The body swap concept is one that has been done to death in Asian cinema to various degrees of success. However, most of the time, it has been used in the romance or comedy genres. Director yoon Jae-geun, for his first film in 11 years since “Heartbeat”, takes the plot device and places it in the action thriller setting.
“Spiritwalker” is screening at New York Asian Film Festival
A man wakes up at a car accident, having no memory of who he is or how he got there. The face he carries is also not his own, but he is unknown to the fact until 12 hours later, when he changes into a different body. Every 12 hours, he moves to a different body, all the while with several men from the government and gangs on his tail. Who exactly is he? His skills seem to suggest he has special ops training. Who are the people he jumps into the body of? Are they random or somehow connected? How and why are these jumps happening? As he tries to make sense of his situation, the man gets thrust further into a very complicated scandal that involves drugs, illegal immigrants, surveillance and deceit.
Amnesia has often been a key element in actions films and Yoon Jae-keun's work also makes use of it to an entertaining effect here. The protagonist's dilemma of trying to recall who he is while moving bodies is however a unique one and puts a fresh spin not just on the memory loss notion but on body swap too. The issue of identity, of course, is a key theme here as the hero tries to hold on to tiny threads to figure out his own true self, to emotions and memories that make him “him”. This is all rather high-concept in nature but Yoon doesn't aim to rewrite the genre rulebook here and besides a few minor plotholes, manages to make the straight-forward story narration flow at a fast pace. Throw in one of Korean cinema's favourite element, bureaucratic corruption, and it results in a decent mix.
“Spiritwalker” comes to life as soon as the action sequences start. Hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, car chases, foot chases- you name it, “Spiritwalker” has got it and got it good. If the close quarters fight sequence remind of the similarly amnesia themed The Bourne series, the large-scale action set pieces show off the production's lavish scope. In general, the feature's cinematography follows Hollywood standards but plays a big part in heightening the impact of the action sequences by keeping flowing camera movements and minimal edits which help highlight the stunt work. The climactic shootout particularly underlines these aspects well, in addition to showing off the impressive action choreography. The music also has an adequate but familiar feel, reminding of similar works in the genre.
Yoon Kye-sang was last seen in an action film as the antagonist in the smash-hit “The Outlaws” and the producers of that film clearly saw merit in his performance there, casting him in yet another production of theirs here. If his performance doesn't have the dramatic effect that it did in the 2017 film, he fares a lot better in the action department. His portrayal of the confused man figuring out many things at once is believable and Yoon makes him likeable and easy to follow around, but it stops short of being memorable. The action, however, ensures that his work here remains impactful. Lim Ji-yeong gets a couple action sequences herself as Moon Jin-ah, the mysterious woman our protagonist's story is somehow tied to. Park Yong-woo is mostly watchable as the antagonist Park, but an odd writing choice near the end makes the character, and thus Park's performance, lose necessary gravitas.
Korean cinema seems to be on a mission to reinvent and make a name for itself in the action genre in recent years. “Spiritwalker” successfully manages to be an absorbing watch that takes an overused plot device and gives it a fresh spin and, in the process, manages to have its name registered alongside the select few impressive productions in the genre in recent years from the country.
