Writer-director Choi Dong-hoon (Assassination) reaches into every corner of the film landscape to concoct Alienoid. Like many films of its ilk, Alienoid is action-packed, full of laughs, and capable of a major twist, but what sets it apart from other films is the right dose of time travel. Juggling several storylines at once, Alienoid is not perfect, but it is always working toward its goal. Except for some out-of-place robots, the CGI in Alienoid is more than serviceable. The story is very high concept and the tone is completely aware of itself, leading to a truly enjoyable experience.
When the Guard (Kim Woo-bin) of an intergalactic prison realizes convicts are now hiding throughout time, he must go back to the past to recapture them. These alien prisoners are held inside human beings, thus dying when the human body does, unbeknownst to the host. The Guard has his work cut out for him in 380 A.D. Korea when a jailbreak goes terribly wrong. Though the Guard is a robot in human form, he takes on many personalities, one of which rescues a baby girl, Ean (Choi Yu-ri), from certain death and brings her back to the current timeline. As she gets older, Ean’s (now played by Kim Tae-ri) memories of robots and aliens start to come back, and she inquires about her “father's” work. The Guard tries to give her the run around until she outwits him only to find herself right in the middle of a thousand-year-old time-traveling war.
Alienoid is, in many ways, the best parts of the greatest genre films. Combining the wire work of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with the action and CGI of a Marvel movie is certainly a recipe for success. The performances and directing all seem to be on the same page tone-wise, seamlessly shifting from epic to absurd on a whim. There is also the combination of present and future technology, like guns being used in 4th century Korea, that feels more natural than it should. The ambitious swings taken by Choi often hit, and the misses come in different parts of the film. There is something oh so sweet about a historical warrior going toe-to-toe with a man in a Tom Ford suit.
The CGI in Alienoid is mostly great, making the lesser scenes stand out. The Guard is an alien in human form, but he is the fighting model of his kind. This prompts an all-black metal suit when he is in battle, which has a great design and looks even better in action. The alien bad guys also have inventive designs. Though they resemble the average interpretation of an alien, two things set them apart from the norm. They are several feet taller and more muscular than the average human and when they are in alien form their human hosts float above them like creepy balloons. However, these aspects all fit neatly into the aesthetic of the film. Other choices, however, do not fare as well. There is a massive outbreak of poisonous red bubbles that look very cool and super stylized, but seem out of place. Even worse, when the Guard fights his counterpart, a red robot with plans to release the prisoners, the contrast could not be greater. If this was a level in Portal, the red robot would look perfect, but set against a world of fully fleshed-out motion graphics, the execution comes off as unfinished.
Alienoid bends genre, tone, and story to create a fascinating new world. Though some of the CGI is choppy, most of the sci-fi elements of the story look quite good. The dialogue never really needs to sing because the plot is the engine of the film and Choi is having a great time in front of and behind the camera. Alienoid has grand ambitions and meets almost all of them.
Alienoid released in theaters on Friday, August 26. The film is 142 minutes long and is not rated.