‘A Man Who Was Superman’ Review

Posted in Reviews on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 by Veronica R. |

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I was looking for something to watch and I came across this 2008 South Korean film. Since superman was in the title I knew I had to watch it. I was expecting a goofy superhero film but I got so much more.

Song Soo-Jung, played by Jun Ji-Hyun, is a bitter anti-social filmmaker who unhappily works for a small company producing human interest stories. She doesn’t really care about these people or their situations, but she does it in hopes of becoming Korea’s Oprah Winfrey.On the day she left her company to go to Africa to film lions, her camera bag is stolen. She chases the thief and is eventually helped by a guy who thinks he is Superman. He claims to have lost his super powers because someone stuck a piece of kryptonite in his brain but he refuses to let that stop him from helping people who need it the most.

Soo-Jung see’s this a a great human interest story and follows him around while he spends his days helping who ever he can find. She tapes him doing all sorts of helpful things from taking down a creepy pervert who likes to flash his genitals as school kids to helping old ladies cross the street. The story is a big success and Soo-Jung tries to move on and live her life but Superman drags her along with him to continue to fight evil. After he passes out in front of her and she takes him to the hospital, she discovers he really does have something lodged in his brain, but it’s a bullet, not kryptonite. She slowly discovers the real tragic story behind Superman and why he is the way he is and this opens her heart and her eyes to the world around her.

Hwang Jung-Min, the actor who plays Superman did fantastic job. His acting is fantastic and he really pulls you into the movie. I really enjoyed this film. It was touching, funny, and interesting. It starts off comedic with us watching the exploits of Superman who fights monsters he believes are in the sewer in his stylish Hawaiian shirt. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when he refuses to stay at the hospital for treatment because he thinks the guys in white coats are evil and the only way Soo-Jung can get him to stay is to force the doctors and the nurse to wear capes to show him that it’s a superhero hospital. Despite the comedic elements, this film is a close look at the nature of humankind. She opens her up to how a little bit of kindness can go a long way. To me, the interactions between Soo-Jung and Superman are the best part of the film. I recommend this film big time! I give it a 4 out of 5.

Check out the trailer then go rent the movie.