Kim Hyun-joo becomes an AI fighter in Netflix film Jung

Kim Hyun-joo becomes an AI fighter in Netflix film Jung_E

by missvictrix

Confession time: I knew about upcoming film Jung_E for a while, but it only started interesting me as of last week. And that isn’t because it’s directed by the much-loved creator Yeon Sang-ho (Hellbound, Train to Busan, etc.). It isn’t because it has a Netflix CGI budget behind it, or because it’s a futuristic dystopic sci-fi. It’s purely because of Kim Hyun-joo and how much I’m loving her in her currently airing drama Trolley. (If Trolley hasn’t been on your radar, do check it out.)

But back to the future: Jung_E is set in 2194, and in a similar premise to Netflix’s The Silent Sea, the earth has been ravaged, which has caused humanity to seek solutions in space. We first see Kim Hyun-joo’s character as mom to an ailing child. When she goes on a dangerous mission, it looks like she winds up becoming the prototype of an AI warrior army. (How eerie is that shot of clones of her all lined up?)

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From the trailer and the premise and the amount of CGI involved in this movie, I think we can all expect an action sci-fi with a high cool factor. But will the movie linger in its futuristic space station setting and rely on big guns and big robots to be exciting? Or, will the story be able to layer in some poignant questions about humanity, freedom, and love?

I’ve got my fingers crossed for the latter, and the official trailer gives us reason to hope. We see our AI warrior experiencing emotions and agonizing physical pain — the opposite of what you’d expect (or want) from an AI clone army. My bet is on the fact that her true self is still “alive” via whatever brain cloning has occurred, and even though she’s been built into a computer program instead of flesh and blood, her humanity will still shine through. But on the off-chance that’s not the story we get, at least we’ll have a sci-fi action movie with a Sarah Connor-esque character to enjoy. I love a mom-heroine who also knows her way around an armory.

Jung_E releases on Netflix on January 20, and also stars Kang Soo-yeon (Jury) and Ryu Kyung-soo (Glitch).