IT IS FRIDAY!! Today is the PERFECT day for a MOVIE NIGHT!! I have the PERFECT movie for you to watch as well. If you are a fan of mysteries, sci-fi or a little horror, you should check out the Taiwanese movie The Soul on NETFLIX.
*Now as per usual with any review I write, I will not be including any spoilers in this review.*
Here is a short synopsis of the movie - Set in the not-so-distant future, a prosecutor who is battling cancer and his cop wife who is pregnant both are dragged into a murder investigation. They have to weed through all the suspects and peel back all the layers to solve this murder. Nothing is what it seems.
The first thing that drew me to this movie was the cast. A lot of the cast is well known in dramaland so I was excited to see them all together in a movie. The second thing that drew me to the movie was OF COURSE the fact that it was crime movie. The plot sounded intriguing and I got curious to find out the crime and what happened by the end.
BOY DID I FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END! It was nothing I expected it to be AND THAT IS GOOD FOR ME! I like when a crime movie/drama is unpredictable or when it can surprise me. THIS MOVIE DEFINITELY DID THAT!
The Pros
1) Acting - The cast of this movie has some major POWERHOUSES in it when it comes to Asian dramas/movies. I was excited to see these actors and actresses in a movie together. It was a lot of fun seeing them act with one another. They did a GREAT job and you can tell they are good at their craft. Chang Chen and Janine Chang had great chemistry together. They portrayed their characters' stories effortlessly and with a lot of heart and emotion.
2) The Twists - THERE WERE TWISTS GALORE IN THIS MOVIE! Just when I thought that I had figured everything out or that everything had been revealed to the audience, THERE WAS ANOTHER TWIST! The twists were things I did not expect and could never predict which I appreciated. The twists definitely kept your interest in what was going to happen next. You can tell the writer was very ambitious and I will say because there are SO MANY twists, some aren't fully explored when revealed but it still was VERY ENJOYABLE and surprising.
3) It Makes You Think - This movie explores a lot of topics that are relatable to the audience. It explores everything from inevitable demise to death to what if scenarios. It brings up the topics of science versus religion and old versus new. This causes the audience to ask themselves the questions that are explored within the movie. I like when movies make me think but also leaves these questions to the audience to be explored and talked about later. If the audience walks away from the movie thinking if I was in this situation, would I make the same choices the characters did in the movie, then I feel like that is a good sign that the audience was engaged and invested in the film.
The Cons
1) Have to Pay Attention - If you are looking for a movie that you can just turn on, relax and not have to pay attention too. THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR YOU! There are a lot of twists and the story moves fast with every new twist and reveal. You have to pay attention to keep the characters and the story straight or you might miss something.
2) Some gory/scary scenes - If you can't handle blood or a horror/supernatural element in what you watch, this movie might not be for you. Since it is a crime movie, there are some scenes that have to do with the death that can get pretty bloody and graphic. One of the themes throughout this movie also has to do with the supernatural and ghosts. This produced a few scenes that were a bit scary to watch because you didn't know what was going to happen next. There are not a lot of these scenes and I don't particularly like ghosts when it comes to the horror genre. I still got through them, granted I was watching between my fingers. Thankfully there are not a lot of the supernatural scenes so it is doable if you want to try this movie out but I am just warning you that there are a couple of these types of scenes in the movie.
3) Maybe 1 to many genres - Now, in my opinion, this is not a con for me personally. The story still made sense and the twists also made sense even if not everyone was fully explored once revealed. For some people this might be a con. The movie could fit in the genre of crime or the genre of horror or the genre of sci-fi. The movie has elements of all three. For some people, this might be one to many genres. For other people, it might work and keep them interested, like it did for me.
Rating: 8.5/10 (Streaming on NETFLIX now)
So, have you seen The Soul?
What did you think?
Is it on your list to watch?
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