Seven Days (2007) User Reviews

Unnecessary camera movements.

[arunkumarakak · 6/10 · 1 April 2020]

Decent thriller ruined by excess of zooming and panning of camera.

Unfair Ratings...

[yahiaaqil · 8/10 · 31 July 2020]

I don't know why did this movie get bad ratings, and I don't care since it's always a matter of taste. However, and what I do resist strongly, if most of bad ratings came from Americans and Brits then you need to shut the hell up and get yourself a life! The lights shed on Hollywood made Americans and English people think they are the gods of cinema and movies. Your thrillers and crime movies are a drop in the sea of Korean ones. Amazing twists, a very good plot, thrilling and touching. Well done, Korea.

GOOD FILM!

[maarcoscisterna · 8/10 · 1 July 2020]

Seven days in which you can feel despair to find the little girl! Besides it has a very big intrigue. It would give him more points but sometimes the protagonist wasted time, although that led her to find more clues. In simple words in a film that complies, it keeps you glued to the screen for two hours and that today is very difficult!

Overlong, gimmicky thriller whose main strength is Yunjin Kim's performance

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 31 January 2010]

The main, if not the only to be honest, reason I watched this film is that it stars the beautiful, expressive, athletic Korean actress Yunjin Kim, who has of course become an international star thanks to her regular role as Sun in the TV series "Lost". She does not disappoint - she gives a terrific performance here. The story, a mix of kidnapping thriller, whodunit and courtroom drama, is VERY complex, loaded with red herrings and engaging for the most part, until a final twist that's a bit far-fetched. Let's just say that you probably WON'T guess the identity of the kidnapper until the end, but only because his / her motivations and the lengths that he / she goes to for the sake of his / her plan are a bit hard to swallow. But the main problem with "Seven Days" is the too-often gimmicky, frantic direction. While it has its inventive moments (Kim "watching" her kidnapped child), it usually just makes scenes hard to watch. At 130 minutes, the film is too long, but the cast and most of the story are strong enough to earn it a mild recommendation. **1/2 out of 4.

I expected too much...

[thebanquet · 6/10 · 22 November 2007]

I had very high expectations of Seven Days because I'm a big fan of lead actress Kim Yun Jin and because it got great reviews from critics, who called it 'a Korean film version of CSI'. I left the movie theater disappointed, because while this movie is OKAY, it doesn't deserve the hype that the media is giving it. (Just to give this movie a little bit of background, it was originally titled 'Thursday's Child', starring Kim Sun Ah, who's best known in the hit drama 'My Name is Kim Sam Sun'. Production on the movie was halted after the director was fired by the production company over creative differences. After waiting a couple of weeks, Kim Sun Ah left the project because she didn't want to keep waiting. Already, 2.8million dollars, a big sum by Korean movie standards, were spent on the movie and luckily, renowned actress Kim Yun Jin agreed to do the movie if they filmed it in a short period of time so they hired a new director, fixed the script to fit Kim's age and changed the title to 'Seven Days'.)

The movie focuses around Yoo Ji Yun(Kim Yun Jin), a very able lawyer with a 99percent success rate. Because of her busy career, Ji Yun has little time to spend with her 8 year old daughter. When her daughter's school has their annual sports meeting, Ji Yun comes to spend time with her daughter. But while Ji Yun participates in a 100 meter relay race, her daughter suddenly disappears. The next day, a phone call arrives. The mysterious caller says that she must free Jung Chul Jin, a convicted murderer accused of murder. The final trial is in seven days, and if Ji Yun doesn't free Jung, she'll never see her daughter again.

The concept itself is interesting. I can see why Hollywood bought the remake rights for one million dollars(a large sum by Korean movie industry standards), but it's like a stale cake. On the outside, it looks like a normal cake and is delicious. But after you eat it, you have a terrible stomach ache. I give this movie 6 stars because, it's very fresh in our movie industry, but the story itself is too, how can I say it, anyways, it could've had more depth.(I guessed who the kidnapper was as soon as his or her face appeared on-screen. It turns out to be the mother of the woman that was murdered by Jung Chul Jin.)

Can be better

[phebychow · 6/10 · 30 July 2020]

Seven days is decent but still lots of nonsensical plots Though I'm not familiar with Korean law, in this movie, finding a murder weapon is only way to prove guilty even though there are witness testimony, with circumstantial evidence as well as crime motive. In the end, the suspect finds not guilty. I can't believe it would happen! The triad boss changes mind and helps Yu ji-yeon which looks like tv drama and cheesy indeed.

Fortunately it gains credits for the lead actress performance. She acts well and expresses much maternal love when crazy running giving medicine to her girl, being totally breakdown after finding her girl. All is incredible good.

Seven Days is a knockout of a thriller!

[hiwhey · 9/10 · 29 October 2014]

Director Shin-Yeon Kim has used multiple cameras to accomplish the angles that he had incorporated into the film and the result is a lot of quick flashes and cuts that are very reminiscent of a Michael Bay film, truly fast-paced with the Hollywood feel, which impress all the way. The film's premise is smart and satisfying. A mother's love and a crime for a crime is the film's main theme; and fortunately, the director focused his sights mainly on the dramatic emotions being felt by Ji-Yeon and the victim's mother, Han Suk-Hie played by veteran actress Kim Mi-Suk. The two women are the main strengths of this thriller; both have given impressive performances and credible portrayals of their characters.

