Cinema News

Movie Review: Yesterday

Written by T. Rigney

The deeper I dive into the Korean film industry, the more enthralled I become. For those curious parties who enjoy such mindless trivia, it was director Chan-wook Park’s Vengeance trilogy that initially sparked my interest, encouraging yours truly to investigate such enigmatic titles as Save the Green Planet and Natural City, two pictures I simply cannot recommend enough. Korean films are quickly becoming one of my favorite film-oriented pastimes; even when they’re watered down and overlong, these flicks still have the power to captivate.

Take Yun-sun Jeon’s 2002 crime drama Yesterday, for example. It reeks of cheap police procedural perfume, right down to the flashy camera work and fourteen cubic tons of pointless technobabble. Yet despite these oh so glaring faults, this highly-stylized feature still managed to suck me into its slick sci-fi universe with little to no effort whatsoever. Maybe I’m an easy sell, a mark for stateside distributors looking to make a few dollars off those who believe the Hollywood well has run dry. Frankly, I’d rather spend my precious free time with something flawed yet thoughtful than anything directed by the talentless Tim Story.

Yesterday, stripped to the bare essentials, is the tale of genetic experimentation gone horribly awry and the effects of such scientific shenanigans on its unwilling participants. Years after a top secret research project ends in inevitable tragedy, the altered and angry specimens are on a jolly ol’ killing spree in an attempt to draw out the individuals responsible for the whole unethical shebang. On tap to help prevent more grisly murders from taking place is heroic cop Seok (Seung-woo Kim), a man who continues to mourn the accidental shooting of his young son. Aiding him in his quest is a stable of adorable side characters, including Lost’s Yoon-jin Kim in a throwaway role designed specifically for exposition and plot advancement.

How incredibly convenient!

Since Yesterday could easily be described as your typical suspense thriller, I’ll refrain from revealing too many tasty details regarding the so-called plot. Just know that it unfolds not unlike a slightly undercooked episode of CSI: Miami — you may want to adjust your expectations accordingly. The clunky twists and turns ultimately don’t add to much more than a by-the-numbers pulp mystery, the kind of stuff usually reserved for cheap paperback novels and generic SciFi Channel original features. You’ll have approximately 85% of this flick figured out by the 90 minute mark, I’m sure. I apologize in advance if I overestimated your intelligence. You looked smarter from this angle.

Visually speaking, Yesterday is fairly sharp, save for a few iffy CGI effects used to flesh out the story’s futuristic setting. Truth be told, the filmmakers could have easily done away with this aspect of the picture, especially since we don’t spend too much time staring blankly at the skyline. It’s more of a gimmick, really, a cheap thrill for those who demand more from their high-tech procedural dramas. Had the setting played an integral part in the narrative, perhaps this wouldn’t have been an issue at all.

The cast, spearheaded by Seung-woo Kim and Yoon-jin Kim, is decent enough, though I doubt you’ll tune in to Yesterday for the breathtaking performances. Seung-woo is easily the strongest of the bunch, allowing you to connect with his character despite the fact we never really get a feel for who he is or what he’s all about. Yoon-jin Kim, on the other hand, is surprisingly bland and somewhat miscast, a far cry from her recurring role on J.J. Abram’s American television puzzler Lost. Underdeveloped and grossly underused, Yoon-jin spends the majority of the picture filling in plot holes and looking pitifully forlorn. The same can be said for Seon-a Kim, as well. What a shame.

If you can look beyond its many glaring problems, you may find Yesterday to be a mildly entertaining sci-fi thriller, one that happens to suffer from extremely poor characterization and a few inexcusable pacing problems. As it stands, the film is overlong by about fifteen minutes or so, dragging needlessly when it should have been turning corners at breakneck speeds. Yun-sun Jeon’s nifty flick is literally saturated in cheap Hollywood lip gloss, the kind of stuff used to conceal a lackluster script and a handful of dodgy performances from its otherwise competent cast. Those in search of something along the lines of Blade Runner or Dark City should definitely get their kicks elsewhere.