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11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Great movie about group dynamics with a powerful cast, 13 May 2003
10/10
Author: deathfrank2000

Although the tagline of Attack The Gas Station (1999) is `Just when you wanted to laugh, here they come,' it might as well have been `Idle hands are the devil's playthings.' In ATGS, the third and most successful film from Korean director Sang-Jin Kim, four young Korean punks, well, attack a gas station obviously (twice, the same station both times), because they are bored. As they realize running the station for an evening might be more profitable than simply robbing it, they end up taking hostage the manager and employees as well as most of the customers. On the surface, ATGS is a black comedy with a great cast, but in the end is also a wonderful examination of group dynamics. The group is lead by Sung-jae Lee, who plays No Mark. He is the most conservative looking of the four, with short, military style hair, and relatively normal clothing. He is also one of the easiest ways to recommend this movie, as he totally dominates the screen whenever he is in it, to the point where it is completely believable that he intimidates two armed police officers in their squad car as he chases them down with a moped. Oh-seong Yu plays Bulldozer, who is in charge of the hostages and swaggers around menacing people with a hockey stick. He gets less screen-time than the other three, stuck as he is in a back room with his prisoners, but is always impressive as he is shown controlling the ever growing crowd. Seong-jin Kang, who plays Ddan Dda-ra (a failed musician) and Ji-tae Yu, who plays Paint (a failed painter who likes to create nudes, then throw paint across them and shout `I'm a genius!'), are fun to watch and are more punkish, but are overshadowed by both No Mark and Bulldozer. Even considering that, all four give outstanding performances and are consistently entertaining to watch. It is as they take more and more hostages that ATGS becomes really interesting. It just seems impossible that one man, Bulldozer, even armed with a big club, can control a group of twenty plus hostages. They even ask him about this. `What would you do if a group attacked you?' to which he replies [this is an approximation] `I would pick just one. I would ignore all of the others and just beat up that one guy, no matter what. It's happened to me once. Four guys attacked me. I sent one to the hospital. Me? A couple of bruises.' As he relates his story, the hostages shrink away from him. But the hostages are not controlled simply through intimidation. Bulldozer punishes them by making them do handstands. Ddan Dda-ra makes four rival gang members sing as he and his friends eat. No Mark forces the manager to fix a broken phone, but keeps smashing it after it's been fixed (after which he yells `Fix it!'). And of course, they get the hostages to control each other. They encourage the employees to browbeat the manager. Bulldozer instigates a fight between one of the employees, a heavyset high-school kid, and a gang member who's been bullying him. After the kid easily beats up the gangster, Bulldozer makes him his number two man, even leaving him in charge of the hostages as Bulldozer goes to eat with No Mark, Ddan Dda-ra and Paint. It is these group dynamics that are perhaps the most fascinating aspect of ATGS, as we watch No Mark and his gang utterly dictates situations that seem at first totally out of control. On a personal note, I'm very glad guns are almost totally non-existent in ATGS (only the cops have them). The movie leaves no doubt whatsoever that the gang are bad-asses. It shows them beating up groups twice their size. As mentioned, No Mark is able to push around two armed police officers. But it's a bad-assness based entirely on their personal abilities. They push people around because they can, not because some gun gives them that power. If No Mark and the others had used guns, it would have been the gun that was controlling the hostages, not them. Using guns would have made ATGS much more serious and disturbing, when it is mostly satirical and relatively light-hearted. The absence of guns lets us like No Mark, Bulldozer, Paint and Ddan Dda-ra, who are criminals, but not villains. Yes, they rob a gas station (twice) and beat up a bunch of people, but their threats mostly end with a mild pummeling. With a gun, the only alternative from shooting someone in a horrible but non-lethal manner is to kill them. Without that ever present threat of death, Attack the Gas Station can provoke a chuckle as these four young men get away with (metaphorically speaking) murder.

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A true breath of fresh air, 8 March 2006
10/10
Author: lee_shenlong10 from United States

Its been a while since I've commented on IMDb, the only excuse I have for that is that no film in the past year or two has moved me, or even made me want to comment at all on here.

Well I'm back at it and might I say its an uplifting return. "Attack the Gas Station" by Kim Sang-Jin was above and beyond what I expected for a pick off the blockbuster wall. This film takes you from the beginning all the way to the end, at first you really don't like these protagonist, but near the end you want to join their gang.

