What makes it different from others?

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

A Disappointing Continuation

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Brothers Dae-jin (Byung-hun Lee) and Ho-jin (Eol Lee) are both involved in car accidents that leave them in a coma. When Dae-jin regains consciousness he begins to exhibit mannerisms that suggest that he is possessed by his brother's spirit, which leaves Ho-jin's wife Eun-su (Mi-yeon Lee) uncertain how to react.I watched the dreadfully dull Sarah Michelle Gellar movie Possession not so long ago, unaware that it was a remake of Korean drama Addicted, a film that has sat gathering dust in my box of unseen DVDs for quite some time now. On seeing that the original had a pretty decent rating here on IMDb, I decided to dig it out and thankfully found it to be the superior film, a classy affair that, unlike the remake, deals with its subject matter in a subtle and intelligent manner.Like Possession, Addicted is a real slow-burn of a film, the narrative unfolding in a considered manner that I suspect will be way too leisurely for many viewers, but with the Korean film successfully avoiding the dumb plot holes and ridiculous characterisations that made its US counterpart difficult to endure, it proves to be a thoroughly engaging bittersweet romance, twisted and yet touching at the same time.

Perhaps scoffed at by Western movies, the idea of reincarnation and second life is in fact a common theme in Korean productions. No surprise when it rears itself again, then...Knowing in advance what was going to happen after I read a plot summary elsewhere, I was so disappointed in how the plot consequently unfolded. There was so much potential for suspense and drama - who was the younger brother? what was his motive? how had he gone about assuming a hidden identity? - but it didn't materialize until the very end. Why couldn't the director have turned this into a great movie and used more subtle nuances combined with more staggered chunks of revelations to the mystery that was unfolding? Arrggghhh! This movie will probably only please Lee Byung Hun fans. Western audiences will probably loathe it as it doesn't fit their cultural expectations of how a movie should unravel.

I loved watched the Korean TV drama, "Terms of Endearment" from a year or so ago. This movie has the look and feel of a Korean TV drama. Problematic The acting at times shows through - as acting. There's an awful lot of smiling and mugging for the camera. Nevertheless I enjoyed the set up and wasn't really surprised by the "twist". This movie feels pretty clichéd and definitely contrived. The younger brother's character is identifiable and there are some good scenes with the 2 lead women. I was left wondering how the lead sister-in-law could actually not be angry or stomach the deception even though she was pregnant. Overall it wasn't too bad a movie. Good if you like Korean soaps, probably a little overlong if you don't.

In terms of the narrative structure, like many korean movies, the filmmakers did not employ any innovative techniques at all, a linear narrative approach is presented. Everything is brought out plain and slow, as a result audiences may find some scenes boring. Although there is a minor twist at the end, overall speaking, the plot is not too rich or entertaining. Whether it's worth watching depends whether you have the time and patience.