After several South Korean war films like The Front Line - 고지전 - or Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo - 태극기 휘날리며 - I was expecting this war epic drama to be similarly compelling and thrilling. No, even such great Hollywood names as Liam Neeson were unable to save this shambolic mess of all the imaginable clichés from being an utter failure. This film starts very well and shows a group of South Korean spies getting into North Korean Incheon to get hold of secret mibefields maps. Seems good, but very soon the film starts balancing between utter pathetic Hollywood at its worst dialogues from Neeson and his staff and very clichéd action movie shoot-out scenes with all the possible angles and sounds you can expect. Soon, the serious war drama turns into a laughable thriller, and you lose empathy to main heroes very fast. Do not waste time on this - this is worse than any war epic and this contains an array of all the trite banal clichés and moves. Simply awful

In 1950, the North Korean army has invaded and defeated South Korea. The UN coalition, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur (Liam Neeson),plots a bold plan called "Operation Chromite" to invade the South Korean peninsula, disembarking the troops through the Incheon port. However there are mines in the water and he needs to know the location of the defense first. MacArthur sends an eight- man military unit from the Korean Liaison Office in a secret operation called X- Ray under the command of South Korean Navy Lieutenant Jang Hak-soo (Jung-jae Lee) to find the location of the North Korean defenses. They disguise as a North Korean inspection unit to infiltrate the enemy headquarter. However, North Korean Senior Colonel Lim Gye-jin (Beom- su Lee) suspects of Hak-soo and does not provide the mine location to him. What will the spies do?

"In-cheon sang-ryuk jak-jeon", a.k.a. "Operation Chromite", is a magnificent South Korean war film based on a true story. The dramatic story is full of action and supported by excellent screenplay, direction and performances. The conclusion is melodramatic like in many other South Korean movies, but perfect to the great story of heroism and patriotism. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not available

The film centers on the South Korean spies who aided General Douglas MacArthur (Liam Neeson) in the allied invasion of Incheon during the Forgotten War. The group operating behind enemy lines needed to acquire the locations of the mines as well as light the lighthouse. The climax of the film, the battle itself, was relatively short.

The film was badly dubbed. It was one of those films that would have been better off with subtitles. In spite of all the drama, I had a hard time sensing their danger and urgency. Normally Hollywood doesn't produce a war film without some kind of message that relates to the era of which it is made. There was a brief theological discussion and talk about going into China, or rather not going into China. The black and white flashbacks seemed a bit hokey. MacArthur is not going to Incheon so he can run for President, but rather because of a promise he made to a 16 year old soldier at the beginning of the war, which even Liam Neeson couldn't make credible.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.