"Hope" REVIEW

Published on 9/18/2026 

Written by: Braylon Mitchell 

Directed by: Na Hong-jin 

Cast: Hwang Jung-min, Hoyeon, Zo In-sung, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, etc. 

Plot: A mysterious discovery is made on the outskirts of the remote harbor town. The residents find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against something they have never encountered before. 

REVIEW 

My thoughts on "Hope" are some of the most conflicting I've had on a film all year. On one hand, this is a messy film that in one of the stupidest movie endings in years decides to drop onto you that after its nearly three-hour runtime this is only the first half of a larger story and on top of that has some truly terrible visual effects. On the other hand, this is one of the coolest, most exciting, and excellently crafted action flicks I've seen in many years. Having played in competition earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival, this film walks the fine line between being something lovingly artistic in its eagerness to lend itself to such a large scope of boldly creative action filmmaking and blatantly commercial in its generic high-octane storytelling desperate to set up a franchise of future stories. This film's screenplay is where a lot of its issues stem. Not just its expository nature, the overall progression of the narrative is bumpy, cutting between the perspective of a character in the town and a character deep in the woods, working towards barely any sense of development with these characters or a solid reason to care. The only somewhat compelling emotional arc that is established throughout the film is a curious sense of empathy to understand more about the aliens and why they're here. If only there was more of a cohesive focus on that. Ultimately, this is a film where its plot and characters play second fiddle to the action, direction, and camera-work. Na Hong-jin is a bold and glaringly capable filmmaker; his intense direction of this film is stellar—very much influenced by American and South Korean greats of the blockbuster and monster-movie fields, yet very much his own brand in terms of cutting edge visual inventiveness. Hong-jin's direction, the camera-work, and impressive production value make this a film that's a marvel to watch unfold. For much of the film, it is nonstop action in seemingly nonstop one takes. There's a chase sequence involving a man trying to jump from a horse into a moving car that had me genuinely on the edge of my seat with a giddy little smile and giggling to myself like a schoolgirl. That sequence in particular is worth the price of admission alone; I don't feel overly zealous in proclaiming it's one of the best action sequences I've ever seen. There we are, at the core of my confliction over this film. This is one of the coolest adrenaline rushes of a film I've seen in a long time. It's also deeply flawed, laughably so at times. "Hope" is one of a kind. 

THREE BEST ELEMENTS

• The cinematography. Very impressive, showy cinematography. A lot of NEON's social media marketing over the past few months has been simply displaying glimpses into behind the scenes of the complex camera-rigs required to pull off the film's MANY insane oners. Nothing gets film fans more riled up than a good, elaborate oner and this film feels like it's comprised primarily of them. They look and feel fantastic. 

• The production design. There are entire streets, shops, restaurants, barns, etc that alongside feeling lived in and full of detail, are absolutely thrashed. The film is comprised almost entirely of massive set pieces of destruction, chaos that looks incredibly convincing. 

• Michael Abels' score. Abels' has such a strong knack for high energy, intense scores that get your heart pumping fast, and his score for this film is more excellent work. There are a few moments that come to mind where in the midst of some of the most exciting action sequences you'll ever see, you hear Abels' trumpets start blaring and the high of that cinematic harmony of a score matching the scene perfectly can only be described as immensely satisfying. 

WORST ELEMENT 

• The visual effects/CGI. I have to once again mention, that the visual effects/CGI of the aliens look terrible. When the aliens run at full speed, it looks like one of those Ray Harryhausen claymation skeletons from "Jason and the Argonauts"—which looks laughably bad for a big budget action blockbuster in 2026 that wants to be taken completely seriously. The effects look like they belong in a PS3 game from 2009. After its premiere at Cannes where its effects were torn apart by critics, I thought that they'd possibly be tweaked or re-done entirely before its wide release, but apparently that's not the case or if it was, it wasn't enough. 

RATING

7/10

Ultimately I'd happily recommend it, buddy!