Masquerade (2012)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Great Korean movie, fantastic writing, loved the actors, and it truly was good at being emotional!

As has been pointed out by other reviewers, this story is a new spin on "The Prince and the Pauper." It actually reminded me, however, of the American movie "Dave," in that the protagonist is a naive pawn whose empathy allows him to rise to the occasion, including finding love in the chaos.Byung-hun Lee is simply an amazing actor. Having seen his "dark" side in movies like "A Bittersweet Life" and "I Saw the Devil," I was very pleased to see he could handle the role of Ha-Seon with such a light touch. It was a joy to see him effortlessly shift from hilarious toilet humor to inspiring leader. I was particularly struck with the scenes where he interacted with commoners, in which I really felt the empathy Ha-Seon felt for them.This is the first of director Chang-min Choo's movies I've seen, and I was impressed at how he was able to seamlessly balance the light and serious scenes in the movies. To often, one or the other seems forced, but here Choo creates a character who grows and changes, but still remains, at heart, the same, good person he was at the beginning -- the kind of person who, by the end of the story, could be happy and believable as a king or a pauper. I think Choo also gave the movie a more intimate feel by focusing on one-on-one conversations and limiting the normal "cast of thousands" you often see in period pieces about kings.Overall, the acting was top notch -- particularly from Hyo-ju Han as the Queen and Hyo-ju Han as Minister Do -- and the costumes and set design were beautiful.Masquerade is an engaging and charming period piece with humor, action, and romance.

I have to say this was a great historical Korean movie. I am an avid watcher of Korean movies and dramas. Byung Hun Lee has been a favorite for the longest and he never disappoints. Byung plays both roles beautifully. As the cold hearted, ruthless more on the crazy and unpredictably King and as the kind hearted street performer. Knowing it is Byung playing both roles, I often forgot and utterly hated the real king and loved the " fake" king. That is how you know one is great in his craft and a superb actor, highly underrated in Hollywood. It would be a waste to type cast him in Hollywood as the bad guy always. He truly in a gem!!

Gwanghae, The Man Who Became King, distributed internationally as Masquerade, is billed by its distributors as a "2012 Korean Historical Movie version of Mark Twain's 'The Prince & Pauper'". I saw it on 22 September 2012 at CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles' Koreatown, a reliable local venue for the latest Korean film releases.Last seen two years ago as a secret agent opposite Choi Min-sik's superhuman sociopath in Kim Jee-woon's superb neo-Elizabethan revenge tragedy I Saw the Devil, Lee Byung-hun plays both titular characters: Prince Gwanghae, the ill-fated fifteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty, and Ha-sun, the lowly comedian pressed into service as a stand-in for the monarch who faces the threat of assassination. This speculative fiction draws upon an episode in the eighth year of Gwanghaegun's reign, when the court chronicles recorded his saying, "Do not put on record what is meant to be hidden", followed by two weeks' worth of missing entries. The central conceit of the plot is that the king's loyal and able adviser Heo Gyun (Ryoo Seung-Ryong) forced Ha-sun to impersonate Gwanghaegun while he recovered a coma after an apparent poisoning attempt. While this contemptuous potentate starts out by micromanaging his puppet through his official court functions, he soon develops an appreciation of Ha-sun's patriotic and humanitarian concerns for the kingdom and its subjects. Meanwhile, the head of an opposing Greater Northerner faction, Park Chung-seo (Kim Myung-gon), the Queen Consort Lady Ryu (Han Hyo-joo), and the king's bodyguard Captain Do (Kim In Kwon), all become suspicious of the sudden shift in the king's behavior.Said to have been filmed in the real historical palaces in Seoul, the movie combines lavish mise en scène with competent direction of fine actors playing strong characters in a familiar story. While not quite Kagemusha caliber, being far more affected than Kurosawa's masterwork, it makes for a compelling spectacle in its own right, marred slightly by Ha-sun's tendency to emote by shedding tears on demand. The climactic confrontation between Captain Do and a band of assassins dispatched by the recovered king to retire his stand-in with extreme prejudice, is especially notable as a vivid illustration of the vital difference between slashes and cuts in a sword-fight. I recommend it to all fans of international costume drama.