← Back to Reviews
in
That's the reassurance that Jae-hyeok (Kim Nam-gil) gives to one of his friends as they're about to walk into certain death. But the possibility of saving more lives goes above their own lives. That is one of the main premises of this South Korean disaster film. Set in a small town whose economy is mostly dependent on a nuclear plant, Pandora follows what happens after an earthquake causes a nuclear meltdown.
Although the film covers many stories, the main focus is on Jae-hyeok, an immature young man that works at the nuclear plant. Still struggling with the loss of his father and brother and anxious to leave town, he is faced with some impossible situations that force him to sorta put the "big boy pants" finally. This reminded me a bit of the character of Gang-du in The Host, although the execution here is not as good.
There are a lot of things that work on the film. There are some genuinely thrilling moments here and there, the special effects and the visuals of the disaster are effective, and for the most part, the majority of the characters are likable and easy to root for. Unfortunately, the film tries to juggle too many little stories that mostly feel like the stereotypical disaster film tropes and that play too much into the melodrama.
There is also a fairly notable subplot surrounding the Korean government and their inability to make the right decisions. I don't think the way this subplot integrates with the main one was entirely successful, but most importantly, its beats feel extremely forced and preachy (nuclear energy = bad). Even though I generally agree with the sentiment about the use of nuclear power, the dialogues about it didn't feel as natural and organic as I would've liked.
Pandora still offers some decent thrills, solid performances, and well-intentioned human moments, but suffers from trying to cover too many bases as well as some excessive melodrama. If you like disaster movies, there are definitely worse ones out there, but there are also definitely better ones out there as well.
Grade:
PANDORA
(2016, Park)
(2016, Park)
"We're not going in to die, but to save."
That's the reassurance that Jae-hyeok (Kim Nam-gil) gives to one of his friends as they're about to walk into certain death. But the possibility of saving more lives goes above their own lives. That is one of the main premises of this South Korean disaster film. Set in a small town whose economy is mostly dependent on a nuclear plant, Pandora follows what happens after an earthquake causes a nuclear meltdown.
Although the film covers many stories, the main focus is on Jae-hyeok, an immature young man that works at the nuclear plant. Still struggling with the loss of his father and brother and anxious to leave town, he is faced with some impossible situations that force him to sorta put the "big boy pants" finally. This reminded me a bit of the character of Gang-du in The Host, although the execution here is not as good.
There are a lot of things that work on the film. There are some genuinely thrilling moments here and there, the special effects and the visuals of the disaster are effective, and for the most part, the majority of the characters are likable and easy to root for. Unfortunately, the film tries to juggle too many little stories that mostly feel like the stereotypical disaster film tropes and that play too much into the melodrama.
There is also a fairly notable subplot surrounding the Korean government and their inability to make the right decisions. I don't think the way this subplot integrates with the main one was entirely successful, but most importantly, its beats feel extremely forced and preachy (nuclear energy = bad). Even though I generally agree with the sentiment about the use of nuclear power, the dialogues about it didn't feel as natural and organic as I would've liked.
Pandora still offers some decent thrills, solid performances, and well-intentioned human moments, but suffers from trying to cover too many bases as well as some excessive melodrama. If you like disaster movies, there are definitely worse ones out there, but there are also definitely better ones out there as well.
Grade: