Kang Hyoung-chul’s Hi-Five brings together a quintet of randos to help uncover a layer of superhuman abilities after each receiving an organ transplant by the same donor. What follows is a mystery uncovered by the malfeasant actions of a cult leader who also happens to be a transplant recipient himself.
Underlying this premise, per Kang’s script, is a deeper concept illustrated from the moment the film starts. A man with a tattoo on his lifeless arm is seen rushed into a hospital, and from that point on, and as the group socializes in between various events where they find themselves in perilous situations saving one another, or other, the film also hints at a spate of images of cave markings pertinent to the tattoos of our characters. Sadly, not much of these origins are explored or are made clear, much less the initial corpse that bared the organs allocated to our heroes and villain.
This basically leaves all of the focus on the current storyline which, in all fairness, is where Kang has the most fun. The cast of characters included, we meet our protagonists: Wan-seo (Lee Jae-in), Ji-seong (Ahn Jae-hong), Sun-nyeo (Ra Mi-ran), Ki-dong (Yoo Ah-in), and Yak-su (Kim Hee-won). The group slowly begins assembling the moment Wan-seo and Ji-seong meet, and each person contribute something cool and palatable to the story as they discover their respective abilities.
There’s also Jung-min (Oh Jung-se), Wan-seo’s overprotective, albeit endearing father, and Taekwondo instructor who will stop at nothing to keep the TKD-proficient Wan-seo out of harm’s way if he can help it. Hilarity ensues as Jung-min’s concern often does nothing for his obliviousness, whether it’s Wan-seo’s powers, or the fact that she doesn’t have any friends despite the reality he’s constructed in his head.
The rest of the team-to-be, much like Wan-seo, each have their own struggles as well, which serve as ample character moments for something transformative and meaningful as the film plays out. We first see this when Ji-seong and Ki-dong start butting heads as the team frequently parlay over superhero mythos and how they can be up to par as potential heroes themselves, even coming with superhero names in the process.
Meeting our characters halfway is the enigmatic Young-chun (Shin Goo), whose ambitions take on a terrorizing evolution the second he discovers his own superpowers. When his daughter Choon-hwa (Jin Hee-kyung) discovers the unique connection between her father and the team at large, it’s only a matter of time before the team is faced with an even greater threat than Young-chun in his current form, which is where co-star Park Jin-young comes in.
I won’t go into how that casting bodes for the rest of film, but I can assert that Kang’s Hi-Five is a sure popcorn blast. He does a better job at cohesing the team than he does the concept as a whole, and he dresses it firmly in a score of popular songs that will have you dancing in your seat. There’s a car chase midway in the film which was an absolute blast to watch, and if you’ve never seen a “super Taekwondo” fight in a movie, leave it to Hi-Five to make this a first for you.
Invariably, the film’s CG will be a hit-or-miss for folks who are usually nitpicky about that sort of thing. Beyond that, Hi-Five proffers some truly fun character moments and poignant development along the way, topped off with a little extra for folks looking for something different and equally mirific in today’s current superhero movie crop. And not for nothing either, but as Korea’s fourth highest-grossing film of the year, I’d be open to a Hi-Five sequel.
Hi-Five enjoyed its Quebec Premiere at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival. The film is currently available in the U.S. from Well Go USA.