Exit (2019)

Welcome to Anna and Irene's (really only Irene's) entry into the Disaster Blogathon, hosted by The Midnite Drive-In and Dubsism!!! Everyone loves a good disaster film (especially me) and I have one to review that I think might win for most unique disaster film. I'm not sure, but I suspect. Without further ado, here is Irene's (and maybe some tips thrown in by Anna) review of the 2019 Korean adventure/comedy/disaster movie 'Exit'!

Yong-nam is a deadbeat son. Unable to keep a job, and tragically friend-zoned by presumably the only girl he ever loved, our hero starts out as very much of an anti-hero. Not even an anti-hero. He doesn't have enough traits for that. Just a lame guy.

This is our hero at the beginning of the movie... Not exactly impressive.

Yong-nam used to be an expert rock climber (this will come in handy later in the movie), and although he still practices his exercises daily, his heart is not in it, as his lost love had also been an enthusiast of the hobby and now that she's gone he has no gumption to continue the sport. But on the night of his mother's 70th birthday, Yong-nam's listless life takes a serious turn. While at the birthday venue he rented (where his lost love just happens to work), just before the last of Yong-nam's family leave, a serious catastrophe takes place. A mad scientist, on the lookout for revenge, releases a poisonous gas into the thickly-inhabited city where Yong-nam's mother's birthday party is taking place. People come running down the streets, hoping to escape. Those who do not may be lucky enough to leave the gas with only severely burned skin and difficulty breathing. The unlucky die.

And so we have the set-up of one random as heck disaster movie. The birthday gathering on one of the top floors of the venue must work together to escape the quickly rising gas. Honestly though, the only ones who do anything are Yong-nam and his crush, Eui-joo.

Yong-nam's sister on the gurney. She was injured by the gas.

This movie never takes itself too seriously, but even so, the character growth in Yong-nam is quite impressive. He really was one lame guy at the start of this movie. He even lied to Eui-joo saying he had some big, enviable position at a fancy company, when he really was living off his parents' income. He did this to impress her, as he never has quite given up hope of winning her back... Even though he never had her in the first place.

As the situation at the venue quickly begins to elevate into a catastrophe, Yong-nam realizes that he is the only person capable of taking control of the situation. He does this quite ably, managing to keep his moderately idiotic relatives from panicking too much. As I said before, his and Eui-joo's past history of rock-climbing comes in quite handy, as they, hand in hand, must climb buildings and skyscrapers in a desperate attempt to escape from the poisonous cloud. It is quite exciting, and I was always guessing what tactic or strategy our heroes were going to think of next. That's one thing I like about disaster films. The ongoing rush to think of new and unique ideas quickly. 

If you are unfamiliar with Korean humor and culture, this movie may seem a little strange at first (not helped by the atrociously grammared subtitles), but it honestly is extremely entertaining and exciting. And although as an adventure and comedy movie, Exit won't win any awards for deepness of thought, it does have a surprisingly profound message. Inside everyone, including oneself, there is a hero just waiting to be let out by the occurrence of some catastrophe in which the very best of the individual is required. Maybe kinda cliche, but profound nonetheless. Yong-nam was a grown man sitting around at his parents' home, pining over his lost love, accomplishing nothing. By the end of the movie, he's saved the lives of himself, his unrequited (or IS she???) love, his family, and even complete strangers. A lovely character arc in every way. He's no superman, but at least he's striving to be. Ignoring the whole mad scientist unleashing poisonous gas into the city thing, and everything else that is crazy and unlikely, this movie is realistic enough to be believable. At least, I thought it was.

If you can find Exit, I recommend you watch it. It's really so fun, and a wonderful example of the disaster genre. A very lighthearted one. If you feel like watching death and disaster, but not too much, this movie is for you.

And, as an added bonus, there is no objectionable content, excluding a few swear words.

This has been Horseback to Byzantium's blog entry into the Disaster Blogathon. We hope you enjoyed. Annyeong for now :D