Seoul Vibe

This is an overly long and occasionally thoughtful car chase action movie set in Seoul at the beginning of the 1988 Olympic Games. Seoul Vibe centers on a ragtag street racing crew obsessed with American hip-hop and the United States in general. Meanwhile, Seoul's rapid modernization as the Olympics are set to begin doesn't benefit everyone, displacing the poor while government officials and the criminal underworld line their pockets. Our heroes, who just want to make their cars drift in 180s and 360s while eating McDonald's and listening to Run DMC, are unwittingly caught in the middle of the corruption.

This backdrop is interesting, but the movie is less about any of this and more about elaborate and bombastic vehicle chases that are guaranteed to remind you of a certain blockbuster movie franchise known for being both fast and furious. At its core, this is a car chase movie, pure and simple, and there's no justifiable reason for this to be two hours and 20 minutes long. In fact, first-year film students could have an easy enough time cutting 45 minutes out of the movie without it losing its style or substance. Speaking of substance, that backdrop is also overwhelmed by the cliches. There are ruthless villains, and there are also the ragtag misfit good guys, who are so cocky, they tend to stand around with their arms on each other's shoulders while their hats are tilted at rakish angles. That said, the effort to at least try to make a relatively thoughtful car chase movie is duly noted.