Anarchy is an understatement here, The film centers around 4 guys who have all grown a grudge with society for one reason or another, and one night decide to take it out on a little gas station and the enviorment around that station.

This film is awesome, and if you really want to have a good time(Laugh, Root, and Edge of your seat action) WATCH THIS MOVIE.... out of a possible 10, I give it a sparkling DIME!

Don't know what took me so long to watch this film, but it was sure worth the wait.

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Engaging, anarchic, with intriguing subtext, 19 March 2003
7/10
Author: FilmFlaneur from London

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Attack the Gas Station! is an effective show case for 4 young stars and goes some way to prove that the newly revitalised Korean cinema has a lot to offer. Anarchic, briskly staged and with some genuinely funny moments, it is a film which could be remade to good effect in the West (I can see Kevin Spacey as the beleagued station owner, for instance) although I doubt that all of the verve could be recaptured, for this is a young man's film, angry and alert to wider issues.

"If they move, kill them" is a running joke through the film as the number of hostages increases and, whether or not a deliberate reference to Peckinpah's Wild Bunch, its still funny.

The least convincing aspect of the film is the flashbacks. While useful in providing some background and character motivation for the main characters, their previous lives seems sketched in too cursorily and in result the young men lose dramatic weight. It's as if that, once away from the scene of their most important and direct influence, they are morally enervated. Their stature is only significant, the film seems to suggest, as the principals go on and take direct, group action. Part of this is deliberate, as their past frustration undoubtedly feeds their current boredom and anger, yet one feels that much of the same ground could have been covered by some relevant interaction between the four, who leave their personal demons resolutely undiscussed.

More interesting is what the Gas Station represents: this viewer feels that, to some extent, it is Korea in microcosm. Just as Japanese cinema has repeatedly reworked the trauma of nuclear holocaust into its science fiction and fantasy films, so the peculiar nature of the local North-South Korean standoff and mutual hostility is echoed in this film, in which the ending threatens a peculiarly lunatic and mutually achieved apocalypse through petrol and lighters. Clearly, continued tension plays a part in the national psyche, and the repeated requests to 'fix it'(the phone) has wider implications as far as national communication or understanding is concerned.

The contempt poured upon the glib national slogans hanging in the wall is one explicit political disaffection. As the film proceeds and the shiny new gas station (a manifestation in itself of the hitherto 'economic miracle' of the east) is increasingly the scene of mini power struggles, escalating standoffs, and threats of destruction. This is a Korea in which changes are demanded, or annihilation surely follows, and in which no one it appears wants to be 'boss' or take responsibility, as the station owner's ready relinquishment of authority suggests. A country in which one might as well balance upside down on one's head, pointlessly and endlessly, as achieve any dialogue. And as the final scene shows, a forecourt packed with Koreans ready to destroy themselves is both bitterly ironic and ruthlessly apt.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Don't miss this film!, 9 November 2000
10/10
Author: david.widlake from London

Hilarious comedy of disaffected youth in Korea. Stylish and action packed (and a close second to Glengarry Glen Ross in the most swearing stakes). Bored again after their first attack on the gas station our 4 heroes return and start running the place with the staff held hostage - the situation begins to go out of control after run ins with the local gangsters, the "delivery boys union" and the cops. If this film comes within 100 miles of you don't miss it!

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant combination of social commentary and comedy, 11 May 2003
Author: Puke Bag from Vancouver, BC

Taking a single location and having all this chaos erupt turns Attack the Gas Station! into one of the more entertaining foreign films to come out in a long time. With many surreal and absurdist moments, the film is hilarious to boot, while offering some insight into Korean culture.

Unfortunately, much of the humour doesn't translate properly, while many of the cultural nuances will be lost on a non-Korean audience member. Although Ddan-Ra being chastized for drinking Pepsi and supporting American companies, while he defends himself because the Pepsi logo vaguely resembles the mark on the South Korean flag, should be understood by most.

After a conversation with a person more versed in Korean culture, it is easy to see how much gets lost on the non-Korean viewer. The four central characters, set up as a group of tough-guys, play elementary school games during their seige of the gas station (the syllable game, the paper-scissors-rock variant, etc.). While amusing, they don't hold much resonance for a non-Korean viewer, but for a Korean viewer, are much easier to identify with.

