Director: Kang Hyeong-cheol
Writer: Kang Hyeong-cheol
Stars: Lee Jae-in, Ahn Jae-hong, Park Jin-young
Synopsis: The five ordinary people, who developed their superpowers after receiving organ transplants from a previously superpowered being, are fighting against another psychic, who also gained the power through transplant and covets their powers.
Superhero cinema has become a routine genre as of late, offering little to no surprises for moviegoers who seek out the latest Marvel or DC feature (that said, James Gunn’s Superman is poised to breathe new life into DC adaptations this coming July, so the jury is still out on that front). And the recent financial returns have also shown a trend of fatigue in mediocre comic book adaptations, from the dismally-received Captain America: Brave New World to even Thunderbolts*, which was much more critically acclaimed than the recent streak of MCU films.
It’s almost as if superhero entertainment is in a perpetual rut of mediocrity because its writers have no idea how to reinvent a story that has been treated far too many times on screen. As good as Thunderbolts* may have been received, it was the MCU’s version of Suicide Squad – pretty much the same story, beat-for-beat, with a few modifications. None of it felt fresh and exciting. That’s why I’m a bit skeptical of the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps reinventing the wheel, but we’ll see what Marvel has in store for us later down the line. For now, however, a brilliant movie from South Korea has recently released in cinemas and is the shot in the arm superhero filmmaking needs to continuously enthrall moviegoers and make them clamor for more by the time its credits roll.
The film is called Hi-Five and, you guessed it, tracks the story of five super-powered individuals who each received abilities after successful organ transplants from mysterious, superheroic, donors. Our protagonist, Park Wan-seo (Lee Jae-in), has recently recovered from a heart transplant and can now move at the speed of light, and superkick baddies with ease. It’s at that point when she meets Park Ji-sung (Ahn Jae-hong), who received a lung transplant and can blow everything incredibly far in front of him. The other members, Hwang Ki-dong (Yoo Ah-in), can control electromagnetic waves at the snap of his fingers, after receiving a cornea transplant, while Huh Yak-sun (Kim Hee-won) can heal people’s wounds with the touch of his hands, after he recovered from a liver transplant.
There is a fifth member, Kim Sun-nyeo (Ra Mi-ran), whose powers are still unknown, after she received a kidney transplant. Together, they must unite to fight against Seo Young-chun (Park Jin-young and Shin Goo), who dubs himself the “New God resurrected,” a cult leader who, after receiving a pancreas transplant, can absorb the youth out of other people and live eternally. As he gets younger and younger, he seeks to have each respective organ of the Hi-Five members for himself, so he can attain the same powers they have, in one entity.
It’s a fairly straightforward plot, but one that gets elevated by its relentless, wall-to-wall maximalism and humanist approach to its respective characters. Each action scene is a pure aesthetic thrill to watch unfold, particularly a well-paced, humorous chase that, in the year of our lord 2025, is scored through the sounds of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” The thing is, as outdated as this joke may be, we never cease to fall for it. It’s the one constant on the internet, ever since the popularization of the meme in the late 2000s. As on-the-nose as the scene may be, it works because the alchemy (or purposeful lack thereof) between the members is so strong that we ultimately root for their success as they overcome their inner demons to fight off against a seemingly invincible deity.
In that confrontation, Hyeong-cheol throws literally everything at the screen and mixes all of the superheroes’ unique abilities in surprisingly fun and hyperkinetic ways, where their respective powers respond to each other, as they look to stop the Eternal Young-chun before he becomes the “New God” he has always dreamed of being. It results in action that transcends the artifice of comic book entertainment and visualizes things only our limitless imagination is capable of coming up with, in a succession of grandiloquent digital gestures that are often surprising as they are cathartic. It’s creative swings like these that will always ensure the perennity of this artform, in the hands of people who want to craft aesthetically (and thematically) thrilling sequences of great formal ingenuity that always puts its characters at the forefront of the picture.
Because a film like Hi-Five! wouldn’t work if we didn’t care about the five protagonists on screen, who each have their own distinct vulnerabilities to overcome as the New God attains more powers. Hyeong-cheol ensures each member has their time to shine, both through their incredible acts of derring-do and as he pulls back the curtain on their more human aspects, both individually and collectively. I wouldn’t dare reveal how they surpass their most harrowing moments, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear by the time they unite forces and do what must be done to ensure Young-chun does not become the “New God resurrected.”
As a result, it was easy for me to enjoy Hi-Five! Not only is its creativity unmatched in the landscape of superhero entertainment, but it contains enough interesting characters that it truly doesn’t matter if some of the narrative developments Hyeong-cheol takes aren’t up to snuff. When you let your imagination run wild, you can come up with some of the kookiest, most galaxy-brained stories you can think of.
Sometimes, it doesn’t work and you’re left perplexed at how such a movie could ever get a green light. Other times, though, you get magical, once-in-a-generation entertainment like this one, where all you want as soon as you leave the theater is another one. Considering how many plotlines are left unresolved (notably one major aspect regarding a specific character), I can guarantee we’ll get a sequel much sooner than later, and I’ll be there on day one.
