This is one hell of a bumpy ride; and I can't remember one more fun. Loosely adapted from Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), this outrageous Western fantasy makes its own rules as we are transported across desert landscapes and colorful saloons following the trail of three outlaws chasing one another for possession of a map leading to a buried treasure, slicing and shooting down everyone they encounter along their way. When Chinese bandits and the Japanese army show interest for this mysterious piece of paper, enemies and bullets multiply as they are forced to alter their every-man-for-himself philosophies. As funny as it is violent, The Good brings many films to mind while simultaneously resounding with originality. Kang-ho Song is hilarious as the Weird, the source of many of the film's funniest moments, his disposition and facial expressions alone inducing laughter. Filled with stunt-rich action sequences from beginning to end, the sporadic graphic violence is evened-out by the wackiness of the whole premise, strongly supported by the mentioned humor. This creative spectacle is proof of Kim's versatility as a filmmaker and confirmation as one of Korea's most interesting directors, his resume continually consistent in quality and ambition. In the The Good, the Bad, the Weird, flamboyant aesthetics and loose historical context results in Kim giving us a West that has never been so wild.
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