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Released by: Well Go USA
Released on: October 20th, 2015.
Director: Kim Hak-Soon
Cast: Lee Wan, Jin Goo, Lee Hyun Woo
Year: 2015
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The Movie:
Director Kim Hak-Soon's 2015 film Northern Line Limit recounts real life events that took place in 2002. Financed partially through a successful crowdfunding campaign, the movie sets things up as follows - South Korea is all set to host the World Cup in 2002. A navy team led by Captain Yoon Young-Ha (Mu-Yeol Kim) is assigned to protect the Northern Limit Line which separates the border between South Korea's waters and North Korea's waters.
Initially, Yoon Young-Ha's men are bored. Not much is really happening and they're more interested in watching the soccer game than in actually completing the training they're supposed to be receiving. All of this changes on June 29, 2002, when South Korean Battleship 357 is attacked by a pair of North Korean naval ships near the island of Yeonpyeong. Yoon and his men - Staff Sergeant Han Sang-kook (Jin Goo), Major Lee Hee-wan and a medical officer named Park Dong-hyeok (Lee Hyun Woo) among others - are outnumbered and if reinforcements don't arrive in time, will likely perish in battle.
While some of the impact of the history behind this movie will more than likely be lost on western viewers, thus diminishing some of the intended impact it would theoretically have on the audience, this is otherwise quite a well-made film. The first chunk of the movie rightfully spends time building the characters up. As they bond over their love of soccer and coyly go around Yoon's back in every possible way that they can to watch the game while onboard the vessel, little bits and pieces of their various personalities come out. The performances here are all natural enough that it works. Nobody here goes over the top and at the same time nobody undersells it. The relationship building is effective and the characters feel human enough so that once the attack starts, we're involved enough to care.
And it does take a little while to get to those action scenes. If you're not so into the comradery on display the movie might not hold your attention but stick with it, the payoff is solid because once the action scenes do hit? They're very well done. There is some questionable CGI here and there and the fact that the movie was intended to be shown in 3-D results in some shots that don't quite work as well as they should (there's no 3-D version of the movie supplied here, the presentation is 2-D only) but things are tense and literally quite explosive. The violence used in these sequences hits hard, it's never glamorized or over-stylized but is instead realistic and at times legitimately brutal, but it's got an impact it wouldn't have otherwise had if things were played by the typical style over substance rulebook of action movies.
It's also interesting to note that over the end credits, Kim Hak-Soon uses interviews with some of the actual surviving members of the Battleship 357 who share their actual stories, albeit very briefly. These scenes tie the narrative together really well and it's a nice touch.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Northern Limit Line looks excellent in AVC encoded 2.35.1 widescreen in 1080p high definition from Well Go USA. Shot on digital video, the transfer shows no dirt, debris or print damage obviously but demonstrates beautiful color reproduction and solid black levels throughout. Some minor shimmering is present here and there but there are no noticeable problems with edge enhancement or any serious compression artifacts. Detail is strong from start to finish and texture is impressive as well. No complaints, the movie looks great.
The only audio option on the disc is a Korean language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix while subtitles are provided in English only. The action scenes in particular demonstrate some very impressive user of the surround channels while even the quieter moments have some interesting ambient and background effects for more attentive viewers to listen for. Levels are balanced nicely, the track demonstrates range and depth throughout and there are no issues at all with any hiss or distortion. The subtitles are clean and easy to read and free of any obvious typographical errors.
Extras are slim, limited to a trailer for the feature and trailers for a few other unrelated Well Go USA properties.
The Final Word:
Northern Limit Line will likely have more impact with viewers personally familiar with the events that inspired the story than those going in completely blind, but the film is well made. The performances are strong, the action scenes impressively staged and the dramatic side of the story quite believable. The Blu-ray release from Well Go USA is light on extras but the transfer and sound quality are top notch.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
