Film critic Lee Dong-jin, known as the "idol of the criticism world," gave a high rating to the hot film "Hope" and was hit with not only various malicious comments but also suspicions.
Earlier Lee Dong-jin said on his personal blog that fake star ratings and one-line reviews that he did not write are circulating, saying, "Regarding the film 'Hope,' posts I did not write and star ratings I did not give are circulating chaotically. The only words or writings I have offered about 'Hope' so far are the sentence I wrote on this blog when announcing the untact talk," and he criticized, "I do not give star ratings before a film's release. Generally I post star ratings and one-line reviews on the first Saturday or Sunday after release. This happens repeatedly and feels increasingly frequent whenever a highly anticipated film is about to be released. Not only about film reviews, but there are often cases where I am criticized by people I have never even met about things I did not do or situations I do not know about. A world in which fakes overwhelm the real is also changing increasingly quickly in the direction that makes that easy. No matter how complicated and tiring it is, an attitude of not making snap judgments or blaming others in the face of suspicious situations is needed."
Later, on the 19th he left a real one-line review on his blog while giving 'Hope' four stars out of five, saying it was a "movie that boldly races amid a grotesque chaos, the entire film is a gigantic crescendo."
However, 'Hope' is currently a movie that divides general audiences' likes and dislikes extremely. The post drew more than 220 comments and a flood of opinions. Above all, some internet users who criticized 'Hope' raised various suspicions beyond saying they were "disappointed" because Lee Dong-jin's generous rating differed from their own views, and malicious comments did not stop.
Eventually Lee Dong-jin himself posted a long explanation and rebuttal titled "This world is still."
He opened with "I write again," and said he judged again that even if he wanted to look away, this is the world he lives in and this is the job he chose, so no matter how tired and fed up he is, it is better to write. He apologized for raising dust."
Lee Dong-jin said, "I am not close with director Na Hong-jin. All I have done regarding 'The Wailing' and 'Hope' is meet him at public events for interviews or GVs. I have never shared a cup of coffee with him. I don't even know his phone number," and he retorted, "People ask if I rated it highly because it's Na Hong-jin and his name value, but my praise for 'Hope' is unrelated to who the director is. What would you say about the fact that when I first heard the name Na Hong-jin and watched his first work The Chaser and his second film Yellow Sea, made when he had just shed his rookie status, I rated them both highly?"
He mentioned star ratings for films such as I Saw The Devil, Wonderland, Veteran 2, Alien+Human, and Byunsan, saying he did not prioritize personal relationships. In fact, I Saw The Devil has two stars, Byunsan has two stars, Alien+Human part 2 has two and a half stars, and Veteran 2 has two stars, among very low ratings.
He said he did not rate 'Hope' highly because the Korean film industry is in a difficult situation or because Megabox is in crisis. He also firmly denied the persistent claim that he gives an extra half star because a film is Korean. He said, "The nationality of a film is completely irrelevant to evaluation. You can recall that in the past 10 years there have been only three Korean films to which I gave a full five-star rating, but there have been two to four foreign films each year that received five stars."
Lee Dong-jin said, "I did not give a high rating because I was being cautious. If I had to be cautious, it would probably be for one of two main reasons," citing economic reasons and social life. But he said there is no reason to choose 'Hope' for economic reasons to do a GV, and that he did not praise 'Hope' in order to do a GV. He added that he practically has no social life to an excessive degree, and is troubled by that, saying, "Except for broadcast work, I hardly have any social life with people in the film industry. So who on earth would I be trying to please? What reason would there be to be cautious?"
Finally, critic Lee Dong-jin said the reason he rated 'Hope' highly is that "despite its flaws, it has such powerful strengths that outweigh them; it's a charming, original and fun film," and added, "If you still don't know the reason and still ask why this film is good, you simply dislike hearing me say I like a film you dislike. Film can be someone's life and fate, but it can also just be a film. So after watching one film, why ridicule or get so angry?" expressing his lament.
Meanwhile, Lee Dong-jin also praised in the past when acting controversy arose over Top in the Netflix series Squid Game 2, saying, "Actually I belong to the side that thinks Choi Seung-hyun's acting suited the role. One especially condensed, very grotesque image of season 2 was when he swings around making a 'ringaringaring' sound while folding his arms and only two people turn. Everyone else is terrified, but those two behave so strangely before death that you wonder what they are doing. I thought that was one of Squid Game 2's core images. That scene gives a strange pleasure. In that respect, I thought the acting suited the role, though tastes differ and I seem to be somewhat in the minority," offering praise.
[photo] 'Hope' still cut, SNS
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