Hope review: This 'wild South Korean blockbuster' is '2026's must-see monster movie' ★★★★☆

One of the most expensive Korean films ever made, this epic sci-fi begins as a "breathless rollercoaster ride" and mashes up The Terminator, Predator, Aliens and Avatar.

The films that compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival are known for their depth, intelligence and political conviction. They aren't generally known for police cars hurtling down narrow streets in pursuit of slimy giant trolls. But this year there is an exception to that rule – a wild South Korean blockbuster that is 2026's must-see monster movie.

Hope isn't just a monster movie, though. One of the most expensive Korean films ever made, it races from modern-day western to action thriller to horror film to science-fiction epic – all while retaining the full-throttle energy and sweaty cult-movie atmosphere of a 1970s exploitation flick. Its writer-director, Na Hong-jin, doesn't make many films – his last release, The Wailing, was in 2016 – so maybe that's why he has packed so much into this one.

Not that he puts in any scene-setting before the plot gets underway. The film's hero, played by Hwang Jung-min, is the police chief of a shabby rural town named Hope Harbor, at some unspecified time that could be in the 1970s or '80s. He has barely swaggered into view before a band of hunters tells him that a dead cow has been found with what look like deep claw marks on its body. And he has barely started his search for a rogue tiger or bear when he is thrown into something between a Godzilla prequel and a zombie apocalypse chiller. There is some kind of ogre on the rampage, and soon the policeman is following a wonderfully immersive trail of devastation all around the town. 

The film's first hour is a breathless, non-stop rollercoaster ride. There is no cutting away to frightened families or government scientists: there is nothing but adrenaline-fuelled, tyre-screeching, gun-blasting momentum. One engaging touch is that the gruff, Eastwood-like lawman proves to be as susceptible to fear and panic as the rest of us – but he keeps tracking the monster, anyway. Another welcome touch is that the creature itself isn't shown for the first 40-odd minutes.

Inevitably, it's slightly disappointing when we finally see it. Thanks to some substandard CGI, Hope often resembles a video game. But the visceral, live-action mayhem more than compensates for the unconvincing graphics. It's a shame that the Oscars' new prize for stunt design isn't being awarded until 2028, because the daredevil driving and horse-riding would have put Hope straight on to the nominees' list.

I won't give away what's revealed when the policeman tracks the monster into a forest, with the help of his charismatic sidekicks, an outlaw cousin (Zo In-sung) and a passionate, heavily armed deputy (Jung Ho-yeon from Squid Game). Nor will I comment on the bizarre cameo roles played by Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Suffice it to say that Na must be a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron, because he has clearly been watching The Terminator, Predator, Aliens and Avatar. On the other hand, he has added his own sincere but raucous comic commentary on human frailty and prejudice. Along with all the action, there is some depth, intelligence and political conviction in Hope, too. 

The only real drawback is that when the film stops abruptly after just over two-and-a-half exhausting hours, it seems as if there's at least another hour of story still to come. But maybe that means that a sequel is in the works – and that we won't have to wait a decade for Na to make it. We can but hope.

★★★★☆

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