[KFCC] KT Review

Story: In the Spring of 1973, a plan was devised by the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). During this time, presidential loser Kim Daejoong proves to be a hazard to the current campaign. With the help of Lieutenant Tomita of the Japanese Self-defense force, the two different ethnic groups with one agenda launched "Operation KT." The plan was to kidnap Daejoong and be rid of him. With both Japan and Korea putting high stakes in the operation, the success of failure of the operation could mean war.

Review: KILLING THE TARGET (KT) is saturated with political intrigue and conspiracies. Having a working knowledge on the actual events that took place in this film may enhance the viewing experience. A quick disclaimer appears in the beginning to say that this film is purely fictional, but it's based on real events. The film takes the back-drop of the Watergate scandal and dives into a political unrest between Korea and Japan.

The acting in this film were fairly mediocre. There isn't a particular stand-out performance. The two main characters are your typical hard-ass military man with no regrets and agent driven by a political agenda that doesn't give a damn. Even though it's purely a political conspiracy film, KT tries to explore the turmoil that exists within Japanese-born Koreans and their confrontations with a close-minded Japanese society. The issue is fed to us with a very undeveloped bodyguard character and never really gets to the meat of the topic. It was a nice deter from the 2 hour flick, but it just didn't work very well in the end.

The film itself isn't all that boring. People interested in political history might get more of a kick from this film. Think of what THIRTEEN DAYS or even THE INSIDER would be like if it were a Korean-Japanese made film. Even if you don't have an interest in this area, the film manages to keep your attention until last scene.

The action is next to none. You're treated with a very censored butchering of a mole and a quick gun fight...and that's it. The majority of the film is men walking, and then talking, walking, and then talking, walking, and maybe scream a little, and back to talking. Also, supposedly this film takes place in the 1970's. Aside from the short clip of BATTLE WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY, some porn flicks, and the occasional weird hair, there's practically no trace of it being from the 70's. It doesn't help either that Tomoyasu Hotei provided the musical score. All throughout the movie, the same three or four themes are played over and over again to the corresponding tone of the scene (helped by numerous variations). It's not a BAD soundtrack, it just doesn't suit the film.

There's enough material to pique your interest throughout the film, but none to keep you talking about it after. This is one flick that won't stick out of your mind when you're done watching it. However, it's still worth a watch. If not for the political intrigue, then for the random nudity.