Review: Shark: The Beginning

Manhwa and other South Korean media regularly feature some truly brutal depictions of bullying, and Shark: The Beginning is no different; following the classic narrative of a bullied underdog rising to the occasion of his own volition. Stories like this one have a strong tendency for fights, a training arc, and any successes rooted in the power of friendship—which is a tried-and-true recipe for having a good time. While I haven't read Shark, the webtoon, the experience is very true to comic-style storytelling in terms of pacing and editing, so I'm inclined to think not too many liberties were taken in trying to make its movie adaptation into something else completely, as such productions are wont to do.

Shark: The Beginning opens with Cha Woosol (Kim Minsuk), a severely bullied teenager, faced with the primary source of his middle school torment, Bae Seokchan (Jung Wonchang), transferring to his high school. Seokchan is an established boxer, and he doesn't waste a moment in claiming his title as Mean Boy Who Rules The School by beating up on a few of his new classmates, Woosol included. Woosol, however, takes an opportunity to stand up for himself—and it costs Seokchan his right eye.

His trial concludes that it wasn't an act of self-defense, more like attempted murder, so Woosol is sentenced to a couple years in juvenile prison. With awareness that Seokchan will be waiting for his release and suffering at the bottom of the food chain while he's imprisoned, Woosol seeks the help of former MMA champion Jung Dohyun (Wi Hajoon), who's in for the deaths of his family's murderers. Dohyun reluctantly agrees, and there begins a training montage that mimics the '80s action film industry—as well as a friendship that inspires Woosol to keep moving forward as the titular shark in question.

This one is a movie that rules when it rules, yet still has some weird story shifts. Between moments of heavy tension, there are long scenes of Woosol becoming friends with his prison peers that aren't really related to the overall plot, more like just a nice extra thing—it's not entirely hopeless, he's getting stronger and making friends along the way. In that way, it gets a little corny, but it's mostly endearing—just a few of these sequences went on for way too long. 

While the story ebbs and flows, Shark: The Beginning shines in its fight choreography and editing, of which there is plenty to see if you like that sort of thing (I do). That with the performances of our main three cast carry the production overall, not to mention the ever-popular topic of bullying as their backdrop. While the target audience is definitely adolescent boys, nobody is too cool for a story where the little guy beefs up until he's able to rival, or beat, his oppressor.

Edited by Rashelle B.