Film review
Space Sweepers review: a triumph on VFX but with a predictable plot
First major budget fantasy film for South Korea that demonstrates the power of Korean VFX
Directed by Jo Sung-hee (A Werewolf Boy, 2012), this feature is the first major budget space film for South Korea. Now, it’s streaming on Netflix.
Elon Musk’s dream
Set in the year 2092, our polluted Earth is dying. UTS corporation’s CEO Sullivan (Richard Armitage) creates Elon Musk’s dream. A new habitable Earth on Mars, where only a few selected ones can live there. Meanwhile, the space is full of junk. Space sweepers collect this and get paid for it, but it’s not enough to live.
The Korean spaceship Victory is a talented one. Captain Jang (Kim Tae-ri, Little Forest) leads the spaceship, Tae-ho (Song Joong-ki, A Werewolf Boy) pilots it, Tiger Park (Jin Seon-kyu, The Outlaws) steams the engine, and Robot Bubs (Yoo Hae-jin, 1987: When the Day Comes) helps to maintain it. Despite their skills, these group of misfits are more than broke and each of them needs money for their own goal. On a shift, they discover a missing child Dorothy/ Kang Kot-nim (Park Ye-rin) who is worth a significant amount of money.
Little do they know, this child is the key to a green planet, and various parties are looking for her. Seeing an opportunity here, Victory’s space-crew come into an emotional and adrenaline-filled adventure.
Evil voices and high-energy scenes
The feature is entertaining and full of energy, with an emotional blackmail characterised by Korean films, as they play a roller-coaster of emotions that attach the viewer to the screen. In this sense, it combines funny moments and plays with clichés of, for example, a French guy who is completely in love with Captain Jang, or the way a Russian space sweeper dresses.
In the light of increasing CO2-emissions and the current environmental circumstances, the film’s message is a positive one. Space Sweepers alludes that technology will also save us despite its destructive potential; in a new world where people communicate with the help of automatic translators and work together to save the planet.
The acting performances are great, which is what one can expect from such a talented and experienced cast. However, the voices of the foreign cast all sound like they come from a radio-training with their smooth and eloquent way of speaking, which, when acted out, becomes this fake and distracting element that overshadows their performances.
Needless to say, Sullivan’s voice is the winner of all distracting factors. When mad, Sullivan’s voice turns into an echoey evil-like almighty voice. And without explanation, he also has red veins that pump through his arms and neck into his face. Richard Armitage’s cliché villain is a great flaw in the plot, as little to no-information reveals the way his complexion changes into a demonic one when he gets mad.
Broken time jumps
The introduction of Space Sweepers is an accelerating scene, and shows how the world works, which is fundamental to understanding this futuristic world. Flaunting its high-quality visual effects with detailed spaceships and elevator to space, the introductory scene’s editing moves from one spaceship to the other with vigorous swishes through the surface of these ships. The fast editing and camera’s swifts are confusing, as we are still unfamiliar with the structure of the spaceships. The jumps from one side of the space vehicles to the other side make it difficult to follow. Nevertheless, the elaborated VFX and space-world’s composition, make the start of the film a catchy and alluring one.
Speed and jumps in the editing complement the excitement and rush of the plot, but these are not spotless. Time-wise, some scenes make no sense, as many jumps are abrupt and leave us with questions that could have been avoided if more attention was paid to the continuity. For instance, Tiger saves the child, moving away from the ship, but in the next scene, he is -out of nowhere and with no problem- back inside. Time and continuity-wise, this is confusing.
Another example is the time it takes for Tae-ho to travel from the spaceship to an office. Previously, there is no explanation on how they transport in the spaceships or space-base, and how he could be so fast — or how the crew-members could be so slow in departing. These small inaccuracies disturb the narrative but do not diminish the thrilling tension.
In short
Disregarding the above mentioned (minor) issues, Space Sweepers is an exciting space adventure. Unfortunately, it does not defy nor innovates on fantasy space-stories, but because of the way it delivers the message, its VFX-use, and the main cast’s acting, the film makes the story worth watching. The action never stops in Space Sweepers.
