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Movie: Sector 7 (2011)

Something awaits 8,000 feet under the sea off the southern tip of Jeju Island. 

Sector 7 (2011) is a South Korean 3D action horror movie. 

According to hancinema.net's article on Sector 7, 3D movies are an untapped territory in Korea. The release of this movie in 3D is significant in the Korean movie history with the hope that it will pave the way for 3D movie market in South Korea. 

Synopsis from IMDb: The Eclipse is the offshore drilling rig stationed at Sector 7, a mining area in the vast open sea located off the southern tip of Jeju Island. The oil drilling excavation ends in failure and the crew is given the order to withdraw by the headquarters. 

Captain Jeong-man (Ahn Seong-gi) is sent to oversee the crew's withdrawal. However, Hae-jun (Ha Ji-won), the equipment manager opposes the headquarters' order adamantly as she's certain that oil will be discovered in Sector 7. Motivated by Hae-jun's conviction of finding oil, the Captain suggests to conduct one last drilling exercise. 

While Hae-jun and the crew are fully engaged in their final attempt, they lost communication with the headquarters and are overwhelmed by the disconcerting feeling that something is out there. As people begin to disappear one by one, the few surviving ones need to think fast and fight for their lives in a non-stop battle against the mutant monster from the sea. Survival looks unlikely, but Hae-jun and the crew are determined to take any chance to get out of Sector 7 alive.

Here's what I have to say: I can't help but to compare Sector 7 to Alien and Ha Ji-won to Sigourney Weaver. The problem is, Ha Ji-won tries too hard to prove that she's a rising South Korean action female star. Blatantly speaking, I find her character as Hae-jun unrealistic and hollow because she takes herself too seriously and I couldn't bother if she will survive the catastrophe. In fact, the rest of the cast seems to suffer the same syndrome except veteran actor Ahn Seong-gi as the elderly captain.

The script seems to be written just for Ha Ji-won and everything seems to revolve around her, especially the movie's climax - the human vs sea monster face-off. Maybe she tries to be Sigourney Weaver or Angelina Jolie, but I think she needs more practice to better her performance in terms of realism and audience relations. 

Anyway, if you're a fan of Korean action horror movies, you might want to watch this movie, just to kill time, if you wish.

5 comments

  1. You're partly right when mentioning HJW tries so hard because being all out is so her; she always does try her best in all of her roles. That's why most leading Korean directors and writers want her to play in their movies/drama, and some of them made the story JUST FOR HER. So, again, you're so right about her being so serious with her role.

    Somehow I disagree with you when you said she tries to be a Sigourney or Angelina. IMO, she doesn't want to be any of those two. Surely she's not perfect but I believe she'll work harder to fulfill her dream, to be an Asian Meryl Streep. :D

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  2. Hi Imud,

    Thanks for your comments.

    HJW is no doubt one of the finest South Korean actresses. I agree with that.

    Meryl Streep? That's pretty good too. :D

    Cheers.

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  3. Note: To the anonymous reader, I've read your comment and I'm sorry that I've decided not to publish it. However, I appreciate your thoughts.

    As per another comment above, HJW is no doubt one of the finest South Korean actresses.

    And I appreciate courtesy in all comments made in order not to provoke unnecessary feelings. Like the wise saying goes, take everything with a pinch of salt.

    Thank you and peace out.

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  4. I wish to identify myself, jsut call me cel and just like you I also have my blog and my hub, but our difference I think is i don't want to tackle much on negative things however I respect your views, and people especially writers must have the avenue to express their thoughts... however there is one thing I don't really like but it's not about you Joy but the reality that we think of Americans as parameters of the best performances...no doubt they are great but maybe not the greatest as always. I don't like HJW to be compared to those actresses and not all people in the world always look at american actors as the bests... in my case Angelina Jolie and the one's the you mentioned never appealed to me (but I like Sandra bullock, pardon if the spelling is wrong)but I came to like HJW when I saw her doing action scenes. I am not from Korea so this is not a biased opinion, but yes I am from Asia. You can find me at hubpages...thanks

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  5. Hi cel, nice meeting you.

    I hope you've read my comments about Transformers 3. I don't particularly like all Hollywood movies because some are overrated and I get tired watching them.

    In fact, I watch a lot of Asian movies, especially Thailand and South Korean movies. Parallel Life, a recent South Korean movie that I watched is really, really good and I'm so proud that there are superb Asian movies.

    It's this particular HJW movie that I commented on a bit harshly, I believe because I don't really know her and therefore, it takes time to like her as an actress.

    Thanks again for dropping by. :)

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