The Pirates (2014): Swashbuckling on the Korean Seas

ByFabian Bullitt

2014 • Lee Seok-hoon • 2.39:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓

A product of the mid-2010s Korean wave of large-scale commercial productions that aimed to rival Hollywood spectacles in domestic markets, Lee Seok-hoon’s 2014 film The Pirates is an action-adventure epic that takes us back to the founding of the Joseon dynasty. The story follows pirates and bandits as they race to retrieve the royal seal swallowed by a whale.

Mixing swashbuckling adventure with historical fiction and slapstick comedy, the film is set against the backdrop of the blue sea under the red-hot yellow sun. All the genre’s hallmarks are present: big ships, battles at sea, trips to desert islands and government jails, and a massive whale at the heart of it all after eating the treasure everyone is seeking.

Big ambitions meant big visual effects. While not all of them were perfect or even on par with the ones from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, The Pirates still delivered the big blockbuster show it set out to be.

Technical Specs:

  • The Story: A rival band of pirates and bandits race across land and sea to capture a legendary whale believed to have swallowed a royal seal, turning the pursuit into a sprawling adventure driven by greed, loyalty, and spectacle. Read my review of The Pirates.
  • Actors: Sol Kyung-gu, Do Kyung-soo, Kim Hee-ae, Park Byung-eun, Jo Han-chul.
  • Director: Lee Seok-hoon
  • Year: 2014
  • Cinematographer: Kim Yeong-ho
  • Origin: Korean Cinema
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
  • Genre: Action & Adventure
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