Comedy films really are "just needed" by movie theater audiences. Under the pressure of life, the public is in great need of mental anesthetics, and they use a smile to dilute the weight. The recently hit movie "Extreme Profession" has created the No. 1 box office hit movie in Korean film history with comedy elements as the main core.
The Korean epic blockbuster "Ningliang Sea Battle", which landed on the mainland screen in 2014, conquered South Korean and Chinese audiences with mature special effects scenes and heavy historical narratives. "Mingliang Sea Battle" won the first place in Korean film history with a box office of 135.749 billion won (approximately 804 million yuan) .
After a lapse of five years, "Extreme Profession", which recently landed in theaters, surpassed "Naruto Shippuden" at a box office of 136.957 billion won (approximately RMB 811 million), and became the No. 1 box office in Korean film history. Moreover, the filming cost of "Extreme Profession" is only half of that of "Mingliang Sea Battle" , which has leveraged the dominance of the blockbuster film by using small films. The secret to the success of "Extreme Career" lies in the clever fusion of film genre elements . It uses elements of comedy genre movies to include crime movies, detective movies, romance movies, action movies, and even Korean romance movies, to maximize the charm of the genre.
Comedy is an ancient film genre. Starting from Chaplin's black and white films, comedy films will not independently claim the king. Only when they are superimposed with other types can comedy films give rise to uninterrupted power of the king. This time, "Extreme Profession" broke through the boundaries of genres and offered a surprise meal to fans.
The story tells the bizarre experience of a group of "waste materials" anti-narcotics police team . The 5-member team originally wanted to eavesdrop on the drug dealers’ criminal evidence, so they rented a fried chicken shop opposite the criminals’ gathering place as a disguise.
In order to conceal their identities, they had to complete their duties as police officers while operating a fried chicken shop, acting as cooks, waiters, and bosses.
As a result, the road to collect evidence is far away, but the fried chicken restaurant has become a local Internet celebrity restaurant. They frantically increased the fare in the hope of diluting the passenger flow, but this reverse operation has stimulated the curiosity of the diners even more, and even tourists from other places come here. For a while, they had to put down their police status and become partners in the fried chicken shop. On one side is the police's duty and sense of honor, on the other side is the ravages and oppression of life. These little policemen had to choose between money and honor, life and ideals.
As they struggled and swayed, the huge reputation of the fried chicken shop attracted their attention to the "slitting" drug dealers, and the story became more confusing. In the end, it was "I can't find a place to step through the iron shoes, and it is all effortless to get it." "Extreme Profession" constantly squeezes the nutrients of various types of elements to enrich their comedy jokes and enhance the tension of the plot. For example, the opening action of the car chase scene. In the imaginary police anti-narcotics scene, they kicked the windows and flew into them, holding truncheons and killing all quarters, using one move to control the enemy and arrest the criminals. But the reality is that the poor policemen who can't even afford the windows can only hang Wia to the windows, guard in front of the door, and form an encirclement, verbally persuading the other party to surrender.
As a result, the criminal flew away, smashed into the window, landed and fled.
On the other side, a police detective who was chasing by a rotten motorcycle appeared to have a bright mind and agile action, but when he was not careful, he lost his mind and caused a series of car accidents.
The criminal was caught, but the poor and unassuming team returned to the police station without being scolded by the boss!
Money is an important element that triggers a turning point in the story and the loneliness of the characters. Because of the money, the ideals of this group of police officers were shaken;
It is also because of the money that makes them look fearful when solving the case; and even more because of the money, it makes them a little bit of firework between family and honor. The transition of the plot and the usual "contrast" of comedy films are at the same time working hard. With the exaggerated performance and the lines with good laughter, the film has a good appreciation.
For example, they were ridiculed by other teams because of the low rate of solving crimes, and they almost went to war. Then, in order to obtain information about the case, they could call others "brother" at any time! Without excessive exaggeration and large lines, just a simple word "Brother" is enough to make the audience laugh out loud.
This kind of contrast is still pulling the emotions of the audience many times between solving the case and collecting evidence and fried chicken; for a while, it is "eavesdropping", and then it turns into a "god of cook" in seconds; as soon as the wiretap is put down, the fried chicken is started.
In the end, even the way to enter the enemy's camp was to carry fried chicken and put on a takeaway costume.
Contrast and reversal resonated at the same time again. Once the criminals gathered in the empty building, a group of cleaners ordered fried chicken; now that the criminals have disappeared, the police station will not go back now, so they can only be fried chicken with peace of mind. The owner of the shop, because the police pension may be lost, the fried chicken shop suddenly became the "home" for these little policemen to survive.
The above similar contrasts and reversals prop up the whole movie, and the bitterness of the little policemen is expressed between the drama and abuse. "Extreme Profession" not only won the first place in South Korea's box office by relying on the type of leapfrogging, but also hit the face of domestic films! Because "Extreme Profession" is the "brother film" of the domestic film "Lobster Criminal" released last year .
One selling fried chicken and the other selling lobster are all crime comedies, but the final effect is very different.
It should be noted that there is no copying or remake between the two films. This interesting script is the result of cooperation between China and South Korea, and belongs to a project called the "China-Korea Story Joint Development Project." A script outline was handed over to different teams on both sides for polishing and filling. As a result, one side became a hit that one-third of the entire population of South Korea had seen, and the other side became a “bad movie for money”. "Lobster Detective" is far inferior to South Korea's "Extreme Profession" in terms of action design and line skills.
The most embarrassing thing is that, as a comedy, "Lobster Detective" uses vulgarity as a joke, and the bottom line as a measure . To put it more seriously, it completely insults the audience's IQ and challenges the audience's tolerance. Although "Extreme Profession" is a comedy, you can clearly see its lightness and ease of jumping between genres. The first second was still selling laughs, and the next second he could immediately take out the Korean-style sensational tears. Due to the pressure of life, the husband police had to give up his career dream and sell fried chicken. He cried sadly in his wife’s arms. The bitterness of the middle-aged man immediately appeared on the screen.
Look at the final fight again, from group fights to singles, the seemingly useless police detectives turned out to be Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, each possessing unique skills, and they were unrelenting in their shots.
In the end, the close hand-to-hand combat between the captain and the drug dealer showed the cruelty and blood of a Korean violent movie. But the captain chanted not to oppress ordinary people, and when he punched the drug dealers, he successfully promoted the low-level South Korean cries for social injustice.
And when the brotherhood was rendered at the end of the film, the film actually put Leslie Cheung's classic movie theme song "Love of the Year". The direct tribute on the screen imitates "The True Colors of a Hero".
The love and reference of Korean films to Hong Kong is evident. "Extreme Profession" does not actually mean how powerful or breakthrough it is, but it does treat the audience sincerely. Its polishing of the genre embodies the attitude of filmmakers who spend their time and effort to please the audience. Driven by the attitude, relying on the expression of mature commercial films, it finally won the box office approval. Success is not accidental, nor is it a miracle. It is a "medal" crystallized from the sweat of sincerity. This time, Korean movies convinced us to lose!
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