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James Marsh

2/5 stars
Long-delayed superhero fantasy Hi-Five finally sees the light of day, almost four years after wrapping principal photography. The film was put on hold indefinitely when one of its stars, Yoo Ah-in, became embroiled in a drug scandal, for which he subsequently served a one-year prison sentence.
In Hi-Five, five strangers – played by Yoo, Lee Jae-in, Ahn Jae-hong, Ra Mi-ran and Kim Hee-won – who all received new organs from the same anonymous donor, unite upon discovering they have developed superpowers in the wake of their surgery.
K-pop star Park Jin-young, currently also seen in the Netflix K-drama series Our Unwritten Seoul, plays their similarly enhanced adversary.


Hi-Five’s main problem is that it struggles to harness any real power from its promising premise.
Things start out well enough. Lee makes for a likeable lead as Wanseo, a plucky middle-schooler whose passion for taekwondo cannot be stymied, even after receiving a heart transplant.
On the contrary, she discovers that she is exponentially faster and stronger after her operation, something she initially attempts to hide from her trainer-father (Oh Jung-se).
Wanseo soon crosses paths with aspiring writer Ji-sung (Ahn), who can exhale gale-force winds since his recent lung transplant; factory foreman Yak-sun (Kim), whose new liver has gifted him healing powers; and cornea receiver Ki-dong (Yoo), who can now see and harness electromagnetic waves.
Meanwhile, there’s also the mild-mannered yogurt saleswoman Sun-nyeo (Ra), whose powers have yet to manifest since receiving new kidneys.

All five of these total strangers also emerged from their procedures branded with bizarre tattoos, all different yet somehow linked to their new-found abilities.
Their investigation reveals that they all shared the same donor, whose mysterious past dates back hundreds if not thousands of years.
More concerning is the sixth donor recipient, ageing wealthy cult leader Seon Young-chun (Shin Goo), who receives a new pancreas that not only rejuvenates him (to resemble Park) but also gifts him the ability to sap the gifts of the other patients upon making physical contact with them.
Despite this eclectic cadre of charismatic characters and a set-up wielding innumerable possibilities, Hi-Five fails to unlock its full potential.
The script frequently references Marvel-esque motifs, while the action is staged like one might see in Japanese anime, meaning Hi-Five never settles upon a style to call its own.

Veteran writer-director Kang Hyeong-cheol (Swing Kids) gleans some humour from the mismatched team honing their skills, and nobly pushes a narrative championing inner strength and teamwork, but is ultimately unable to stick the superhero landing.
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Starring Yoo Ah-in, Ra Mi-ran, Lee Jae-in and with K-pop star Park Jin-young, Hi-Five features a promising premise that it never lives up to


Starring Yoo Ah-in, Ra Mi-ran, Lee Jae-in and with K-pop star Park Jin-young, Hi-Five features a promising premise that it never lives up to.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Starring Yoo Ah-in, Ra Mi-ran, Lee Jae-in and with K-pop star Park Jin-young, Hi-Five features a promising premise that it never lives up to

Starring Yoo Ah-in, Ra Mi-ran, Lee Jae-in and with K-pop star Park Jin-young, Hi-Five features a promising premise that it never lives up to