Kaiju History — A 2000s South Korean Film Dared To Imagine Dragons Doing Battle In Los Angeles, Only To Fade Into Obscurity
The New Millennium is only a quarter-century old, but can already be considered a weird period. Cinematically alone, it is an anomaly. Like that Michelle Yeoh movie that won the Oscar, everything is happening all at once. There is room at the cineplex for experimental multiversal tomfoolery such as that, as well as superheroes and elevated horror. All well and good (or mixed and condescending, knowing Hollywood), but we’re not here to talk about any of that.
This is “Kaiju History,” which means we’re here to talk about one thing and one thing only: monsters, big ones. Historically, none come bigger than dragons. Every civilization has been obsessed with the flying fire-breathing lizards, and that obsession carries on today. Look around, dragons are everywhere: in mature TV shows such as Game of Thrones and family-friendly films such as How to Train Your Dragon. They are for all ages, and they show no signs of going anywhere ever.
Moreover, like I mentioned, they are also cross-cultural. The first type of dragon you’ll probably think of is a Medieval Titan burning villages to the ground until a gallant knight slays it and becomes a hero. The second is likely the more serpentine beasts from the East that evoke Chinese New Year celebrations more than fantasy or terror. To us in the West, the latter may get the silver medal, but they still have an appeal all their own.
In the mid to late 2000s, a movie tried to make some money internationally off this appeal, but overestimated global enthusiasm for its spectacle. This is evident in the fact that no one today seems to remember or talk about the film I want to discuss. D-War (also known as Dragon Wars in the US and abroad) is a 2007 fantasy adventure from South Korea that is, one part, an eternal love story, one part, an action movie with monsters and light comedy.
Whether you’ve seen it or are hearing of it for the first time, one of the first things you’ll notice is that, for an import, it has a mostly American cast containing some “it” people of the moment. This includes names you might recognize: Jason Behr (The Grudge), Craig Robinson (Hot Tub Time Machine), Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly), Elizabeth Peña (Jacob’s Ladder), and Derek Mears (Swamp Thing), among others.
None, however, stands taller than legendary actor Robert Forster, who needs no introduction, at least to people of a certain age range. Though not the main character, he plays the crucial role of a wise old magical sage who has to help fulfill a prophecy to reunite the souls of two lovers. The story starts back in the Korean Peninsula of the 1500s, where, similar to Europe in the Middle Ages, feudal lords, warriors, the sword, and dragons ruled. Back then, a warrior lived who fought an evil dragon and its fearsome army of armored demons and hulking beasts.
He had a love, and it was prophesied they would meet again in spirit, causing the dragon war of the title to start again. Jumping to contemporary Los Angeles, a light in Forster’s antique shop shines on a boy who grows up to be Behr. If you guessed this proves Behr plays the reincarnation of the warrior, you either saw D-War or know the genre well enough to write it in your sleep. Forster tells Behr’s younger self that he has “Yuyiju” (or something), and will meet a girl one day who has a tattoo signifying she’s the one.
When the time comes, two snake-like dragons – one good and one bad – will come out of the woodwork to battle for the fate of the world, and the prize of ascending to heaven (I think). That summary might sound like fun, but the story is stock and uninteresting. The acting is even worse with flatter performances than a SYFY original movie. You might think Forster would stand out, but he sleepwalks through earning his check
What gives D-War some redeeming value is the visual effects. While they might not be flawless, they breathe life into the spectacle of the final act that includes an epic battle in the middle of downtown LA, culminating in one of the dragons coiling around a skyscraper. The trailer and the advertising were not afraid to give this part away, regardless of how late it happens in the film, and it’s easy to see why.
The creature feature was a pet project, and in a way, a shot at redemption, for filmmaker Shim Hyung-rae after his dud of a Yonggary remake (a monster flick so terrible, it’s a good story for another time; and we’ll get there). As soon as that film was reshot and reached American shores, Shim was already working on the VFX for D-War, years before its ultimate release.
By the time that rolled around, he could ride the wave of Korean cinema starting to trickle into the US market. This started with Bong Joon-ho’s kaiju film The Host, and that part of the world has been redefining genre fiction ever since. They came a long way from the days of A*P*E and nightmare productions like Pulgasari (though that was the North). Shim Hyung-rae didn’t exactly live up to Bong’s legacy and leaned more into the molded cheese of old.
That didn’t stop him from aiming high and spending big. D-War broke records as the most expensive South Korean film of all time. The budget has been listed as $35 million, but is confirmed to be as high as $99M. It was also the first Korean movie to get a wide release, a bigger accolade than either The Host or Park Chan-wook’s Thirst. Those films received limited releases in arthouse theaters.
D-War was released in thousands of theaters across the nation and throughout the world. It might not have been remarkable – except in China, where it was treated like the most monumental premiere in history – but it did decent enough business to earn a sequel announcement. However, nothing new has been reported on that front in years.
Reviews were justifiably negative. One in Shim’s home country really nailed it. “They want it to be successful in the U.S. because it’s Korean, not because it’s good,” said critic Kim Bong-sok. The film has a reputation for being nationalist, but nobody in America at the time or now had any idea about that. Considering that, what can be said of its legacy in the annals of Kaiju History? Your guess is as good as mine.
Maybe some of you out there will rediscover it and help build a following. Just know that if you are seeing it for the first time, you are better off watching the Rifftrax version with some friends and a few beers.
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