The Pirates released on Blu-ray on January 20th by Well Go USA
I took an early interest in South Korea’s The Pirates after hearing how well it did in its home country. When it was selected as a pick for Fantastic Fest, I was excited to hear how people liked it — but the film just didn’t generate much buzz in the way that many other titles did. That slightly deflated my enthusiasm, but I’m happy to report that The Pirates is an absolute pleasure. Endearing characters, weirdo Korean comedy, and martial arts-based swashbuckling add up to an experience that somehow all fits together just right.
The film begins by setting up parallel stories of its two lead characters, soldier Jang Sa-jung (Nam-gil Kim) and female pirate Yeo-wol (Ye-jin Son). Upon realizing his superiors are fighting only to usurp political power, Jang confronts them and deserts. After scarring his captain in a swordfight, he manages to escape, later becoming a roving bandit and taking on a crew of misfits. Meanwhile on the high seas, Yeo-wol, the second in command on a pirate ship, mutinies with the crew’s support against their cruel captain. Seeing the parallel here? These opening scenes set up the film’s two leads, their rivals, and their similar back stories.
A few years later, Jang’s old outfit have gained control over the kingdom, his old general now king and other commanders holding high ranks. On the sea, a ship carrying the new king’s Royal Seal is attacked by a whale, who destroys the ship, and is observed swallowing the Royal Seal, resulting in a race of sorts as various parties attempt to capture the whale to retrieve the treasure. If the plot sounds a bit weird, that’s because it is. This is a very comedic film with a fairly light tone.
Korean comedy, and Asian comedy in general, can have a hard time translating to Western audiences. The Pirates definitely has some of that cheesy vibe, but whereas some films suffer from it, here it just works. The comedy is largely situational which makes it difficult to explain, but our protagonists often find themselves in dicey situations that require them to be light on their feet. There are some pretty solid laughs, and much of the credit for that can be attributed directly to this guy.
Hae-jin Yoo is one of Korea’s most fascinating comic actors, able to tap into the manic, loud energy that complements his somewhat goofy appearance. His hopelessly pathetic thug is one of the best parts of the crime classic Public Enemy, and he plays a similarly buffoonish role here as Chul-bong, the hapless comedic relief and catalyst character who ties the film’s two arcs together. When the going gets tough he abandons the pirates and joins the mountain bandits, only for them to decide to venture out to sea, the very place he tried to get away from. Yoo plays the beleagured pirate-turned-bandit with hilarious exasperated resignation.
The bandits are lured by the race to find the whale, and pack into a tiny fishing boat to catch the creature without appropriate weaponry or whaling equipment — a literal ship of fools. Their maritime adventure puts them in contact with the pirates, and the two “good” bands of thieves eventually unite against the “bad” forces of officially sanctioned government oppression. Likewise, the two groups’ leaders are forced to pal up after being chained together, with romantic tensions clearly flaring up beneath their rivalry.
When dealing with pirates as subject matter these days, the most obvious comparison is Disney’s Pirates Of the Caribbean franchise, which has made approximately a bazillion dollars with its Bruckheimery concoction of swashbuckling adventure and over-the-top action mixed with plentiful heapings of fantasy, comedy, and romance. The Pirates checks 4 out of 5, keeping one foot in reality (despite the blockbuster action there are no curses, Krakens, zombies, fish-people, etc). The risk of making a pirate film in Disney’s wake is a double-edged sword: Stray too far from Disney’s model and risk losing a massive, well-established mainstream audience. Hew too close and you’re not only playing copycat, but trying to beat a much deeper-pocketed franchise at their own game.
Somehow The Pirates manages to acquit itself well in this respect. It maintains the wacky action hijinks, but eschews fantastic and mythical elements, giving it a more grounded feel. The film does steal the “cut a rope to swing madly around the ship” trick from the Jack Sparrow playbook. It also has a downhill chase sequence involving a massive waterwheel careening after our heroes, but this callback is so on the nose that I’m more apt to call it a direct reference to Dead Man’s Chest than a lift.
Copped ideas aside, The Pirates has a lot of great moments of its own, not only satisfying character interactions and action beats that kept me smiling but some heavier stuff too (the whale is mercilessly attacked by the baddies). The film hasn’t exactly met with rave reviews, but it clicked with me big time. I watch and review quite a few Korean movies, at least compared to the average American viewer, and this is the most unabashedly fun one I’ve seen in a long time. Korea has got the whole brooding revenge thing covered, but this is a full-sail family-friendly adventure with no shortage of style, heart, and humor. Highly recommended.
The Package
The Pirates comes to Blu-ray from Well Go USA in their usual handsome packaging. My copy included a matte-surfaced slipcover with glossy embossed titles.
Picture quality is generally good, but there’s considerable banding in some parts, particularly in the underwater scenes and some shots of the night sky (these seem to be computer generated backgrounds, so it’s possible that the source, and not the presentation, is to blame).
The disc has Korean audio with English subtitles (no dub track). The subtitles are pretty clearly written, though there are a couple typos present.
The film is not MPAA rated, but I’d consider roughly equivalent to a PG-13 or even PG material. The disc itself is fairly thin where content is concerned.
Special Features and Extras
Trailer (2:09)
Previews
Trailers of Well Go USA Releases Iceman, Kundo, and The Suspect. These trailers also auto-play before the disc’s menu.
A/V Out.