Director: Dong-hyuk Hwang
Writer: Dong-hyuk Hwang (Screenplay) Hoon Kim (Novel)
Starring: Lee Byung-Hun, Kim Yoon-seok, Park Hae-il, Soo Go, Hee-soon Park, Woo-jin Jo
Plot: In 1636, King Injo hides in the mountains to avoid being part of the Qing dynasty.
Tagline – A nation trapped in the longest winter
Runtime: 2 Hours 20 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Fortress starts as the Qing dynasty looks to move into Korea, forcing King Injo (Hae-il) into hiding in his mountain fortress. Choi Myung-gil (Byung-Hun) believes they should negotiate with the Dynasty to ensure the safety of their own people, while Kim Sang-heon (Yoon-seok) is preparing for the war.
With the odds stacked against them and the weather conditions only looking to make things worse, the Korean royalty is left to face the difficult decision, fight and face defeat or surround to new ruling, one that would give them a future.
Thoughts on The Fortress
Thoughts – The Fortress is one of those epically big movies, that will show the battle between two countries, one that could see countless bloodshed, or could see the world come together unlike before. We are following the Korean side of the battle, showing the planning for fight and the thinking to see the people have a future, which offers up a chance to see the bigger picture for people who just want to live in peace. We have strong performances through the film, which will see each one gets their big moments throughout the film to shine. The locations used to show us the strategic advantage the Korean would have had with the battle, despite the number problems they were facing. This is an important historical drama that highlights just another one of the many different conflicts the world once faced.
Final Thoughts – The Fortress Epic scale war movie showing us the importance of the history we have been through.