All of Us Are Dead and Money Heist: Korea are just two of the flashy, action-packed episodic dramas that Netflix has produced this year. But Carter, the next major action movie, features Joo Won in the lead role.
Joo Won’s typically hunky idol persona is shockingly transformed into Carter (the film’s namesake), a rough-and-tumble character. Known for his stylish, high-octane action direction in movies like The Villainess (2017) and Confession of Murder, director Jung Byung-gil is behind the camera for Carter (2012).
The fascinating, slickly edited Carter has lots of thrills for anyone searching for a good action movie. The action scenes are seamlessly weaved together to give the movie a “one take” appearance. In addition to spine-tingling chases through darkly lit deep rooms, there are breathtaking aerial views of rooftop fights, waterfall escapes, and tension between North and South Korea. Carter accomplishes her goals for the action, choreography, and set design with outstanding skill.
However, Carter’s 132-minute runtime might be a little too much for those who prefer character-driven stories or who are less tolerant of lengthy, intricate action scenes.
Carter starts off with a lengthy introduction that is exposition-heavy, explaining that the Korean peninsula is currently dealing with a dangerous epidemic of the “DMZ virus.” The viral infection enhances violent tendencies in the infected and produces “animal-like actions.” Using the blood of Doctor Jung’s daughter, Ha-na, who was cured of the DMZ virus infection thanks to her father’s research, leaders from North and South Korea are collaborating to develop an antibody therapy.
Doctor Jung (Jung Jae-young) was meant to continue his study and mass-produce a treatment for the virus at the Sinuiju Chemical Weapons Institute, but he and Ha-na (Kim Bo-min) vanish during a transfer arrangement to North Korea. Numerous infectious North Korean patients are also quarantined there. A mystery voice is giving Carter instructions through an earpiece when he awakens. He is carrying a deadly explosive in his mouth, therefore he has no choice but to complete the task.
Only 10 months have passed since North and South Korea agreed to a cease-fire, and the armistice is tenuously hanging in the balance due to mistrust on both sides stemming from the failed transfer of Doctor Jung and Ha-na. The geopolitical setting and health crisis provide the relentless action-packed movie the essential narrative stakes. A large cast of intriguing personalities is also there, including diplomats, North Korean Workers’ Party members, military commanders, intelligence agents, infectious disease specialists, and kids. Unfortunately, all of them are barely utilized (with the exception of young Ha-na), and they all leave as fast as they came, leaving viewers to lament the unrealized potential for the story and character arcs of the movie.
Carter is well aware that character growth or expertly wrought emotional turns will never take precedent over action. Additionally, the movie features a lot of gore, which the “one shot” format of the movie makes feel indulgent or even extended. In Carter, there are several key questions that viewers may find difficult to understand. For example, why is Carter the protagonist of the movie currently taking on such an excessive level of risk? What factors led the adversary to make the choices they did, on the other hand? What drives each character’s actions, in essence, and why?
The “one take” method of filming that was used for Carter has become one of its main talking points. Despite the fact that the movie has a lot of shots, the overall impact is successful. The “one take” approach offers Carter a sense of space that few action movies have been able to capture as the story frantically shifts between a public bathhouse, bus, warehouse, medical center, clothes shop, and airplane, to mention a few. In the midst of the confusion and uncertainty, the camera relentlessly pursues the equally hardworking Carter. The opponent can appear from any angle, and neither a different perspective nor an establishing shot can provide further information.
Several scenes, especially those involving vehicles flying through a bewildering variety of backgrounds, are triumphs of filmmaking. These include a motorcycle chase scene through maze-like streets and alleyways, an airplane standoff that changes into a skydiving fight scene (which was actually filmed with the actors skydiving), and a fight scene involving trucks and jeeps speeding through an agricultural landscape. Sequences are connected almost seamlessly, which stands in stark contrast to the incredibly labor-intensive planning and work that went into making Carter. The movie occasionally has the feel of a massive, complicated escape room game.
Given that Netflix customers would likely see the movie on small screens, the question of whether Carter’s cinematic achievements are wasted arises. All the work may not necessarily translate well to home watching.
The film’s final 25 minutes are when Carter really delves into the more serious topics and exhibits a surprising emotional intensity. There is the issue of kinship, including how obligations of responsibility and care fit into the families we are born into and the ones we find. Through Carter’s memory loss, the movie also tackles issues of identity and the information war. With regard to the embedded electronics in Carter’s body, the movie takes the idea of technology’s pervasiveness quite literally.
Like Carter, who struggles to decipher his identity from the never-ending stream of texts and information provided by a faceless voice, technology has unsettlingly emerged as a major factor in deciding knowledge about ourselves and the world.
All of these are intriguing queries posed by Carter. However, viewers might have to look very hard for them beneath the film’s explosions and chase scenes.
