The Admiral: Roaring Currents 명량 2014 - South Korea

Today, I bring you the 2014 South Korean, historical epic film, The Admiral: Roaring Currents (명량), by director Kim Han-min. This film was huge upon it's release! This film has set the all-time highest opening day in South Korean box office history, highest opening weekend with 3.35 million admissions surpassing Transformers: Dark of the Moon, who previously held the position, and is the first film to generate over ₩10 billion (roughly 9.2 million USD) in a single day! 
It is not hard to see how this epic film became such a success. Based upon true events in Korea's history, The Admiral: Roaring Currents focuses on Admiral Yi Sun-shin, played by Choi Min Sik (Old Boy, I Saw The Devil). The film revolves around the Battle of Myeongnyang in 1597, when Admiral Yi led his 12 remaining ships into battle against the Japanese navy who was boasting well over 330 boats. 

The statue of Admiral Yi  at the front of
Gwanghwamun Square (Seoul, South Korea) 

In Korean history, Admiral Yi's victory in this war is his most celebrated achievement. The victory of Admiral Yi destroying 31of the Japanese ships, with all of his boats remaining in tact, was one of the key factors that led to Japan failing to capture the Joseon capital, Hanyang (present day Seoul). If you would like to read more about the Battle of Myeongnyan, click here. 

I found this film very enjoyable to watch. Unlike many war films, I found this one to be much different. Typically, other films that focus on one main war, always throw in several other small battles through out the film to keep the pace up, but The Admiral: Roaring Currents did not, and it was STILL an intriguing watch. Of course, the film had action spread through out the first half of the film, but the second half was all the Battle of Myeongnyang, and I liked that they kept most of the action on what the whole film was about. 

The action scenes of this film were wonderful to watch! I felt the graphics that created these over the top ship battles were phenomenal and were very pleasing upon the eyes. As any war film, there was blood and gore, but I felt it was done a right amount. 
The only negative thing I can say about this film was some of the fictional plot lines added to make the film more entertaining. I know that it is a must when it comes to historical films to add some "fluff" to fill in holes of history that we do not know, but at times I felt it was a bit much (ie. the straw boat scene). However, I can say that the film also added "fluff" that didn't stray too far from what happened or what was plausible during this time. After watching the film, check out this interview about what was true and false in historical terms of this film. Click here.

To the left, is a famous quote from Admiral Yi, which also made it into the film. It states 必死卽生, 必生卽死 which translates to "Those willing to die will live, and those willing to live will die". With strong words, Admiral Yi protected his country, and I felt this film did a great job to create a film of this historical event. If you are a history film buff or even just really like action/war films, you will definitely enjoy this film! 

The film is currently streaming on Netflix. 

Also, Check out the trailer below!

What other historial films do you enjoy? Leave your suggestions in the comments below, and you might see your film on the blog! Please subscribe here and check back Thursday for a new post!
Also there are many new and exciting things in the works, so stay up to date and head on over to our FACEBOOK! 


Enjoy
W