So we’ve got the Glorious Dawn Lee in his first Netflix original movie Badland Hunters. It is a crazy action thriller set in a post-apocalyptic future, so should you put this on your list? Years after Soul turns into an apocalyptic wasteland, a tough huntsman takes matters into his own hands when a teenager he’s close to is abducted by a mad doctor.
Now, this movie is an insane mix of fast-moving martial arts, explosive gore, and then some surprisingly hilarious moments that made me laugh out loud multiple times. We follow Namson, played by Da Lee, and he’s a hunter in a ramshackle shanty town outside of Soul. Following a devastating earthquake, he’s mainly a quiet guy who keeps to himself, doesn’t invite trouble, or even engage in situations unless he absolutely has to.
Now, the setting for this destroyed version of Soul is pretty much what you’d expect if you’ve seen any sort of post-apocalyptic film or show. There’s very little water, food is scarce, and because of the lack of water, the whole area is a badlands – that’s the title.
Badland Hunters Movie Action-Packed Plot
Now, there’s not much character development that we get on any of the players, but we don’t need much to engage. A teenager that Namson is close to gets kidnapped, so he decides to go rescue her. Along the way, he and his friend/surrogate son team up with a former soldier and then make plans to ‘storm the castle’ as it were, which is really just a fortified apartment building, and then inflict wasteland justice on those that took the girl.
All throughout this, we get some wicked fight sequences. And while martial arts play a large part in most of the fighting, what’s the most entertaining is watching Don Lee just simply punch the crap out of people, using his girth to create a powerhouse pummeling that makes opponents fly multiple feet through the air.
Natural Comedy and Chemistry
Now, the abruptness of a lot of the moves and the action is smile-inducing and it had me laughing at some of the just outcomes. But Don Lee also excels at creating natural comedic moments that are completely relatable. There’s one sequence where he’s climbing stairs, and after he makes a change, he giggles to himself at his accomplishment and cleverness. And there’s also this moment when he’s reaching for something that’s just outside of his grasp and, well, it’s not a drawn-out scene. It is downright funny, and it adds so much more realism to an outlandish and over-the-top movie.
He’s also got good chemistry with the young guy who works and lives alongside him. Le Jun Young is the right amount of snark and exuberance. He’s rare and go, and he often acts impulsive, but he’s got a great heart. And the way Da Lee sees it but cheekily ignores it makes for a very charismatic pairing within interactions that are sweet and funny.
Now, I appreciate that the action isn’t all cut up with fast edits. There are some of those that are present, but we also get scenes where the camera puts us right into the middle of a fight, and then it swings around to capture people being punched or thrown into a new area of the setting. Now, the choreography is done well, with stylistic moves that keep an intense cadence to the pacing. We also get a huge amount of gore, which I thought was satisfyingly displayed. The opponents that Don Lee and his allies come up against, they have a unique feature, making them very formidable foes. So as a natural course of these characteristics, the violence is cranked way up past 11 to showcase maximum, even hilarious carnage.
Now, I was a little surprised at some of the gore that we get. I wasn’t disappointed by it. I mean, I wanted an exhilarating action film, and that’s exactly what this delivered. Many times, I even winced or groaned because the visuals were so visceral and gross. I was totally there for it.
Now, the story for this is straightforward, and it doesn’t contain any surprises that I think are going to catch anybody off guard. So because of this predictability, there may be moments that you just wish the story would speed up just a little bit to get back to the action. But the lulls, they typically don’t last too long before plunging us right back into the fray.
The largest issue with a self-explanatory story is that it’s hard to make it memorable. The bad guy’s motives aren’t so freaky as they are just kind of saddened, disillusioned. This doesn’t take away from the brutality of his actions, but once we know his ultimate goal, he just becomes sort of a kook. And the stakes appear to be high, and unless you’re a heartless psychopath, you won’t want to watch innocents come to harm. So it is natural to feel some concern for this kidnapped girl. But thanks to the lack of character depth, the real tension of the story comes from the energy and the savagery of the rescue mission rather than what’s happening to those that are being kidnapped or being housed in this fortified apartment building.
And then when all said and done, the movie’s over, and there’s nothing haunting or gripping to keep this at the forefront of the mind for very long. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun and worthwhile watch because I had a ton of enjoyment out of the brutality and the awesome choreography. But as far as the narrative goes, you’re just kind of there.
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Special Effects and Cinematography
I do want to talk a little bit about the special effects. Now, when it comes to the gnarly wounds and the gore, the movie excels at showcasing just freaky butchering. I mean, heads explode, limbs are torn off, bones stick out of places that they really never should, and we’re even shown nasty growths and then skin peeling off of people. These are done with a combo of practical and special effects, and they’re convincing, they’re gross, and they accentuate all of the right moments within a battle.
But where the effects let the production down is in some of the outdoor settings. The wasteland is dirty and dusty, but more than once, and especially at night scenes, the surroundings look like a soundstage with some rocks and junk built up in the foreground but then with an artificially created background. Now, whether it was painted or CGI, I don’t really know, but it created this very fake look to the scenes. I mean, is it enough to ruin the movie? No, because there’s all the carnage. But it just did make my eye twitch a little bit, especially since the movie showcases such wonderful full effects within the gore department.
Conclusion
So what this boils down to is an adrenaline-filled action extravaganza led by the charismatic and funny Da Lee. While the story is predictable and doesn’t offer up any surprises, the awesome fight choreography enhances the brutality of the battles, showcasing flowing moves that end with bodily devastation. Most of the special effects are convincing and they look great, with only some minor shortcomings in the exterior night scenes. And the biggest downfall of this movie is the lack of memorability due to an overplot progression. Thankfully, the pacing is mostly quick, utilizing snarky humor, violent hand-to-hand combat, and gratuitous amounts of gore to create an intense and enjoyable visual spectacle. There’s no sex or nudity, a lot of profanity, and then a ton of gruesome violence. I give Badland Hunters three and a half out of five couches. So what are you watching this weekend? Anything that you’ve been really looking forward to checking out? Let me know what you’re watching in the comments below. If you enjoyed this give rating.
