The Battle of Jangsari film review: Korean war drama starring Megan Fox is disposable and formulaic

2/5 stars

Following the events of Operation Chromite, the 2016 film most notable for starring Liam Neeson as General Douglas MacArthur, The Battle of Jangsari is the second instalment in a planned trilogy of Korean war epics from Taewon Entertainment.

This time, Megan Fox is drafted in to add a questionable degree of Hollywood glamour, portraying a fictional amalgam of celebrated American war correspondents Marguerite Higgins and Margaret Bourke-White.

For the most part, the film focuses on the student soldiers sent in ahead of 1950s pivotal Incheon Landing Operation, to attack neighbouring Jangsari Beach, and cut off the North Korean Army’s supply chain.

Effectively a suicide mission, the Battle of Jangsari saw close to 800 young men, mostly teenagers with less than two weeks military training, tossed into combat without suitable equipment, sufficient provisions or ammunition.

Under the leadership of world-weary veterans Commander Lee (Kim Myung-min) and Sergeant Chan-nyun (Kwak Si-yang), the idealistic youngsters include Sung-pil (Choi Min-ho from the K-pop group SHINee), a student from the North who defected after his family is massacred, and Ha-ryun (Kim Sung-cheol), whose arrogance soon gives way to fear, and ultimately resolve.

At first, these young men bicker and clash over their perceived differences. But as in director Kwak Kyung-taek’s previous films, the story nurtures loyalty and a sense of brotherhood and camaraderie within its hot-headed young protagonists.

Formulaic to a fault, The Battle of Jangsari rolls out a procession of war movie clichés with regimented efficiency, but without a glimmer of individuality or invention. Characterisation among the remaining 770-odd soldiers is reduced to “the fat one”, or “the one who’s secretly a girl”.

Without too much deviation, these caricatures could have formed an intriguing ensemble of young innocents, but there is no room for creative thinking in Kwak and co-director Kim Tae-hoon’s by-the-numbers execution.

The peculiar participation of Fox inevitably grabs our attention, but not for the reasons the producers likely intended. Sporting a shocking blonde wig and a generically sassy hunger for the truth, she stomps around Seoul hounding George Eads’ general for greater transparency about MacArthur’s plans.

Despite her best efforts, Fox struggles with this cringe-inducing afterthought of a role, with only passing relevance to the frontline carnage unfolding on the beach. Ultimately, The Battle of Jangsari remains as tragically disposable as its young heroes.

Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook