Gangster High (2006) User Reviews

A dark, violent film with great action

[Night488 · 7/10 · 11 January 2007]

I'm not going to lie, I admit that this film is the typical "high school gangster" film. The films that come to mind when I say "typical high school film" are probably Once Upon a Time in High School and Volcano High. But I guarantee you, this film is MUCH more violent and MUCH darker than both those films.

Park Ki-Hyung made his directorial debut with one of my favorite horror films of all time, Whispering Corridors. He also went on to film horror/thriller films like Secret Tears and Acacia. Now he has jumped on the bandwagon of Korean Cinema; violence.

In a VERY simple summary, this film is about a group of friends form a "gang" called Tigers, which was originally intended for soccer. But then, they start fighting and are being recognized as "fighters". Soon, a rival gang from a rival school starts picking on them. Not only that, but the main head of each gang is in love with the same girl. Typical, ain't it? But what made this film so great was:

1. Acting. The acting in this film was remarkable. Truly brings the emotions of the characters on screen, which is rarely seen in "high school" movies these days in Korean cinema.

2. The action scenes were well-choreographed, and there is plenty of action to keep the watcher satisfied.

3. The setting and atmosphere is almost PERFECT. From the very first scene in the film, the watcher will known in a *snap* that this film is dark.

So basically, this is a typical film that's very violent and dark with plenty of action. This film shows how a typical film can turn out to be very entertaining. Recommended to fans of action, but not recommended to the softies who can't take violence.

The reason to recommend it? Cause it's damn great!

[joerg-nezmeskal · 20 February 2007]

This movie does everything right! Yeah, it's just another "high school fight"-movie (whatever that means). But damn sure a classic in the making if it's come to this genre, like "the wanderers" or "rumble fish", over 20 years ago! The cast is damn great and due to the great characterization and the chemistry between the leads you're stuck with them towards the violent end of the movie, you laugh with them and damn sure suffer with them. The cinematography is great, nothing too stylish and fancy, it's shot very grounded but also with some artistic beauty shining trough. The soundtrack works as well really great in this movie. What else can I say without spoiling anything...oh I know: Just see it for yourself, if you love this sort of movie, you won't be disappointed!

Sort of like a High School Scarface or a Korean Boyz in the Hood

[nhfinl01 · 9/10 · 14 July 2008]

This movie is also called "Gangster High." It chronicles four days of six first year high school Korean boys who start a soccer club called the "Tigers." However they are slowly pulled into more and more gang-like violent scenarios. Lee Sunho is the President of the club and he is a good student and a good athlete. The violence begins early in the film and steadily intensifies. The consequences and tragedy of this film are profound making this film poignant. The score and soundtrack are phenomenal. The cinematography is nicely stylized and the plot is moving. This is a good movie. The fight scenes are especially clean, no wires or any silly pausing. Very lo-fi and realistic, I wonder if they were really fighting.

don't bother

[dmuel · 2/10 · 5 January 2007]

A few anti-social misfits encounter some other misfits, fight, become friends, and take on an even more anti-social gang at a Korean high school. Here we have a film that didn't need to be made; yet another Korean flick focusing on male bonding among delinquent-bordering-on-criminal youth. Women are typically mere eye-candy for this crowd, and comprise a very small part of the plot, with aggressive, violent behavior providing the social glue for its characters. The film is an unending sequence of posing, flexing and punching, and the fight scenes do not rise to the status of well-choreographed martial arts. I can't think of any reason to recommend this film.