Kim Kyeong-su, a frequent assault offender and new student at his 9th high school, has one last chance for success, so he decides to set restraints on his temper. Unfortunately, his new school happens to revolve around the martial arts expertise of its students. A “Great Teacher” war took place in this post-apocalyptic world, leaving the school in chaos, while a legend circulated, speaking of a secret manuscript that would endow the owner with the power to create peace. While he attempts to win over the most beautiful girl in the school (and head of the Kendo club for kicks), and deals with the emergence of new oppressive teachers stopping the students’ mad rushes for power, Kyeong-su finds himself questioning his role and the responsibilities of his powers.
Calling his powers ‘subtle’ does not quite cut it. When he’s not engaging in all out energy projectile hurling showdowns, Kyeong-su enjoys the complete control of water, a variety of other unintelligible CGI enhanced traits and long walks on the beach. He is not your average high school student, but this is not your average high school either.
Volcano High’s premise seems to transpose a typical wu-xia premise --civil war between small clans seeking unification-- to the more modern setting of a dystopian high-school. As a result, the best scenes are the ones that take advantage of this ridiculous world of school clubs vying for power. There’s an undeniable pleasure in seeing a Kendo club stand off on their own, or join forces with the Rugby Club to defeat the Weightlifting club in a complicated set of alliances. It’s nostalgic, high school fantasy manga material, where kids fight in school, challenge the best, leap exorbitant distances and inexplicably use fantastic powers.
The lighter, first act accentuates these traits and drops Kyeong-su, the new student, into a number of funny situations where he must deal with the school’s overabundance of quirky characters. The film fails to provide as many laughs as it intends, but the intense over-acting and corny humor can often bring a smile to your face.
However, when the world-building is finished and the plot makes its way to the inevitable conflict, the appeal dissipates, the wide range of memorable characters lose their charm, and the film is barely maintained by the occasional goofiness of Jang Hyuk’s performance.
The action has the right tempo and energy, but it suffers from its incorporation of awkward CGI and poor wirework. It attempts to mimic The Matrix and other slick Hollywood films, but the sloppy result lacks the polish of its influences. The glossy cinematography helps enhance the visuals, but the cheesy effects muddle up the film’s intentions. It appears too earnest to be campy, yet too amateurish to be taken seriously.
Director Kim Tae-gyun makes an ambitious effort with this vision of a high-school wu-xia film, (and deserves credit for paving the way for future Korean action cinema), but as far as the film goes, it lacks a certain emotional center and professionalism necessary for the audience to buy into it all. Perhaps the the recut American hip-hop dubbed version of the film might have more to offer.
Reviewed by Tarun
