Watch Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days
- NR
- 2018
- 2 hr 21 min
-
7.1 (9,423)
Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days is the second installment in the Along With The Gods franchise from Korea. Following on from the first film, it is a fantastical tale of life, death, and rebirth, imbued with folklore and spiritual teachings. The movie opens with the three guardians of the afterlife, Gang-rim (played by Ha Jung-woo), Haewonmak (Ju Ji-Hoon), and Lee Deok-choon (Kim Hyang-gi), continuing their work guiding and protecting souls through the seven trials of the afterlife. Their mission is to help the deceased gain admission to the afterlife and move on from their earthly existence.
We follow these three guardians as they embark on a new mission, which takes them on a journey spanning the living and the dead worlds. This mission is to help a young man, Soo-hong (played by Kim Dong-wook), who has narrowly escaped death and must solve the mystery of his own past to give himself a chance at new life.
As the story unfolds, we get flashes of Soo-hong's past, and we understand that he has been carrying a heavy burden of guilt from a time before he died. Sharing this burden with him are two other characters who are living on the fringes of society: a homeless man and a mute beggar boy. These three characters are searching for each other, to find resolution to their individual tragedies.
The guardians are accompanied through their journey by a watchful and enigmatic female spirit, Seongju (played by Ye Soo-jung), who seems to have a personal connection with Gang-rim, the leader of the guardians. As they descend deeper into Soo-hong's unresolved past, they enter a series of trials, each one designed to test the young man's strength, bravery, and wisdom. These trials are visually stunning and imaginative, ranging from a fight with a giant demon who possesses the spirit of Soo-hong's father, to an underwater expedition to retrieve a lost artifact.
As the story progresses, we learn more about the lives of the guardians and their own struggles, beliefs, and doubts. These elements add depth and emotional resonance to the film, and the bond between the guardians and their mission becomes more complex and poignant. The theme of redemption is explored through Soo-hong's story, as well as through that of the guardians and the other characters they encounter.
Overall, Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days is an epic adventure that combines action, humor, and spirituality in a unique and captivating way. The performances from the cast, especially Ha Jung-woo, Ju Ji-Hoon, and Kim Hyang-gi are stellar, and the visual effects are breathtaking. Director Kim Yong-hwa has created a cinematic universe that is expansive and full of wonder, populated with memorable characters and inventive scenarios.
The movie is a beautiful and moving exploration of the human condition, with an emphasis on the role of compassion, courage, and sacrifice in our lives. Its message of hope and the belief in the power of love to overcome even the most insurmountable obstacles is a universal and timeless one. Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days is a must-watch film for anyone who seeks an engrossing and thought-provoking cinematic experience.
Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days is a 2018 action movie with a runtime of 2 hours and 21 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.1.