Parodying well known, and recently released films, can be hit and miss – Arahan bites the bullet and manages to get away with a hell of a lot when it comes to taking the mickey. At the same time, although the film is both predictable and a self-referential action-cum-comedy, it never the less manages to entertain with fun and action in equal supply.

Arahan Janpung Daejakjeon (to give it’s full title just this once) is directed by Ryoo Seung-Wan; a director that has, to date, only made films that revolve around action. This is no different, but manages to encompass a plot about ultimate power, tao teachings, a touch of mystical hubble bubble, parodies in a very fast, and mostly enjoyable film.

The story of the one has existed before The Matrix, so let’s get that out of the way. This story is sort of similar, in that there is The One, and only he can restore balance to the world. A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away?), when two worlds existed, seven monks looked over their world protecting it, while seeing the destruction and death happing in the other world. One of monks decides no longer to stand by idle, and clashes with evil in the other world, finally merging the two worlds, and becoming power hungry. Arahan is a key, or a balance that is to be achieved to create balance in the world, unfortunately the monk is tainted with the greed for power and so the other monks seal him, one of whom sacrifices himself to protect the world from mystical evil.

Fast forward to the future and much has changed (there are inconsistencies, but don’t ask!), one of the monks now has a daughter and they’re down to five monks. The opening film is fairly hilarious as the monks sit around, drinking tea, smoking cigarettes and trying to find new ways to garner business as monks in the 21st century; they’ve also lost faith in waiting around for The One to arrive. I think the funniest opening line is, “I only levitate to change light bulbs”; surmising the fact that their powers are no longer useful in such a modern age.

The unlikely hero is Sang-Hwan (Ryu Seung-Beom) who is hit by the monks daughter, Eui-Jin (Yoon So-Yi), due to a misfired energy attack which ends up hitting Sang-Hwan, a rather pathetic example of police enforcement. Sang-Hwan cannot fight back; he doesn’t have the confidence or skills, it’s this bumbling and clumsy idiot that is deemed to be the one, much to the astonishment of everyone, and much to the annoyance of the Eui-Jin who develops a cold dislike towards him.

Now, forgiving the rather contrived plot, it’s actually good value for money providing some really excellent action. I noticed there was a heck of a lot of screaming, you know, like when you’re trying to increase your power; which you start doing after a while yourself, since they do it so often. That’s a bit stupid, but also amusing, in the sense they’re trying to create, essentially, a comic book film. When they do their Dragonball-cum-can-move-the-bin force techniques, it’s a mix of unintentionally funny and spectacular.

In particular, the one on one, and multiple fights are quite brilliantly choreographed, running at high speed, using wires, but also their own skill. It’s fascinating to watch, as I haven’t seen sword play and martial arts at this pace in a Korean film before; Hong Kong and Japan, sure, but this is new to me when it comes to Korean films. Think, Jet-Li-esque sword play, with slo-mo, fast-mo, wires and a whole Matrix thing going; it’s like a lot, but it works fantastically well and there were times where it stood up really well to its counterparts.

The special effects are also quite good, and parodies recent blockbusters with such humour that you can’t take it seriously – that is you’re not supposed to take the film seriously, it’s brainless entertainment. Characters run up and down entire buildings, build up energy which sends shockwaves in every direction, use mystical blasts as well as leap from building to building in record time. Many of the scenes are wonderful flights of fancy and throughly engrossing and beautiful to watch,

It has good guys and one bad ass evil doode, who deserves a good kicking. Everyone gets beaten up and thrown around, and there’s also a love interest (as if you hadn’t already guessed), and everyone essentially plays their roles amusingly enough. Sometimes the comedy arrives at the most inopportune moments, to break the flow, and you just can’t believe they’d throw in a joke at such a tense moment. The humour is mostly hit, but a few do miss the boat and fall flat. Still the jokes with the action nine out of ten times work very well. Of course, with Sang-Hwan being such an idiot, some the mistakes are still unexpected and catch you off guard; you often feel for the poor sap as even with his newly found skills, he can’t always get anything right. The flawed underdog.

I’ve seen a string of rubbish films of late; mostly Korean as it happens, and they’ve all disappointed with their unoriginal, boring scripts and little in the way of entertainment. Arahan has removed all that from my mind, and provided a fun film, providing excellent action, good humour and an overblown plot with a script that never, ever takes itself too seriously; finding time to throw in a joke or two even when someone’s dying and throwing up blood in the process.

Arahan is not without it’s fault, but the good definitely outweighs the bad here. The plot is not wholly original, the script could do with some consistency, but all of that fades into the background as Arahan gives you one hell of a ride and credit to the cast, as they make the whole thing a positive experience.

Verdict: Great fantasy action, good humour, and a silly script. Brilliant stuff