Sorry, this movie sucks

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It's hard to see how well made this movie is if you didn't grow up in Korea. The movies doesn't provoke much thought but the director obviously put so much thought into the details of the movie.To understand the movie, here are a few basic facts: 1. This movie isn't set in 21st century. It takes place in 1983, when Korean students were free to where ordinary clothes to school as opposed to uniforms. Therefore, the characters will be more "old-minded" and more conservative than present day Koreans. 2. Korea is an extremely hierarchical society. This was much worse during the 80s than it is now. 3. Back then, students weren't respected much as individuals(they still aren't, but it's getting a bit better). There were two extremes, the "model students" and the "faulty students,"(direct translations) and everyone else was just somewhere in between.The hierarchy of high school students goes Kids with rich parents(because the parents can give money under the table to teachers or can pay for gangsters to protect their children)>the good fighters>everyone else, including the model studentsThe main fight in the movie is about the place of the "King" of the high school. The King is basically the school prom king+the bully of the school. The power of the King stronger was stronger back then because most of the schools were divided in boys and girls schools and the hierarchies were more intense.A few comic factors in the movie have to do with the fact that Koreans like to ignore the truth and make themselves(and the stories they tell) seem bigger than the truth. That's why the stories the boys tell each other about the fights are so comically exaggerated. In real life, the exaggerations wouldn't be near as great, so it's pretty sarcastic for the director to express it that way.The movie's also funny in the fact that the Kings are usually very (overly) serious about the power they hold. Basically, actual kings in real life/Joongpil equals beer-bellied middle-aged men who still think they're hot and hold a lot of authority over other people/Homer Simpson of The Simpsons.I don't know how the Eng subs are because I watched it without any, but I can assure you that the subs can't capture what the Korean in this movie feels like. It's hard to translate this movie because most of the language that gives this movie it's spunk is slang used by high schoolers.

Conduct Zero is a Corean high school period comedy. When you stick "high school" with "Corean" and focus on boys, you're very likely going to see a lot of violence, due to the rather violent masculine culture prevalent in Corean boys' high schools in the past. It's important to understand this, as the social hierarchy in Corean boys' high schools in the past was largely built around fighting prowess, with the best fighter being a sort of "king" at the high school. In Conduct Zero, Joong Pil is the king of his high school. He's also vain, slovenly and perhaps a bit stupid, played to excellence by Ryu Seung Wan. Fortunately, rather than being all fighting and drama like the 70's set Once Upon a Time in High School, Conduct Zero is a comedy and a surprisingly entertaining one.As king of his school, Joong Pil spends much of his time bullying the other students (more annoyingly then maliciously) and extorting money out of them via his and his buddy's "porn drawings" business. The plot begins as Joong Pil encounters the nerdy, but confident, good girl Choi Min Hee and finds himself instantly smitten. Of course, the local tough guy falling for a nice girl only leads to trouble amongst the wolf pack that is high school.One thing that Conduct Zero does surprisingly well is balance its comedy and drama elements. The comedy veers from totally wacky (especially in the hyperbolic storytelling of the badassery of Joong Pil and, later, his rival) to amusing character-based comedy, primarily centered on Joong Pil's shenanigans and awkward attempts of courtship. The more dramatic elements appear more towards the climax and while the tone is different, the transition is quite smooth. The rest of the well paced running time is filled with enjoyable side characters. In addition to Joong Pil's scheming buddy, the cast includes rather good-natured by guileless nerd as well as the infatuated "queen" of the girl's school and her posse.The story moves well from one point to the next, thanks to a good script. The period elements, setting in 1980's Corea aren't obtrusive, but they add a certain charm to the film and the art, sets and costumes are solid. The acting is very good and the direction manages to keep its focus well, appropriately and almost invisibly shifting mood and tone to fit the comic or dramatic aspects of the plot. Not every joke works well, though, and there is some culturally specific comedy involved (including a very amusing music reference to the popular animation "Robot Taekwon V"). Speaking of which, the soundtrack is a blend of period music and a surprisingly catchy sampling of 90's era Corean hip-pop. It was largely successful although the score wasn't as memorable.All in all, Conduct Zero is actually an excellent teen/high school comedy and while it's rougher and dirtier than the average American entry into the genre, its charms are notable and flaws are limited enough to make watching it a surprising treat. Conduct Zero is by no means an end all and be all to the high school comedy, but it's a rather solid entry that deserves to be seen. 8/10.DVD Note: I watched the US release, distributed by ADV Films, which primarily does anime releases (as you can tell by the long advertisement when you pop in the DVD). The video transfer is fine, but the dubbing, like much of the dubbing by companies in this business is not exactly inspiring. Unfortunately, the Corean language soundtrack only gets a Dolby 2.0 mix, instead of the 5.1 and DTS mixes that are available in its native DVD release. I recommend steering away from the wooden (and poorly mixed) dubbed track and watching it in its original Corean with subtitles.

With more and more action comedies resurfacing from Korea, the chances of them being truly worthy of the viewing time are sadly becoming slim. Although they still often pack a dozen good action sequences and jokes, most of them flounder due to the bad mix of forced melodrama and inconsistency of characters and their actions.I must say that watching the trailer gave me the wrong impression of this film. I expected it to be full of fantasy driven fight scenes similar to Kung Fu Hustle, however what they are is bunch of glorified tales of incidents involving the school's number one tough guy. With that in mind there are about 2 or 3 of actual fights in the whole film, but somehow that didn't seem like a bad thing. The acting of two main female characters is surprisingly consistent and not all over the place. Seung-beom Ryu is once again very likable and convincing with his performance. The changes in his character's personality are done rather smoothly for such a film that didn't take itself too seriously.Although set in the 1980's, in the end this film succeeded in making me reminisce my high school days, the bullies, the whimpers and the girls who took your mind off things you thought were very problematic at the time.It was a nice diversion from the sad high school dramas involving rape, suicide and betrayal. It did have potential to be much more, comedy wise, but overall it was still efficient and worthy of a viewing.

Conduct Zero is the story of teenage gangs fighting in Korea. Jung-pil is the champion fighter of his school, he and his friends sell anime style porn drawings on the street, and everything is going great. He then meets new girl Min-hee, and starts a cute, clean-cut little relationship with her that involves frequent library visits and guitar lessons for dates. This soon leads to plenty of problems with Jung-pil's old posse and a challenge to his title as the king of the school.Conduct Zero may not be exactly deep, meaningful, or even realistic, but it's entertaining enough to be worth its running time. The movie is funny, cute, and at times exciting, and would definitely be worth the rental price.