[Korean Movie] The Pirates ~ Bandits Going to the Sea
The Pirates 1 and 2 are two movies that are correctly promoted as Epic Korean Action-Adventure-Comedy, and pure fun! Both films have a terrific cast. The first movie was released in 2014.
SUMMARY: There is a hilarious battle on the high seas. Chinese envoys transporting the royal seal to approve the Joseon ruler approved by the Ming Emperor had an “accident”. A whale swallowed the seal, and NO! … They can’t create a fake one and pretend that nothing happened! So they offered a reward for whoever could get it back! “Whoever” can include pirates or bandits.
♦ The Pirates (2014) [“Pirates: Bandits Going to the Sea”]
Nominated for and won several awards – acting (lead and support), director, visual effects, costume design, etc.
STORYLINE: “The Pirates” is set during the early days of the Joseon Dynasty. The Emperor’s Royal Seal is the ceremonial seal used to symbolize the legitimacy of the royal family, created when kings, queens, and crown princes were proclaimed. The seals for kings and queens were gold, and those for crown princes were made of jade. The Ming emperor was the supreme ruler in East Asia, and as a part of formalizing China’s relationship with ancient Korea, the Joseon rulers received imperial seals from the emperor to acknowledge their legitimate claim to the throne. In short, the seal is really important!
If something happened to the seal, nobody wants to imagine the negative impact on the diplomatic and peaceful relations between the Ming emperor and the appointed Joseon king or crown prince. If the seal were ever stolen or lost or … swallowed by a whale or … Wait! WHAT??!! How can this be put delicately? The Ming Emperor’s Royal Seal was being transported to Joseon by Chinese envoys, and uuhh … there was an accident. A whale swallowed it!
Anybody who can retrieve the seal will receive a huge reward. A whale? The sea? Clearly, it’s pirate territory. That’s why a group of mountain bandits and pirates created an alliance. Mountain bandits on the sea? There’s a huge reward, big enough to be divided among “friends”. They’re going to make it work.
Jang Sa-Jung is a former soldier, now the leader of a group of bandits. The bandits set out to sea on their own to hunt down the whale and claim the reward, but soon find themselves entangled with pirates led by a fearless female pirate captain named Yeo-Wol. She is equally determined to retrieve the royal seal. But they aren’t the only ones. It’s a battle on the high seas. The poor whale. It’s not like it meant to swallow the seal.
Main Characters:
- Jang Sa-Jung (played by Kim Nam-Gil,“Karma“, “The Fiery Priest 1 and 2”, “Through the Darkness”, “Live Up To Your Name”, “Song of the Bandits”, “Emergency Declaration”, “Island 1 and 2”, “The Great Queen Seondeok”, “Pandora”, “The Sound of a Flower”)
- Yeo-Wol (played by Son Ye-Jin, “Blood and Ties”, “Spellbound”, “Crash Landing on You”)
Where to Watch: Pluto TV and Tubi TV – Free with Ads
Viewership and Rating:
- IMDb: 6.5 of 10 stars
- My Drama List: 7.9 out of 10 stars
- Common Sense Media: 4 out of 5 stars
- Google users shared a public rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
My personal rating is the same as MDL.
LINKS OF INTEREST:
‘The Pirates’: Film Review | The Hollywood Reporter (This hit South Korean epic set in the fourteenth century lends an Asian twist to a familiar genre.)
The Pirates (South Korea, 2014) – Review | AsianMovieWeb
Pirates, The (2014) Review | cityonfire.com
Movie Review – The Pirates (2014) | The cat that watches TV
TRAILER/TEASER:
Lotte Entertainment (International). “The Pirates.” YouTube, 9 July 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4qgvXhmVj4.
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