Dragon Wars: D-War

Monumental clunk

By CHRIS BRAIOTTA | September 19, 2007

2.0 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for Dragon Wars: D-War.

The redundantly titled Dragon Wars: D-War is not one of those South Korean films that get critics excited. Maybe subtitles just make other Korean films seem wry and polished. If so, director Hyung-rae Shim really muffed it in using an all-American cast, leaving no cover for his film’s monumental clunk. A woman from Korean legend is reincarnated in LA, and possessed of the mystical hoo-hah needed to turn a giant serpent into a dragon. An evil serpent is on her trail, and all that stands between the big worm and its prize is a reborn hero, an antiques-dealing wizard, the US Army, and every skyscraper LA can muster. The film is as rhythmless as its honky leads, and Shim is unburdened by any compulsion to make sense. But at least Dragon Wars’ eye-boggling corn feels free of Hollywood cool-striving. I’ll take weird, surprising crap over slick any day.

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