Fly Daddy Fly is a Korean film starring Lee Jun Ki... a creepy 'too pretty to be human' fellow who is my age (29)... and yet he looks like 12. At most. It might sound weird to start my comments on this guy but if you ever DO watch the movie you'll know why I'm commenting. Guy is creepy. He's an alien.
This movie is NOT about aliens, even if the lead character looks like an alien.
No, this is a love story. A familial love story, not a romantic love story. The story is about JJang. Jjang is a salary man (office worker). He's out of shape. He smokes. He's a little bit (okay, a lot) whiny. But he loves his wife and his daughter with all of his being.
One day Jjang's daughter is assaulted by a boy named Kang Taewook. She's beaten so bad she's sent to the hospital. The boy who beat her is the son of a Congressman and a big shot boxer at his school on top of it. Jjang tries to demand the boy be punished but he is brushed aside. His daughter, disappointed that her father isn't protecting her, stops speaking to him.
Broken hearted Jjang resorts to desperate tactics to restore his daughter's honour. He grabs a knife and goes to Kang's school. Now, I don't know what he planned to do with that knife but the guy's such a bumbling idiot it doesn't really matter. He is stopped by SeungSok (from now on known as alien boy).
When Alien Boy discovers what happened to Jjang's daughter he agrees to train Jjang to be a fighter. "What do you want to do to Kang?" Alien boy asks.
"The same thing he did to my daughter." Jjang says.
And thus the training begins. The rest of the movie focuses on Jjang transforming from a bumbling, whiny, out of shape, can't fight to save his life nobody to a fit, whiny, can't fight to save his life nobody. One of the final scenes where Jjang races the bus he used to take to work everyday is actually quite touching.
There are a lot of victories in this movie. Jjang overcomes many obstacles to beef himself up to beat the crap out of a mean boy. In the end... well... this is a realistic movie. What middle aged, out of shape, has never fought before man could beat a well trained teenage boxer? But it doesn't matter. Jjang wears his bruises proudly and he goes to his daughter with his head held high. No matter what, he fought hard to make sure his daughter was avenged. He gave up everything for her honour.
You can't help but admire Jjang. So many people, weak as him, would just give up and accept their fate. Jjang couldn't do that. He might have if his daughter wasn't involved but for his daughter he had to do something.
In the meantime there's a side story about Alien Boy and his tragic upbringing. Jjang becomes Alien Boy's surrogate father, the daddy that Alien Boy never had. It's really a very sweet side story.
Anyway, Fly Daddy Fly is not an action movie, it's a comedy but only in parts, but mainly it is a story about love. A father who loves his child so much that he can overcome his own weakness.
The movie ends with Alien Boy and Jjang. "DADDY!" Alien Boy shouts... Jjang smiles and then proudly goes to meet his daughter.
All that said... I liked this movie. It was cute, easy watching. Alien Boy was freaky... but he didn't ruin it for me. :)
(Sorry if I got the names wrong!!!)
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