OPERATION CHROMITE (South Korea 2016) **
Directed by Lee Jae-han (John H. Lee)

Review by Gilbert Seah

In order to appreciate the film, a bit of Korean/American history is required. The first is a knowledge of the Battle of Inchon.

The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favour of the United Nations. The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital of Seoul two weeks later. The code name for the operation was OPERATION CHROMITE, the title of this film. Though not seen in the film, the epic battle began on 15 September 1950 and ended on 19 September.

The battle ended a string of victories by the invading North Korean People’s Army (NKPA). The United Nations and South Korean forces were commanded by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (Liam Neeson) of the United States Army. MacArthur was the driving force (heavily emphasized in the film) behind the operation, overcoming the strong misgivings of more cautious generals to a risky assault over extremely unfavorable terrain.

The plot of the film has General Douglas MacArthur and 8 South Korean troop members led by a South Korean Navy Lieutenant (Lee Jung-Jae) carry out a covert “X-ray” operation. The “X-ray” must succeed in order to carry out “Inchon” Landing Operation. The film concentrates of the X-ray operation and not the Battle of Inchon.

Nothing much is said of this covet X-ray operation in the history books, so a lot of the action going on in the film is likely made-up by the script which takes liberties to create a big budget action film. Extra sentiment is provided whenever possible for example in one scene, by one of the soldiers in the X-Ray operation meeting up with his wife and baby son. General MacArthur also adds his spill on how it is to grow old and hold on to ones principles.

The action segments (chases through the city amidst machine gun fire) are exciting enough but they tend to undermine the reality of a film based on historical events. The segment set on the eve of September 15 to secure a lighthouse, however, is clumsily done as it is hard to see what is going on in the dark of night.

OPERATION CHROMITE is more an action movie than a film based on historical events. The background of the film is the history lesson. Other than that, the group of men that have gone on fighting to make the Battle of Inchon and their exploits are hardly plausible. A parallel can be drawn of the about to be released ANTHROPOID on the real assassination of Rienhard Heydrich.

North Korea would be flabbergasted with premise, story and delivery of this South Korean propaganda piece. The film has already broken South Korean box-office records with an opening weekend box-office gross of $18.5 million on its $15 million production. South Koreans love the film. But the North Korean state-run outlet Uriminzokkiri called the film a product of “ridiculous bravado from ignorant lunatics”.

That said, OPERATION CHROMITE is a pretty bad war film. But for less discerning moviegoers who like that action heroes to be true to life, this film will be a hit, as already proven by the film’s box-office success.