While seeking a legendary, time-bending blade, two Goryeo-era shamans cross paths with modern-era people hunting down a dangerous alien concealed inside a human’s body.
In this over-the-top, two-and-a-half-hour juggernaut, you get a variety of popular Asian references and influences. From the Looney Tunes-stylized Wuxia to its anime aesthetics, “Alienoid” seems to take its biggest influence from Stephen Chow’s “Kung Fu Hustle,” in which a down-on-his-luck petty criminal becomes destined to master Kung Fu and faces a cartoonish rogue’s gallery of villains.
“Alienoid” is, without a doubt, the craziest film of 2022. Set in two time periods, the characters time travel back and forth between the Goryeo Dynasty in 1380 AD and the present day. The bonkers plot concerns aliens and an ancient magical sword that gifts powers to whoever wields it. Writer/Director Choi Dong-hoon also works with Hollywood science-fiction influences like “The Terminator,” with robots time traveling and a young child possibly being a future savior.
In “Alienoid”’s robust plot, an alien enforcer clad in an Iron Man-esque suit known as Guard and his robotic sidekick named Thunder travel back in time to stop an evil alien known as The Collector from imprisoning aliens that could lead to humanity’s destruction. Guard is handsome, disguised as a man; Thunder is his wise-cracking flying robot that can do quite a few tricks. The duo ends up rescuing a baby girl from the past and she is taken to the present day.
Now back to the 14th Century: A clumsy Taoist wizard searches for a magical blade while discovering his powers along the way. His fan is illustrated with cats that can be summoned and shape-shift into fighting humans. The fan is also capable of conjuring various objects like Mary Poppins could with her enchanted purse. The wizard meets friends and foes during his quest that contains screwball set pieces with some innovative ideas.
“Alienoid”’s villain, The Collector, punishes aliens from his distant planet by imprisoning them in human hosts on Earth, whose mortal bodies will decay. Further anime influence is shown when The Collector uses scores of tentacles to capture aliens. The film’s best character is Lee Ahn, played by Tae-ri Kim who starred in Park Chan-Wook’s “The Handmaiden.” Lee Ahn also time travels to the 14th century wearing period-appropriate attire, but armed with a modern pistol.
“Alienoid”’s outrageous action and the absurdity mostly pay off. Unfortunately, the film’s technical aspects like coherent structure and scene transitions are routinely ignored. Not like that is always a bad thing.
I certainly appreciate genre-blending and ambitious risk-taking, but there is simply too much story and characters to enjoy until it slightly comes together at the very end. Of course, “Alienoid”’s ending sets up a sequel hoping to launch a franchise. If comedic high-flying Wuxia wizards and heroic robots battling aliens is your thing, check this out.
Available on Blu-ray™, DVD, and Digital HD December 6th
