The Good, The Bad and The Weird (2010)

The Good, The Bad and The Weird (2010) IMDB Link

The South Koreans produce a glut of top quality films every year but perhaps the least expected genre to see coming out of the country is the Western, never mind a comedy Western. That’s exactly what The Good, The bad and The Weird is though and it is brilliant fun from start to finish as it is both a parody of the genre and an excellent film in its own right.

Taking the basic plot from The Good, the Bad and The Ugly and adding in comedic elements, the story is set circa World War Two and focuses on three different men; The Good is Do-Wan a bounty hunter who goes after the bad guys, the Bad is Chang-Yi a ruthless killer who leaves bloodshed everywhere he goes and the Weird is Tae-Goo a train robber with incredible luck. Tae-Goo manages to find a map while robbing a train and is convinced it will lead to buried treasure. Chang-Yi finds out about it and wants it for himself and Do-Wan is tasked by the Korean Independence army to find the map and take down Chang-Yi. Japanese forces and a gang of thieves called the Ghost market gang also want the map which leads all groups crossing paths many times and an eventual showdown in the desert.

What makes The Good, The Bad and The Weird such a good film is that even though it’s extremely violent and has all the elements that a serious Western has it still manages to have a lighthearted tone throughout with plenty of very funny moments. Most of these moments are down to the excellent character of The Weird, a wisecracking train robber that seems to have nine lives given the amount of times he is shot at, caught and escaped. The other two main characters are also excellent with the bad being a ruthless killer and The Good being more of your classic western hero. The action comes thick and fast with some great shoot outs but also some excellent chase scenes full of comedic moments. The story is full of double crossings and littered with so many characters that it never gets dull and remains solidly entertaining throughout. The final act where all the characters come together is very well done and leads up to the excellent climax. There is very little to fault here and this film proves that South Korea is well able to produce a top quality Western.

The Good, The Bad and The Weird has everything you want from a Western film but has the added benefit of comedic moments and a lighthearted tone that provides fun throughout. Excellent characters and great action make this a must see film.

9/10