Hey look, it's a South Korean superhero movie! Just from that sentence alone, I'm sure there's immediately a preconceived notion of what to expect from it. Is the CGI used for this movie even good? That's hit or miss, but it's more hit than miss. Is this yet another superhero origin story that we have to put up with? It is a superhero origin story, but it has it's unique elements to the tale that it doesn't feel like a chore to watch. Is this another one of those "save the city" or "save the world" kind of things? Actually, No.
I'm not saying that this is the most original superhero story around, because it does have some familiar plot tropes here and there. There will be people who might compare this to the movies "Hancock" or "Chronicle," and I would argue that I found this far more enjoyable than those two films. Seok-hyeon should be the new superhero that the common people should be rooting for. He's like you, with every day problems, inherently flawed, but the difference is that he somehow gained a super power ability. There's a relatability to him that I appreciated, and probably even more so to those who are Fathers.
Despite the superhero nature of the premise, the real story that grounds this movie is the relationship between Roo-mi and her estrangement to her father Seok-hyeon. That is the heart of the film here. That super power element does add a nice flavor to this tried and true story about a loser Dad who finally wants to make things right with the daughter he left behind in life though. That situation is amost always complicated in real life, and this story doesn't shy away from those complications either; although once again that superpower thing does help.
Director and Writer Sang-ho Yeon has given this movie a lot of personality, not only with the premise, but arguably more importantly with it's characters. Speaking of characters, I thought Yu-mi Jung's character in particular was a true highlight to enjoy watching on screen. Besides the fun characters like hers to watch in this film, there are also some sharp social commentary, well designed action set pieces, several memorable scenes, fascinating cultural relevance, amusing self-awareness, a quirky sense of humor, and a good emotional core with a lot of heart, that put all together made "Psychokinesis" feel like a breath of fresh air in an already very familiar movie genre.
lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible
