Netflix's most recent adrenaline-pumping, car-chasing, Fast and Furious-like Korean film falls flat! Here are our four reasons why Seoul Vibe grinds our gears!
Rating 3/5
Released on August 26, 2022, Netflix's attempt to create a Korean version of Fast and Furious was difficult to watch and hard to finish. Taking place during the Seoul 1988 Olympics, a team of drivers and mechanics called the Sanggye Supreme Team are thrust into a VIP slush fund operation to deliver and find illegal funds all around the city.
Led by Park Dong Wook (Yoo Ah In Hellbound 2021), an amazing driver who wishes to go to the United States to become a professional driver, the ensemble of young misfits are thrown into precarious situations they have no control over. The other members of the team are Oh Woo Sam (Ko Gyung Pyo Love in Contract 2022), a DJ and all-around do-it-all friend, Park Yoon Hee (Park Ju Hyun Love All Play 2022), Woo Sam's younger biker sister and leader of the biggest biker club in Seoul, Bok Nam (Lee Kyu Hyung All of Us Are Dead 2022), a master navigator of the streets of Seoul, and Joon Ki (Ong Seong Wu More Than Friends 2020), a mechanic and handyman.
Check out the Netflix trailer!
Although the trailer looked promising with all the action intended to put the audience on the edge of their seats, a deeper look into the movie says otherwise. Here are our reasons why you should skip Seoul Vibe!
1. Great casting but no delivery.
The beginning of the story looked promising, a group of young misfits with no direction gets offered to make more money than they can imagine doing the thing they love best, driving. But as the movie wears on, the chemistry between the characters is believable, but just doesn't have the spark needed to carry on through the long two-hour movie.
2. A failed attempt to recreate the 80's.
You would believe that a Netflix-backed production would have believability built into the set and numerous scenes right? Not this one! With Korean popular culture diving back into the 80's such as Twice's new single "Talk that Talk" it seems that all K-pop and K-dramas want in on the action. Many of the scenes in the movie seemed like the actors were on set. Other than the actors' clothing and the cars they were driving, the movie didn't seem believable enough for us to really get into their roles.
3. The wardrobe was atrocious.
Again, the theme of the 80s would seem simple enough to find clothing for the actors to "make it their own", but Seoul Vibe's attempt to throw together random brands that existed in the 80s doesn't seem like they focused too much on each character's style. We'll admit that there are some outfits that belong in the 80s but much of the wardrobe seems forced with no real style.
Another point would be the characters' hairstyles. The hairstyles worn in the movie are not representative of Seoul during the 1980s at all! Many Koreans that watched this movie didn't believe these hairstyles existed therefore we think it might have been Netflix's attempt to bridge a younger audience.
4. We just got bored.
We'll admit it was a little hard to sit through this two-hour marathon! The storytelling was "ok" at best and simple to follow, but not original. With so many quality K-dramas and K-cinema dropping this year, there are many better stories to choose from.
Our Conclusion
There are so many better K-dramas and K-movies out there right now that it will be ok if you just skip this one! Of course, if you have an extra two hours of free time, Seoul Vibe won't hurt to help you get a power nap in!
Let us know if you enjoyed this movie and your thoughts! We would love to hear from you!