. The ancient Chinese siege weapons, the artificial mountain built with 200,000 men, and the Goguryeo soldiers resisting them all provide a spectacle beyond expectations.

Of course, being cost-effective doesn't automatically mean it's creative. Some action sequences feel like something you've seen before. The scene where they destroy Tang Dynasty siege weapons is almost identical, down to the camera angles, to what was shown in 'Kingdom of Heaven' (2005). Korean audiences, whose standards have become higher, probably found these scenes quite jarring.

If you've run out of Hollywood war movies to enjoy, I recommend this film. It's streaming for free on Netflix in Asia and Peacock in America.