It’s a fun watch, but hey I’m biased.
Disclaimer: I’m not a fan of the historical genre and I’m only here for the cast. Kang Ha Neul, Lee Kwang Soo, Han Hyo Joo, Chae Soo Bin plus EXO’s Sehun? I am all in!
Hae Rang (Han Hyo Joo) is captain and owner of the pirate ship while Woo Moo Chi (Kang Ha Neul) is the leader of the bandits who got saved by Hae Rang and now staying on her ship. Their chemistry is great and I like their banter as Moo Chi struggles to remain in control and refuses to acknowledge Hae Rang as the captain.
I was a bit disappointed with the number of scenes Sehun’s character (Han Goong) was in. And he does not even speak, he was this brooding but fiercely loyal to Hae Rang. I initially thought he was going to become one of the evil guys in the end but I was wrong. He actually ended up falling in love with Chae Soo Bin’s character, Hae Geum. Hae Geum fell in love with Han Goong first and at one point she intentionally broke the bed and asked him to fix only to find Hae Rang already fixing the thing. That was hilarious. But hey, they ended up together in the end.
There are a lot of funny scenes and the choreography is pretty good. Their acting is as always, amazing! However, there were a few bad CGIs. Xavy was complaining that the CGI was low budget. Haha! It’s actually tolerable, not the best but also not bad.
As for the story itself, it’s a bit hard if you don’t know much about historical eras. Xavy kept explaining to me which one came first and what happened to Goryeo and Joseon. It would have been an even better watch if I watched the prequel first. They did show a brief backstory of Moo Chi’s but nothing for Hae Rang, so that was a bit disappointing too. It would have been nice if they also gave the second leads more screen time and backstory. There are too many characters whose arcs if explored would not be enough for a movie.
With that being said, I am still recommending this one because of the amazing cast and the funny scenes. But please do not be logical when you watch this, some of the scenes are just illogical. Just enjoy the 2 hours and don’t think much.
Xavy & Mom 