Natural City

2003 [KOREAN]

Action / Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Plot summary


Uploaded by: FREEMAN

Top cast

Ji-tae Yu Photo
Ji-tae Yu as R
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.01 GB
1280*544
Korean 2.0
R
23.976 fps
1 hr 52 min
P/S 0 / 1
2.08 GB
1920*816
Korean 5.1
R
23.976 fps
1 hr 52 min
P/S ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by unbrokenmetal5 / 10

Futuristic eye-candy

I read through the reviews here before I watched it and didn't know what to expect: a classic or a bummer? In my view, the truth is in the middle and the average vote of currently 5.8 seems justified. "Natural City" is by no means a movie on the "Blade Runner" level. Take away the futuristic eye-candy, and what is left? A man is in love with a cyborg lady without really telling us why, how or what for. Real character development is not happening! He gets in a conflict with his friend over the cyborgs which leads to gratuitous violence with faces covered in blood like in a million action flicks before. Meanwhile, a girl plants flowers in a roof garden to provide a contrast to the post-war destruction scenery around. "Natural City" doesn't really have any new ideas, it simply spices up the collection of familiar trade marks with "Matrix/Equilibrium Next Generation" visuals which is fine for web 2.0 designers but not for the art of film making. Everybody who truly believes this is going to be a classic should go watch "Soylent Green" where it was the actors and the story that mattered.

Still, "Natural City" is a movie that has its touching or stunning moments. Actually, I liked that explanations were not provided in many cases. One might argue whether it is a deliberate attempt to open it for interpretation or simply plot holes. But I think, if we once really caught a glimpse of the year 2080, there would be much that we won't comprehend, either. You know how silly SF movies of the 1950s seem today because they applied manners, moral standards and ways of conversation that are outdated. In this respect, I'm curious what people will think of "Natural City" in the future. Keep it in the archive.

Reviewed by paul_haakonsen5 / 10

A futuristic Korea with potential...

Think "Bladerunner" set in a Korean setting, then you fairly much have the essence of "Natural City". However, "Natural City" doesn't just quite reach up to the same level of entertainment.

The story in "Natural City" turned out to be a bit jumpy and skittish, forcing you to pay close attention to the storyline at all times. And even then, it just didn't do much justice to the movie that the story trotted along at a fairly slow pace, making it lose its power of impact along the way - sort of think a balloon that is losing its air. The movie started out great, but quickly turned into a mish-mash storyline that just spiraled downward story-wise.

As for the scenery, CGI and action, well it was all top notch, and it is almost just worth sitting through the movie to watch this, because they really went all out here, putting together a very believable universe that is vibrant, detailed and very realistic. However, it was weighed down by a less than interesting storyline.

For a Korean action Sci-Fi movie, then "Natural City" turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment in my opinion, and there are far better and more enjoyable Korean movies out there.

Reviewed by cherold3 / 10

stylish, but doesn't make a lick of sense

I'm not going to say this movie makes the least sense of every movie I've ever seen, because I've seen an awful lot of movies, but it's got to at least be one of the most senseless.

This movie starts quite well with a puzzling but intriguing intro that sets up the film's excellent visual style. In fact, there are a number of really cool moments scattered through the movie.

Unfortunately, Natural City turns out to be a remarkable example of what happens with a writer who can't put together a coherent story proves to also be a director who is unable to tell a story clearly.

Nothing in this movie makes much sense. I don't just mean the story. Once it's all over I can say I at least understand what happened and for the most part why. But character motivations and reactions are inexplicable, the science is ludicrous and the futuristic vision is muddled. This is a movie where a kidnapping is treated like a case of bad manners and the protagonists outrageous behavior causes barely a ripple.

The lead character is unlikeable and outside of Cyon (played very nicely by Jae-un Lee) and some old lady named Bonggong or some such thing, the rest of the cast is underwhelming. The cyborg love interest seems to have the personality of a cocker spaniel, making it difficult to have much feeling for her, and in fact all attempts to wring an emotional reaction from the material fail abysmally.

The movie makes more sense in the last third, becoming a relatively straightforward action picture, but by then you're trapped in a movie with characters you don't care about making everything that happens feel trivial.

The movie is slick and glossy with some nice special effects, which is what kept me from turning it off (that and the hope that somehow it would all come together eventually),but it's just dreadful film making that gets more and more painful as it goes along.

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