‘Seoul Vibe’ Netflix Movie Review – A Fun Ride, Matching the Seoul Vibe!

Seoul Vibe is a story about a group of drivers of the Sanggye-Dong Supreme Team who become a part of a high-profile investigation involving a powerful loan shark, and the former general as they investigate a money laundering racket that connects through to the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Seoul Vibe is an action comedy that manages to deliver the goods in an aesthetically astounding fashion that doesn’t compromise on the look as it recreates the late 80s in its way. I was hugely impressed with the cinematography, and the ambiance it creates in its sequences, especially towards the start, with the garage being a prominent place of discussion, and my god the fun of customizations of the workplace and that of the car brings back the old memories of the Need for Speed games that brings out the creativity on its palate. The movie looks good throughout, and the stylistic looks play a good role in its charm with the revelation of the exaggerated swagger of retro classic cars from notable brands.

The action scenes are certainly impressive as well, and when I say action, I mean the racing bits. The car action set-pieces are used creatively enough to amuse you with everything a prolonged sequence is on the cards. It is done very tastefully with cars drifting, stumbling, rolling, and even crashing during the stunts. The cherry on top is it looks pretty cool for the most part.

 
The story is segmented into different acts, and each act has its benefits when it comes around. The first half of the movie is almost linear in terms of the story progression, but as simple as it may be, it comes around as a relaxing watch that happens to feature some of the best bits from the movie itself. It is sometimes easy to forget the basics, but it is very strong in that essence which results in a fun viewing. The second act, on the other hand, has some variations on the first one while sticking up to its simple principles, and the third one is built differently from the first two acts, which adds complexities to the already prevailing layout. While the first two acts are consistent with systematic progression, the third one emits a completely different vibe, and while that may not be an issue, the lack of emotional context is what hampers its development.

I am not a fan of the fourth/final act which seems a little bit absurd to me. While it is ambitious in concept, the creativity gets a little bit out of hand that favors the crew with the plot armors breaking the uncertainty regarding some of the characters, while totally focusing on the adrenaline fun which at times defies logic, and frankly speaking, I could live with the other things, but not the movie breaking its own believably scale of its car set pieces, which was very well intact with the realness factor beforehand. That in a way loses its touch of immersion.

It is an easy movie to recommend especially for car lovers. I do admire its aesthetics, and despite its flaws, it is still very much an entertaining ride, with vibing mixtapes reminding you what it has to offer. Every actor did a terrific job on this film, so kudos to them for bringing out the style in substance.

Final Score – [7/10]
Reviewed by - Devyansh Anand
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