I was eagerly anticipating the return of Kim Yoon-jin to Korean movies after her long absence due to the 'Lost' TV show. What I didn't anticipate what a tired, confused and ludicrous thriller she'd end up starring in; granted she was parachuted into the production at short notice but didn't she read the script first? Re-tread the well-worn elements of the CSI franchise, stretch them out to a painfully overwrought 2 hours, toss in so many nonsensical plot twists so as to induce migraine and you're pretty much there with 'Seven Days'. The movie starts off running, which is no bad thing (given how many kidnapping movies we'll all seen) but then proceeds to twist and turn like the coherence of a headless chicken. Single-dimension characters with 'plot function' written on their foreheads do not make for an engaging thriller and the less said about the incongruous opening title sequence that shamelessly apes 'Se7en' the better.
Korean movies can be big-scale (Taegukgi), they can be thrilling (Memories Of Murder), they can be bleak (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance) and still be excellent. 'Seven Days' is none of these; it's a nasty, crudely executed, schizophrenically edited and cack-handedly directed piece that wastes your time and the talents of Kim Yoon-jin.
Korean movies can be big-scale (Taegukgi), they can be thrilling (Memories Of Murder), they can be bleak (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance) and still be excellent. 'Seven Days' is none of these; it's a nasty, crudely executed, schizophrenically edited and cack-handedly directed piece that wastes your time and the talents of Kim Yoon-jin.