2/5 stars
After the muted reception of the first film, which was one of the most expensive Korean productions ever, Choi faces an uphill struggle to attract new viewers to a largely unfamiliar franchise whose story unfolds simultaneously in the present and the Goryeo era. In Korea in the fourteenth century.
For those who need a refresher, Earth is being used by an advanced alien race as a secret penal colony, where the most dangerous criminals are held within unwitting human hosts.
The prisoners are stored in the present and past, and are overseen by a lone guard (Kim Woo Bin), who travels between time periods using a crystalline device known as the “Divine Blade.”
In the present, a group of alien fugitives, led by the Watcher, escapes and launches a large-scale invasion. By the end of the first film, both heroes and villains are stranded in the past.
Alien: Back to the Future No time is wasted on beginners. The events begin with the revelation that the Controller has been sleeping inside the unlucky Taoist wizard Murok (Ryu Jun-yeol) until he reunites with the gun-wielding warrior Lee Ahn (Kim Tae-ri), who is searching for the blade.
Science fiction has always been a hard sell in South Korea, and Choi didn't do himself any favors by basing his exciting adventure on such a complex and flimsy premise.
Its “Earth as space prison” concept falls apart under the slightest scrutiny, while its time-travel gimmick seems to exist only in service of the climax that pits medieval wizards against aliens in the middle of present-day Seoul.
where alien The pitfalls lie in the failure to integrate its disparate elements and influences into a clearly defined world with a recognizable mythology to call its own.
The franchise potential for Choi's mind-bending adventures is a no-brainer, but for now, alien It remains a tangle of intriguing ideas in search of a compelling story to pin on.
