Popular reviews

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  Review by davidehrlich ★★½ 1

  In a very strange coincidence — or a concerted act of counterprogramming — the smallest superhero movie in recent memory hit Netflix on the same day that the biggest superhero movie ever made exploded into theaters. And while “Psychokinesis” was inevitably subsumed into the endless shadow of “Avengers: Infinity War” (the most ambitious crossover event of all time!), this exuberant Korean import is convincing proof that the genre doesn’t always have to be about saving the world, or guarding the galaxy, or stopping a purple space Brolin from snapping his fingers and erasing half of humanity.

  When enough spandex is involved, high stakes can be Kryptonite for good storytelling. Even in the monolithic Marvel Cinematic Universe, many of the best…

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  Review by Lexi 𐙚 ★★★

  The way one has to have superpowers just to have a possibility of winning over evil people with money and power. With the way how justice is so hard to attain in our real world? Yeah, I get it :(

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  Review by YI JIAN ★★★½ 6

  This movie is a delight, suffers from a few pacing problems and awkward tone shifts here and there but still deserves just as much affection as Train to Busan in my opinion. Love, love, love Jung yu-mi as the eccentric villain, would be absolutely wonderful if I can see her in more unusual roles like this, or just more of her in any role to be honest. A sequel, perhaps? Hmm?

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  Review by adambolt ★★★

  Advantage: Gaining telekinetic power

  Downside: Having to look constipated while using it

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  Review by rachel ★★★★

  yeon sang-ho PLEASE make some more films

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  Review by nick atkinson ★★★

  Just a solid superhero movie about a deadbeat dad trying to make amends with his daughter by helping her with his newfound powers. They tried to build tension which I felt never really worked and they all make rather questionable choices to benefit the storyline, but seeing the guy use his powers (and get more confident each time he did) never got old.

  It’s sort of like Hancock in a way.

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  Review by Old Man Angelo ★★½

  Psychokinesis is director Sang-ho Yeon's follow up to his masterful Train to Busan, and seeing him take on a superhero movie was an exciting prospect. Such as the film is it's ok, it probably had the huge weight of expectation on it, not just a director following a tremendous film, but also because of the nation putting out some of the freshest film making today taking on a stale genre. There will be an amazing South Korean capeshit film one day, but this one marks a decent first step.

  It's a really slight and charming film and explores the typical concept of great power and great responsibility from an interesting lens. Superheroes are often born of either vengeance, or an…

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  Review by Geoffrey Broomer ★★★½

  Yeon Sang-ho followed the success of Train to Busan by applying the MCU formula to the social conscience of Meteor Man, for commentary on gentrification. Psychokinesis sees a deadbeat father (Ryu Seung-ryong) develop super powers after consuming meteorite tainted water, which he uses to help his estranged daughter (Shim Eun-kyung) from being displaced by a gangster fronted construction company (villain Kim Min-jae would also menace Train sequel Peninsula). Tonal shifts typical for South Korean films kick the proceedings off hard, when the girl's mother suffers a horrific accident during a forced eviction. This immediate gut punch then gives way to an adventure that casts light on the bleak reality of the housing crisis through a comically buffoonish super hero. A…

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  Review by donnia ★★★★

  Y'all: Avengers Infinity War is the superhero event of the year
  Me: South Korea's first superhero film is the superhero event of the year

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  Review by Darren Carver-Balsiger ★★½

  Psychokinesis is the sort of genre mashup that Korean cinema so loves to produce. It's a superhero movie, but also a family drama, broad comedy, and social satire. This eclectic blend provides a lot of nice ideas but it unfortunately leaves them all underdeveloped. It's also very heavy-handed and too uneven to ever really make a point. Unlike director Yeon Sang-ho's fantastic Train to Busan, there just isn't a neat central concept which holds it all together. Most of the characters are unmemorable, but there is a really great female villain played by Jung Yu-mi who shows up halfway through. Psychokinesis is pretty much a mess through and through, it has nice ideas and I didn't not enjoy it but I…

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  Review by Scott Huston ★★★

  Release date: January 31, 2018

  Do you need supernatural powers? Just drink the water from a meteorite.

  A Korean adventure film all about ‘Dad Powers’ brought to you from the director of Train to Busan, Yeon Sang-ho.

  This film stays fun, all while still being realistic. The Father (Shin Suk-hun) tries to help out his daughter  (Shim Eun-Kyung) when gangsters try to illegally evict her from her fried chicken shop. 

  He has only just developed his psychokinesis power to move objects, so yes, it is still a work in progress; however, when motivated, he can toss gangsters across the street. 

  The father is a goofy nice guy, but he then becomes highly motivated to help his estranged daughter. 

  The best part…

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  Review by jaewon ★★ 4

  Psychokinesis starts pretty fun (subversively small-scaled superhero stuff!) but eventually defaults to unearned sentiment, overplaying its weak parental plot. The third act feels emotionally empty and doesn’t hold up to simple logical scrutiny (how is he still alive? how was that conflict resolved?). It can be decently entertaining throughout, and funny despite the inconsistent tone, but is largely unfocused and clunky.

  Still, boring villains aside, using social issues/irl events for conflict (instead of big robots and aliens) is a rare stroke of genius. It’s a strong concept—the grounded use of superpowers against antagonizing societal powers—and is mostly charming before it becomes mostly stupid.