OPERATION CHROMITE is another well-made and well-mounted Korean War movie, made as a collaboration between America and South Korea. It's a great mix of various genres, chopping and changing as it goes along. It begins as a behind-enemy-lines resistance-type thriller as the main characters attempt to get a valuable map off their North Korean foes, and then becomes an action flick in the middle part with a great truck chase reminiscent of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. The final, large-scale scenes turn it into a straight war picture with tank action and the like.
Lee Jung-jae's hero is suitably heroic, Liam Neeson has a fun and convincing minor role as General Douglas MacArthur, and Lee Beom-su channels the spirit of Peter Lorre as the loathsome villain. The CGI effects aren't always great but the director (who also made the similarly decent 71: INTO THE FIRE) knows how to hide them in the gloom to make them look better. Without a single boring moment in it, OPERATION CHROMITE is not quite a classic but certainly delivers the goods for thriller fans and is thus an above-average example of the genre.
Lee Jung-jae's hero is suitably heroic, Liam Neeson has a fun and convincing minor role as General Douglas MacArthur, and Lee Beom-su channels the spirit of Peter Lorre as the loathsome villain. The CGI effects aren't always great but the director (who also made the similarly decent 71: INTO THE FIRE) knows how to hide them in the gloom to make them look better. Without a single boring moment in it, OPERATION CHROMITE is not quite a classic but certainly delivers the goods for thriller fans and is thus an above-average example of the genre.