Sadly, Sang-Jin Kim's follow-up, "Kick the Moon", lacks much of the absurdism and satire of AtGS, instead punching up the level of violence.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
ABSOLUTELTY ONE OF THE BEST COMEDIES EVER, 10 March 2003
10/10
Author: d2army from Hollywood, CA

This movie is so awesome. The anarchy, the insanity and pure emotions unleashed throughout the film. All of these factors make the movie both extremely entertaining and tantalizing. Yes, I agree that this is definitely a morally bankrupt flick, but you actually feel satisfied, and I mean like cartharsis, after the credits that roll finally end(yea, you gotta see the credits too)

Above all, this is one of the best comedies I have ever seen in my life so far. And it's got a great soundtrack too :)

Go Bulldozer! "I only attack one!"

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
The best urban actioner since The Warriors, the best camp comedy since Big Trouble in Little China..., 11 April 2006
10/10
Author: wierzbowskisteedman from England

"Attack the Gas Station!" is not only the most entertaining film Korea has produced during it's recent industry boom, but one of the most fun, tongue in cheek, genre-aware action/comedies from anywhere since heck knows when. Serving as both a parody of siege/hostage films and a camp action extravaganza in it's own right, ATGS moves at breakneck speed, leaving not a dull moment as the quartet of luckless youths try to avoid detection and learn running a gas station isn't as easy as it seems.

Despite feeling like an effective throwback to American cult B cinema of the 1970s and 80s - namely the works of Walter Hill and John Carpenter, ATGS also has such a refreshing, contemporary feeling and a razor sharp sense of humour that I can't think how the film can possibly get boring or how anyone could not enjoy it.

If I had to watch one film on a loop for the rest of my life, this would be a strong contender. By the time the end credits rolled (and they came VERY quickly), I wanted to watch the film again, and again. There isn't anything bad I can say about ATGS, and my words cannot do it justice. I can't remember the last time I was this entertained by a film. If "Attack the Gas Station!" doesn't restore your faith in cinema, and the human race in general, I can't think what will.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Odd & amusing, 3 April 2005
7/10
Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

This is an odd little Korean film about 4 slacker-types who rob a gas station, and come back to rob it a second time. When they're mistaken for the attendants they realize that they'll do better by taking OVER the gas station and collecting the money. As time passes (this all takes place in one night) they amass a roomful of hostages that they've taken, all guarded by Bulldog, a not-too-bright lad with a floppy hat and a big stick. This says a lot about Korea, I guess, in that most people don't want a full tank of gas because it's so expensive, and a few other things that flicker by that indicate that the economy isn't exactly booming. Some of the comedy to this is pretty standard but there are some touches that put this above most action/comedies. There are flashbacks to failures of the 4 young men that show the frustrations that got them where they are at the time they decided take matters into their own hands. There is dumb humor in this but there's also some sly and dark humor thrown in here & there which redeems it. Overall I found this to be an amusing film but still it's a touch on the "light" side, a little more black humor could have made it a bit better.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Voted best comedy at Fantasia, 18 October 2002
10/10
Author: andrew chheng from shaolin temple

ATTACK the GAS STATION is a very enjoyable movie from the koreans. The movie has a very different feel to it from most comedy i seen. The koreans has a very different aproach to comedy. When you see the title name it might sound retarded or something. What funny about robbing a gas station................Well when you watch the movie your going to fall in love with charaters i mean these Guy dont care about nothing. IT show us the past of each character on how they deal with society which is the paint guy, BULLdozer my favorite, the head leader and a guy with long hair.

These four misfits are just bored and they decided to rob the gas station for fun and they get into alout of trouble with gang members, with the police and you would be like man i wish i was there . This movie is just amazing. I really enjoyed when the hostages has to fight each other when bulldozer is feeling bored. JUst watch this movie if you want to have a good time. My friend who seen this movie loved it!!!!! track this movie down.

10/10

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
koreanarachy!, 16 June 2003
10/10
Author: whatdoes1know from japan

a riot. literally. there's little more that can be done to a gas station maintaining good taste. the single location of this film has thoroughly been put to use. every development only escalates the level of trouble the four antiheroes get themselves in, and its exhilirating to see them face every new challenge with the same bravura.

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