Which I suppose isn't actually saying very much; it's been a strange year for me, and I've barely watched any movies. But still, this was VERY good. In pretty much every way, which is something that I realised I've been missing; most movies I've enjoyed in the last few years were good in some ways. Some films, ones that I liked, were silly but fun, others perhaps had great action but lazy stories. KPop Demon Hunters didn't require any concessions from me; it was just good. Full stop.
First off, this film is gorgeous, a real visual treat; so many times I was just amazed at the art of what I was watching. The action scenes were fast and fluid, but more than that they were incredibly stylish, a beautifully choreographed dance between the characters and the camera. Even when the music didn't do anything for me - like I said, not really my genre - I was still enraptured by the visual splendour and storytelling that always accompanied it. The animation really is wonderful, and I tip my hat to the animators behind it.
While the action and cinematography were beyond my expectations, the real surprise to me was how much I liked the story. I guess I wasn't expecting very much, perhaps because I haven't seen too many movies with really good stories that were my sort of thing lately, but this one just hit the right notes for me. It was funny, it was moving, I liked and cared about the characters, and the ending was triumphant yet bittersweet.
I found the titular demon hunters themselves to be very well written. Cool and confident, but human, with weaknesses and flaws that made them compelling, that made you care for them, that make you fear for them when they fall, and cheer for them when they rise up again. And the supporting cast were treated well too; they were likeable, had their own character traits, and weren't just there to be laughed at or put down in the mistaken belief that it would somehow raise the girls up. So many writers these days could really learn a thing or two about writing characters and drama from this film.
While there's a few elements I would have liked to see more of, details about the characters and nature of the demons, I think they weren't necessary, and getting bogged down in details might have hurt the pacing and flow; overall I guess the film felt fast-paced but not rushed. There are constant musical numbers, but they are always an integrated part of the storytelling - not just narratively but also visually, each song lasting the right amount of time for us to see what we need to see. The film doesn't stop whenever it wants to sing a song, rather it naturally sings songs as it goes about its business. It just felt smoother and more streamlined to me than is often the case for musical numbers in movies and shows.
I know that I've unfortunately become very opinionated, very quick to nit-pick, when it comes to media. Even if I'm enjoying a movie enough to not be bothered by small issues, I usually still notice them. So it's kind of surprising to me just how little I saw that I could find anything to complain about. I really am surprised and very impressed by how much I got into the this movie; I was just glued to the screen, and when it was over I felt just a tiny bit lost, like I needed more.
I'm giving KPop Demon Hunters a 9/10. A little generous perhaps, but it's been a long time since I've seen something that I felt worked so well on so many levels.
I've just realised I haven't seen an animated movie is a long time. I believe I once wrote about how consistently good animated movies were, but I feel that has changed in the last few years, as a number of very promising animated films turned out to be disappointments. So perhaps a few years ago I wouldn't have been so surprised that this animated film was so good, but I guess things have changed since then.
It's a little strange to me that a movie about three characters who initially seem to have equal billing, ends up being far more focussed on the one "main" character. I'm not complaining, it worked. I wouldn't be surprised or disappointed though if we get more focus on the others in sequels - or perhaps in a TV show?
I really loved the exaggerated facial expressions so many characters exhibited, that was a lot of fun, and I think it gave characters, including our main trio, a lot of personality.
I'm surprised they didn't go into more details on some things. The nature or origin of these demons for one thing, initially it didn't seem important but as we learned Jinu's story it raised a lot of questions with me. Likewise the origins of the Demon Hunters, why there's always three, how they are found or chosen, etc. I should mention that it is slightly concerning to me that we get so little detail about the whole "stealing souls" thing. That's kind of a big deal to me that the movie pretty much glossed over; a LOT of people disappear, and we never see what happened to them in the end. But at the same time, getting too deep into a topic like that would likely be a mistake; I just would have liked a quick of "With Gwi-Ma dead, all the souls he consumed were freed" sort of thing, like the end of the original 1995 Mortal Kombat film. That would have been enough.
I'm also surprised that we didn't see Rumi's parents at all, or learn anything about them. I also wanted to know more about Celine, to actually see her interact with the trio, but more importantly I wanted to have more closure on her relationship with Rumi. The last interaction we saw between Rumi and Celine ended very poorly, I want to know what happened afterwards, whether they were able to mend their relationship. Celine made mistakes, and those hurt Rumi, but I wanted to see Rumi understand and forgive her. After all, Celine was in a very difficult situation, one she was never equipped for, and she handled it as best she could. No, she wasn't perfect, she made mistakes, but that's understandable, her mistakes were very human. I think her story is really quite compelling, and I think she deserves a happy ending too.
On a related note I thought Jinu's story was very strong, and perhaps unlike with Celine or Rimu's parents, I think we saw just the right amount of it. The shame and regret that he feels, the sacrifice that he makes at the end; it was quite powerful, he's a very sympathetic character.
In the scene where her friends finally see her demonic marks, I was a just little surprised they were so stand-off-ish right from the start. I expected them to assume something had been done to her, for their first instincts to be to help her, rather than keeping their distance and demanding an explanation. But it worked very well for the plot, so I think it probably had to be that way. Genuinely this was one of the very few things that felt a tiny bit off to me during the movie, but when I think about it I do understand it. Ultimately that sort of "breakup" scene is not uncommon and often feels quite forced and preventable, frustratingly so; here I think it was handled quite well overall, so I won't complain.
I was a little surprised when Rumi showed up at the end with her mind already made up, her convictions in place, without needing another character to give her a push. But I kind of liked it; the way this usually works out in film is that we need a conversation with another character in order to see the mental processes work themselves out, to have the themes and narrative arcs verbalised. And there's a good reason for that. But at the same time, I do like for characters to display agency, to make their own decisions by themselves, without needing someone else to essentially give them the answers, to set them on the path that they just need to follow. So Rumi just deciding what to do on her own, and just doing it without needing a pep talk or cheerleader, was something that actually hit me kind of hard.
I don't know what the deal is with the cat and the bird, or why they were able to stay in the world when the other demons weren't, but I liked them and I'm glad we got a final glimpse of them.
The demon king Gwi-ma being an almost formless ball of flame felt a little unimaginative to me. And yet it did make him feel completely distinct from the other demons in a way that suggests he really is something different; an elemental force, somehow unknowable and unfathomable. So I think it worked, even if it meant he didn't have as much character as some animated villains of the past.
We see the girls spend two weeks trying to write and rehearse a song. And yet we see the demons, with no prior experience, trot out choreographed musical numbers at the drop of a hat. If writing a song was so hard for the girls, how did the demons seem to do it so easily? Obviously the answer is that it worked better for the movie this way. I'm just saying is all. Nit-pickers gonna nit-pick, amirite?
