Director Kim Yong-hwa and the original cast did a great job with “Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days”. While the storyline is not as strong as the first, the sequel is still entertaining and worth watching if you enjoyed the first.
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TITLE: Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days
YEAR OF FILM: 2018
DURATION: 142 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 1:85:1 Aspect Ratio, Korean 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Well Go USA
RATED: Not Rated
RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2018
Directed by Yong-hwa Kim
Based on the Comic “Singwa Hamkke” by Ho-min Ju
Screenplay by Yong-hwa Kim
Producer: Fred Berger, Oscar Isaac, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Jason Spire
Associate Producer: Thomas Daley
Executive Producer: Matt Charman, Ron Schmidt
Associate Producer: Julie Lawrence, Manu Chopra
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe
Edited by Pamela Martin
Casting by Avy Kaufman
Production Design by David Brisbin
Art Direction by Marcela Bazzano, Kendelle Elliott, Rick Willoughby
Set Decoration by Florencia Martin
Costume Design by J Connie Balduzzi
Starring:
Jung-woo Ha as Gang-rim
Ji-Hoon Ju as Haewon-mak
Hyang-gi Kim as Lee Deok-choon
Dong-seok Ma as Seongju sin
Kim Dong-wook as Kim Soo-hong
Kyung-soo Do as Won Dong-yeon Ilbyeong
Han-chul Jo as Prosecutor
Min-Jong Kim as The Grim Reaper
Myung-gon Kim as Gang-Rim’s Father
Joo Hyuk Lee as Bag Mu-sin Jung-Wi
Jung-Jae Lee as Yeomra
Kyeong-yeong Lee as God Ogwan
The fantasy epic that smashed box office records in Korea reaches its thrilling climax in ALONG WITH THE GODS: THE LAST 49 DAYS. As the deceased soul Su-hong and his three afterlife guardians face the remaining trials to obtain their reincarnation, the guardians come face to face with the buried truth of their tragic time on earth a thousand years ago, culminating in a final battle with a rogue god.
The sequel to the popular 2017 Kim Yong-hwa film “Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds” is now available on Blu-ray!
“Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days” reunites Ha Jung-woo, Cha Tae-hyun, Ju Ji-hoon and Kim Hyang-gi.
Shot simultaneously and one of the biggest visual effects film made in Korea (around US$36.6 million), the sequel would become a box office hit and becoming the 11th most-watched film of all time in South Korea (the first film is the #2 most-watch film in South Korea).
And with a third and fourth film being planned, fans of the film series can look forward to see the return of director Kim Yong-hwa.
“Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days” begins with Gang-Rim laying in snow and all bloodied. He is awakened by his fellow grim reapers: Haewonmak and Lee Deok-choon.
As Gang-Rim will represent a soldier, Kim Soo-hong (portrayed by Kim Dong-wook) as why he should be reincarnated, forcing Gang-Rim to confront his past life.
Meanwhile, Haewonmak and Lee Deok-choon are tasked to bringing a God of the House, Seongju (portrayed by Ma Dong-seok) back to the afterlife, as Seongju has stayed on Earth to take care of an elderly man and a young boy without returning back.
But as the two confront Seongju, Seongju reveals their true names and the two grim reapers learn that their memories of their past life were wiped out of their minds for a reason.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days” comes with:
- Character Intros
- Production Documentary
- Trailers
EXTRAS:
“Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days” comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD for the film.
“Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days” is a film that has a different vibe from the first film.
While trying to top the first film may be a bit difficult, the slow-paced sequel is an entertaining, visually intriguing film if you stay with it from beginning to end.
The sequel is actually several stories in one film, with each story about a particular character and how their lives are somewhat connected.
We have Gang-rim representing military soldier Kim Soo-hong, a reputable, goodhearted, no-nonsense soldier who is dead and Gang-rim wants to represent him in order to give him the opportunity to be reincarnated.
As Gang-rim seeks the truth about the death of Kim Soo-hong, we start to learn of his past as the son of a noble warrior, who’s father taken in a Jurchen boy who’s family was wiped out.
The other storyline focused on Haewonmak and Lee Deok-choon trying to bring back the God of the House, Seongju, who has not returned back to the afterlife. It was revealed that Seongju wants to take care of the boy, who lost his family and all he has is the elderly man.
The two grim reapers are tasked to have the old man die and bring back Seongju but they quickly learn that Seongju is quite powerful and bringing him back home will not be easy. But he does ask the two Grim Reapers to give him time as the old man would die and he could arrange for the young boy to be adopted.
While Seongju talks to both Haewonmak and Lee Deok-choon, he reveals that he knew them and when the two ask who they were in their past lives, he slowly reveals it to them, learning that their minds were wiped out of who they were in the past for some reason.
What we learn is that Haewonmak was the legendary soldier known as White Tiger, fierce and excellent in swordsmanship. While Lee Deok-choon, was once a Jurchen girl who took orphaned children and hid them up in a mountain.
But how the three grim reapers lives are connected will be revealed through trial and tribulation is what made this film worthwhile.
There were many scenes that seemed out of place, the story was slow-paced but for the most part, while not as great as the first film, it’s still a film I enjoyed quite a bit, as it explored the past lives of each of the three characters and how they came together.
And because the “Along with the Gods” films have been box office hits, hopefully the third and fourth film manage to be just as consistent and strong in storyline rather than be visually impressive.
The film looks and sounds impressive in HD with no major artifacts and CG elements in the film also look great! You get a few special features included and both the Blu-ray and DVD versions of the film.
It’s important to note that there was a mistake in the printing of the title on the Blu-ray disc with the Blu-ray having the title of the first film “Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds” and the DVD having the correct title “Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days”.
Overall, director Kim Yong-hwa and the original cast did a great job with “Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days”. While the storyline is not as strong as the first, the sequel is still entertaining and worth watching if you enjoyed the first.
