NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Animenter There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

thatpalechick I thought this movie was pretty okay, as far as Korean high school movies go. I bought the DVD with the American rappers doing the voices, and I was ready to hate the movie by the time the credits FINALLY rolled, but then I watched the Korean version and realized that the rappers had completely ruined it. So much stuff gets cut out or changed until the movie starts to look like they were trying to make fun of cheesy old kung fu movies. In its original form, however, the movie is great. Everything falls into place and makes so much more sense. You find that the characters aren't half as stupid as the rappers make them seem, and the story just works better. My advice to anyone interested in this movie is that they should watch the Korean version first. Watching the rapper-dubbed version may bias them against the original, and then they'll be left thinking the rappers made an improvement on the original

xsempaix Korean films are cool! They are often a lot harsher than you would expect, social values like social cohesion and politeness don't often find their way into the foray from what i've seen compared to Japanese fare.There is a slew of "High School/ Fight School" films out there. For example from Japan there was Battle Royale, and Fudoh. And from Hong Kong there was My Friend the Barbarian. For a genre these films are quite a mix and Volcano Highschool is no exception.The mood is bleak and intense. The color pallete fits the grimness of the setting, lots of muted browns, blues and gray. The Highschool looks like it was from the 16th century. The fighting scenes were better more in the way they were filmed than the actual martial prowess of the actors. The translucent energy effects were a fair representation of ideas about kung fu, just read about taoist energy arts like tai chi and ba gua. They even talk about yin and yang, so it points to some of the inspiration, though the real stuff is more awe inspiring to watch.I found myself thinking, "That's a Korean Hottie?" Maybe the korean girls i've met that i think are sleek and beautiful looking are thought of as not that attractive by the public at large in Korea. Maybe. The female lead did grow on me more as the film progressed. For a girl who beats off the advances of suitors with a stick (literally) she did display her nurturing side, and in the end, if her character were real I would risk getting beaten for the sake of asking her out for a cup of soujou, (like Japanese sochou, but often the secret ingredient is anti-freeze).My biggest gripe with plotpoints was with the secret scroll. As the film progressed and its nature became more obviously symbolic i was forced to accept it as a sort of philosopher's's stone that promises self-knowledge and self-mastery since this is the role it plays for our leading protagonist. This is a lofty goal implicit in this high school! If you can master the secret scroll then a fine adult you will indeed be regardless of what facts you may retain or job skills you possess. Kind of an abstract execution, but after studying mythology I am convinced this is indeed the role of the scroll in this story.

himboy32 Volcano High tells the story of Kim Kyung Soo, a high school student who has super natural powers, after he is expelled from his last school he is sent to 'Volcano High' a place where he thinks he'll be able to control his abilities with other students who have similar powers such as he.Soon he locks horns with the school bully Jang Ryang while he tries to win the affections of the most beautiful girl in school. the gorgeous but deadly Jade, but another problem for Kim presents itself in the form of the five lords of discipline, five teachers who travel from school to school controlling the most unruly of students oh and they all have super natural powers also.I LOVED this movie, I got such a kick out of watching it. Everything about this movie is great the acting,the action and sometimes even the script.Watching this you'd think it was based on a Japanese manga comic but it isn't, the director Kim Tae-Gyun was heavily influenced by these comics and animated movies and set out to do a live action japanime movie and he was successful in every aspect.Jang Hyuk who plays Kim does such a wonderful job in this role he is able to be a serious hard-ass one moment then straight away making himself look like a total goof.A great highlight in the movie are the fight scenes, in my opinion they make good use of wire work and visual effects which is very reminiscent of movies such as 'The Storm Riders' or 'The Avenging Fist' The humour is some times lost in the translation which is to be expected if you don't speak Korean. This movie is one of the few which has been making Korean cinema more and more prolific over the past few years its up there with such other Korean gems as 'Friend' 'Bichunmoo' 'Musa' and 'Guns n Talks' I recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of Andrew Lau f/x laden fantasy epics or Japanime, you will not be disappointed.I also recommend you try and pick up the Region 2 Premiere Asia DVD as it contains the best version(The 95 minute one) and also contains the cut footage and the second disc full of great extras.

mike paines I can understand why this film splits viewers into those who either love it-to-death or those who despise it. To properly enjoy Volcano High, you will need to relax, loosen up and dig up some old skool memories.Considering this is primarily a fun film, main and periphery characters are well portrayed, and there's a lots of subtle comedy and bombastic drama to keep anyone with a developed sense of humour happy. However, if you love martial arts movies, you will be disappointed - the martial arts is spread pretty thin. Although Volcano High is Korean, it appears to have gone the way of recent Hong Kong kung fu films, in that choreography is either obscured or entirely replaced by CGI effects. However, the special effects and acting are top-notch, Hyuk Jang especially evoking both sniggers and respect. Well made and good fun if you don't take your movie-watching too seriously. If, however, you want something a bit more substantial from Korea, try Musa or Shiri.