I love being surprised by a movie. I had heard good things about The Good, The Bad, The Weird, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. While I usually dig foreign films, they can sometimes come with cultural aspects or subtleties that don’t always translate well in a film. While there are few esoteric details here and there with GBW, it translates well, no matter what culture/nation you’re from. Why? It’s just such a blast of fun and awesomeness.

This is a Korean western/adventure movie that takes place some time during the 1930s. It features a bounty hunter (the Good), an assassin (the Bad) and a petty thief (the Weird) going head-to-head over a treasure map that promises the first finder untold riches and wealth. That’s the basic set-up and the film is a roller coaster from the first incredible action sequence on a hijacked train to the final showdown between the three leads.

In truth, I was blown away by how much fun this movie is. It’s not a threadbare action flick that simply moves from one set piece to another, but it does have phenomenal set locations. It’s not just about flashy action beats, though it has some awesome stunts and understated special effects. What truly makes this film work is the charisma of the three main actors: Woo-Sung Jung, Byung-hun Lee, and Kang-ho Sung. You’ll recognize the latter two if you’ve seen either The Host (with Kang-ho Sung) or G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (with Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow). If this were a just world, all three would be movie stars the world over, not just in their native South Korea. Of course, they might have already attained that status elsewhere…it wouldn’t be the first time that America’s been slow to catch up to what everyone else already knows.

At any rate, while all three guys are fantastic in their respective roles, Kang-ho Sung is by far the most entertaining and engaging. He gets to play the weirdo and you can tell that he had a lot of fun with the part. A lot of physical humor, stunts, funny dialogue…his character is a blast. The cast as a whole is terrific and the movie in its entirety is a ton of fun. Violent in parts, hilarious in others, it’s a terrific adventure ride. Check it out.