Singwa hamkke: Ingwa yeon (2018)

In the afterlife, one guardian helps a man through his trials, while his two colleagues help a former guardian on earth.

Director:

Yong-hwa Kim

Writers:

Ho-min Ju (comic "Singwa hamkke"), Yong-hwa Kim (screenplay)

Stars:

Jung-woo Ha, Ji-Hoon Ju, Hyang-gi Kim

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jung-woo Ha	...	Gang-lim
Ji-Hoon Ju	...	Hae Won-maeg (as Ji-hun Ju)
Hyang-gi Kim	...	I Deog-chun
Dong-seok Ma	...	Seongju sin
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kyung-soo Do	...	Won Dong-yeon Ilbyeong
Ki-jun Hong	...	Mileon royal bodyguard (as Ki-Joon Hong)
Hong-In	...	Hae Won-maek's subordinate 1
Won-hee Im	...	Prosecutor
Gwang Jang	...	God of Violence Hell
Han-chul Jo	...	Prosecutor
Ah-Mi Jung	...	Kang Moon-jik's wife
Hae-Kyun Jung	...	God of Murder Hell
Ji-Hoon Jung	...	Heo Hyeon-dong
Kwon Soo Jung	...	Jurchen girl
Yoo-An Jung	...	Young Gang-rim

Storyline

In the afterlife, one guardian helps a man through his trials, while his two colleagues help a former guardian on earth.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Lotte Entertainment [South Korea] Official site [Japan]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

1 August 2018 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Along with the Gods 2: The Last 49 Days

Box Office

Budget:

KRW 35,000,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

KRW 33,526,833,287 (South Korea), 5 August 2018, Wide Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$311,743, 5 August 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,200,246, 20 September 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dexter Studios, Realies Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

SPOILER: In the second credits scene, 1,000 years ago, Gang-lim's father is seen dying, and is approached by Yeomra about taking over his position. He does so, taking on the appearance of the former Yeomra. This means, all along, over 1,000 years as a Reaper in the afterlife, the Yeomra Gang-lim has been serving all along has been his own father he was desperately seeking the forgiveness of.

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Connections

Follows Sin-gwa ham-kke: Jwi-wa beol (2017)

User Reviews

Great performances still by a cast with good chemistry, but an overstuffed script makes the story empty of substance. This chapter has lost its soul

By now, you would have probably heard of this unexpected hit of a South-Korean title. Yes, it already had all the makings of a blockbuster, but it surpassed even projections by pundits. Surpassing 10 million viewers in only 15 days, Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds tripled returns of the US$36 million investment on the 2-parter, and became the second highest-grossing film of all time in Korea.

Most importantly, it will be remembered as "that emotional rollercoaster of a film that kept my waterworks going".

Given my history with the franchise, I prepared an extra packet of tissues for the viewing of the sequel. But sadly, I hardly used a piece. Although both titles were shot together, Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days feels like a distant product. It pushed up the sliders on scale and size, but lost the epic in their storytelling and pacing.

What happened, Director Kim Yong-hwa?

The film returns us to hell, and along with the three guardians Gang-lim (Ha Jung-woo), Haewonmak (Ju Ji-hoon) and Lee Deok-choon (Kim Hyang-gi), we now accompany new paragon Kim Soo-hong (Kim Dong-wook) - brother of first episode's paragon, Kim Ja-hong - through his trials.

While the first chapter had Ja-hong as the plot anchor, The Last 49 Days turns our attention to the 3 guardians and their mysterious past. This, to me, is where the sequel flounders.

It's not long before we splinter into various story arcs. There's the main story of the trio's pasts, retold through increasingly frustrating flashbacks that sometimes last no more than a minute. Then there's the added task from King Yeomra, which dispatches Haewonmak and Deok-choon to claim a long-overdue soul, Hur Choon-sam (Nam Il-woo).

Turns out the old fellow (who appears briefly in the first film) is protected by his ultra-powerful resident Household God Seongju (Ma Deok-seok). As the two guardians struggle to wrestle the deity into submission, they find out not only his reason for protecting his client, but also that he was an ex-guardian who was there at their own passing - thus a key to retrieving their memories.

Add to that, Gang-lim's supposed agenda is throwing in all his chips to get Soo-hong reincarnated, Soo-hong's own unwillingness to do so because he doesn't want to believe that his friends murdered him, Seongju's bout with failed investments and helping his actual charge (Choon-sam's grandson) to find a real guardian, and you have essentially a very diluted film. Even King Yeomra is not spared with his own little twist!

By sowing 49 Days with so much storyline, a deft director might still be able to measure out portions of steer his priorities in the right direction to maintain a strong plot with a moral compass like the first. But Kim dropped the hat on this one. The second episode flickers back and forth stories incoherently, and makes for a frustrating viewing.

Most annoying of all is Soo-hong's temperamental behaviour. It seems to serve only as a catalyst to drive Gang-lim's actions, and loses potency because of it. Gang-lim's own guilt-laden agenda is also slightly unbearable, given how it was obvious halfway what it was really all about.

While the film does still feature gorgeous graphics and settings, it has lost a slight shine from the first film's reveal. We get to see a new scene for Indolence Hell, but other new segments really raise eyebrows in the wrong way. One word - dinosaurs.

Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days stays on track in terms of a continuation, but the calibre is far more hollow than the first. You'll get to enjoy some light sobbing at the end, but this second chapter leaves no lasting impression.

Let's hope the next episode fares better. And yes, there will be one.