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Following the disastrous performance of CJ’s high profile releases last year, such as Sector 7 and My Way, the assumption was that the company was going to rethink it’s approach to blockbusters by focussing more on mid-level projects. Perhaps this is the case but I suppose R2B: Return to Base was already in production at this stage so they just grit their teeth and got on with it. It certainly feels that way as this new late summer action film feels like it was thrown together. What was initially a remake of the classic Shin Sang-ok feature Red Muffler (1964) starring Rain, the king of K-pop, wound up as a half-assed attempt at emulating an enormously popular and kitschy 80s American classic.
Earlier this week we were all shocked to hear of Tony Scott’s suicide, one of Hollywood’s most dependable directors. He made many great action films over the last 20 years but he will most likely be remembered for Top Gun (1986), the film, which among other things, made Tom Cruise a superstar. Rain may have been voted Time’s Most Influential Person of the Year three years running by his adoring fans, but his screen presence pales in comparison. Love him or hate him (I consider myself among the former) there’s no denying Cruise’s charm. This is what made Top Gun such a hit and is part of the reason why R2B is D.O.A.
