How many movies out there can claim a unique mixture of action, comedy, thrills, mystery, and history? Well, CJ Entertainment’s newest release, entitled “The King’s Case Note,” can definitely make that claim! This very interesting and laughable movie leaves you with a full range of emotions that makes it definitely worth viewing!
“The King’s Case Note” is an Adventure-Comedy set during the Historical Joseon Period in Korea. Directed by Moon Hyung-Sung, this movie follows the story of a very dynamic pairing as they work together to solve a mystery! This dynamic duo just so happens to be King Yejong and his uniquely talented, historical records keeper Yi-Seo. The two work together to solve a mysterious rumor about the king that has been springing up around the country.
The leading character, King Yejong, played by the well-rounded actor Lee Sun-Kyun, is the current king of Korea whom the court and citizens have started to believe is none too capable for his job as the king! King by day and detective by night, Yejong hires his new records keeper Yi-Seo (Ahn Jae-Hong) to ultimately solve the mysterious rumor together!
Yi-Seo was hired under the idea that he has a gift that makes him unique— that gift being his ability to hone into his five senses! The king gets him to use his gift to memorize the number of dragon scales on the ceiling. After a number of hits to the head by the king, Yi-Seo is able to use his gift, leading him to be called by the nickname “Five Senses” throughout the rest of the movie!
One day, a scarecrow is mysteriously put up in the middle of town with a scripture under it, following an ongoing rumor that the king was to be dethroned to put his twelve-year-old nephew, Prince Jaesong (Uhm Ji-sung) in charge! In the events and investigation that follow, the talented king— along with Yi-Seo of course— is able to deduce that there is trouble in the Northern Province Hamgil, which seems to be riddled with an abundance or Iron Ore.
This later leads to the mysterious “ghost fish,” an object which, at the time, could connect to the idea of a royal downfall! As the king goes head first, literally, to attack the fish, Yi-Seo uses his special gift to find out there is more to the eye than a simple ol’ “ghost fish.”
The clues start to fall in place as the viewers are treated to explosions, a fake psychic, kidnappings, and tea. The action mixes well with the portions of comedy, making for a movie you wished could last longer! The duo themselves show amazing chemistry as their opposing personalities blend together. An awkward, baby-faced “newbie” on his first few days of work mixes well with the charismatic king who seems to be more interested in science and the art of illusion than the usual business of a king. Combine that with a bad guy from the court who is only focused on dethroning the king, and you are left with an interesting onscreen story!
Despite the comedic moments— which leaves viewers wanting to watch an entire movie of just the two main characters bantering— the film has a lot of surprisingly serious moments as well. The movie itself also leaves room for many surprising reveals, along with some not so surprising ones as well! Together, the movie has so many different aspects that it just makes for a very “refreshing” historical movie to watch!
Based on the comic “The King’s Case Book” by Heo Yoon-Mi, who was also the writer for the movie, the film really works on making the comic come to life! This movie is definitely one of the most unique Korean movies to come out of 2017. I would rank this movie a 9 out of 10!
From serious fight scenes to sad scenes that made you want to cry, from high intensity brink-of-death moments to the comedic moments of a very funny duo that could bloom into a great bromance, this movie offers a little bit of everything to please a wide variety of viewers. It offered so much and was so good there is no way I could give it anything lower! The only reason the movie does not rank a full 10 stars in my books is that the intense scenes could have been slightly more intense and the sad scenes even sadder. If that had been the case, I definitely would have upped the movie to a full 10/10! It’s definitely a great watch for anyone and will leave you wanting more!
Have you seen the movie yet? Let us know how you felt about it! Were you able to solve the mystery? What about the duo— were you as entertained as we were?
The movie is still currently showing in select theaters, so make sure to check it out! You can also watch the trailer below!
Ceilidhmh is a dancing machine, but when she isn’t dancing to groups like VIXX, Boyfriend, BTS, EXO, or BAP (and basically every other group that exists) she is either watching a Korean drama, cosplaying, filming, studying for her college classes, and or creating fan art! Basically K-pop has taken over her life for many years… Although she loves boy groups the most, she finds herself falling for every K-pop group she comes in contact with and falls deeper and deeper every day.
Media: As Credited