It's been a while since I have had a good time watching a film and I was impressed. The acting is superb, story tight with a few twists and turns,everything is not as it seems. All in all, this Korean murder mystery had a lot to offer.

What a waste...

[dc-1 · 5/10 · 9 April 2008]

I was eagerly anticipating the return of Kim Yoon-jin to Korean movies after her long absence due to the 'Lost' TV show. What I didn't anticipate what a tired, confused and ludicrous thriller she'd end up starring in; granted she was parachuted into the production at short notice but didn't she read the script first? Re-tread the well-worn elements of the CSI franchise, stretch them out to a painfully overwrought 2 hours, toss in so many nonsensical plot twists so as to induce migraine and you're pretty much there with 'Seven Days'. The movie starts off running, which is no bad thing (given how many kidnapping movies we'll all seen) but then proceeds to twist and turn like the coherence of a headless chicken. Single-dimension characters with 'plot function' written on their foreheads do not make for an engaging thriller and the less said about the incongruous opening title sequence that shamelessly apes 'Se7en' the better.

Korean movies can be big-scale (Taegukgi), they can be thrilling (Memories Of Murder), they can be bleak (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance) and still be excellent. 'Seven Days' is none of these; it's a nasty, crudely executed, schizophrenically edited and cack-handedly directed piece that wastes your time and the talents of Kim Yoon-jin.

A thoroughly enjoyable crime thriller

[azaanhaider · 10/10 · 30 October 2014]

Seven Days stars Yunjin Kim from the critically acclaimed T.V. show "Lost". It's about the fight for justice in the midst of corruption and I can definitely say is absolutely satisfying. The way the events play out and the way the film keeps the audience engrossed is a treat.

The Filmmaker does manage to bring some of the best traits from Hollywood into Korean Cinema. The production values are slick, with a gritty look and style which help to set up the mood and tone of the film. Violence has always been a problem with Korean films and here there is some but never to shock, more to elevate the story. The characters are believable and the film truly has some heartbreaking scenes.

One last thing : The twists keep coming and turning which will keep you on the edge of the seat. It's an interesting case unraveled.

Final note - Seven Days succeeds in combining the courtroom drama/criminal investigation with the kidnapping thriller sub-genre. It delivers two hours of solid entertainment and what more could you want?

It is an exciting story, but the lead actress and the storyline screwed it up

[bondblackberry · 5/10 · 3 June 2017]

I would give this film 9/10 if only the director chose the right actress and a better storyline. It is an exciting thriller movie. It starts with the kidnapping of a leading lawyer. The kidnapper claims her to take the case of a murder to release her daughter. The story revolves on what she does to fight the murder case. The lead actress in the movie plays the role of the lawyer. She is so pretty I would love to see her in many movies. But to play a major role in a thriller she just screwed it up. If she was like the lover/wife of the protagonist, then she would have been perfect. However, for this movie, you need a strong character, who has brains and bravery. For the whole movie, she acts like a housewife that is sentimental and more concerned about the kidnapped daughter. Again, such roles will fit with a concerned mother in a movie, but to be the lead role that too of a lawyer, she should have done better. At times, she looks dumbfounded, if not completely lost. To be precise, she is like a deer in a headlight. I wish the director chose someone better to play her role. Other than that, the side-kick to help her is good. He presents the perfect guy in the movies. The story has a mystery and I would recommend to people who love thrillers. But again if you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes or one who expects a cold detective, this movie will not satisfy your tastes. Here and there, there is useless emotion and sentiments. They are like speed breakers to thriller movies. Overall, it is fine.

Acting made me to take long breathe.

[shumukul · 8/10 · 5 December 2019]

The story is little bit slow. But it was a great movie to watch every seconds.

Every acting was so real.

Way too many stuff happening and yet feels so slow

[KineticSeoul · 5/10 · 12 January 2013]

This movie has elements that are not really coherent to the main plot and just drags things out. Such as the assumption scene that looks like it clearly came of that CSI show. The director that made this movie probably watched a lot of these thriller movie and mixed a lot of them together but it's just not effective. "Midnight FM" did a better job with it's execution with the mother looking for her kidnapped daughter scenarios although this came first. It's kinda obvious the director took ideas from other thrillers although that is my assuption and investigation TV shows which is fine but it's just not well blended. And comes together pretty darn lame and generic than cool and thrilling. The acting is just over the top for some characters and not believable including the direction. Yeah, this is a movie but for a movie like this if it went in a more realistic direction it would have been a upgrade. This movie just felt really dragged out with constant uninteresting scenarios that could have been shortened down. The twist at the end was alright though actually pretty good. And I did like is how it shows how some lawyers mentality can be driven by victory over if that person they are defending is guilty or not or visa versa. The thing is the story seems to be all over the place but not for good reason. This isn't awful but there are better thrillers worth watching.

5.8/10

Hard to say if this was a good movie...

[captain_astronaut · 5/10 · 15 January 2022]

...since it was shot and edited like garbage. So much palsy-cam, angles, and superimposed shots made it difficult to pay attention. It might have been an intriguing movie if the director hadn't been so preoccupied with jumping up and down on the bed shouting "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!"