Ma Dong-seok embraces mixed reviews for ‘Badland Hunters’
Actor Ma Dong-seok, also known as Don Lee, has built his repertoire in action genre, becoming one of the most sought-after action stars in Korea, especially since making a series of hits with the film series, “The Roundup.”
About a year after leading the third installment, “The Roundup: No Way Out,” to success, Ma returned with another actionpacked movie, “Badland Hunters,” on Netflix.
“The film is an action-centric entertainment flick rather than a story-driven one. I wanted people to enjoy it like a game when filming it. While domestic fans are important, I wanted to introduce an action-focused entertainment film as it is released worldwide,” the actor told The Korea Times, during an interview held at a cafe in Jongno District, Seoul, Thursday.
Netflix’s latest Korean original movie, which was released on Jan. 26, follows former boxer Nam San (Ma) living in Seoul, which turned into a wasteland after a major earthquake, with teenaged Choi ji-wan (Lee Joon-young). When another teenage neighbor, Han Su-na (No Jeong-ee), gets abducted by a mad scientist, he springs into action to save her.
The post-apocalyptic film is the directorial debut of filmmaker Heo Myeong-haeng, who worked as a stunt director in “The Roundup” series and the 2022 film “Hunt.“
Since hitting the platform, the film has garnered popularity, landing at the top of Netflix’s streaming chart for non-English films on the week of its release, accumulating 26 million hours of viewing.
Despite its successful performance, the film met with split reviews between praises for its cathartic, dynamic action sequences and criticisms on its weak plot and backstories of the characters.
The actor acknowledged the divided feedback, adding that he puts in his best effort with every project and tries not to get caught up on the results.
“All (of the reviews) are right. My previous film ‘Men of Plastic,’ resonated with people living in the area (the film’s based on) but others didn’t like it, so it didn’t do well at the box office. Nevertheless, I always give my best in each work. I will continue to create and take part in projects, but there will be ones that (audiences) find enjoyable and ones they don’t.”
The film began as an eight-page film treatment Ma had written about a sci-fi story. The film’s writer developed it into the movie’s script. He explained he chose to cut out the backstories on purpose to maintain a brisk, engaging pace and focus on action.
“In the original script, there were a lot of stories about the characters. So it was long but we can’t make a three-, four-hour-long action film, so we edited out to make it brief to make a game-like action movie,” he said.
“I know movies like this need a lot of explanation, but I wanted to emphasize the entertaining part of the film … Of course, there will be action films with a strong narrative and people who enjoy such movies. But personally, I love games and am currently working on an action game. So, I think there also should be action movies that people can enjoy like games.”
The actor showed great faith in the director, with whom he has worked closely for a long time. He expressed making Heo’s directorial debut with this film was meaningful.
“Heo’s action directorial style is not restrained but is designed accordingly to each character. He is such a smart director with a lot of ideas,” he said.
“He also pays a lot of attention to humor, and characters as well in creating action sequences. So, I believed he would excel in directing the whole picture as well. And, I hoped I could provide him with the opportunity to showcase that.”