'Hope' triggers fierce debates among viewers

Director Na Hong-jin's new sci-fi film "Hope" is igniting massive debates online and offline, drawing sharply divided reactions from both critics and moviegoers since its July 15 release.

Paradoxically, the polarizing reception has fueled widespread public curiosity, which pushed the movie past the 2 million viewer mark on Sunday, just five days after its premiere.

The film tracks the chaos that unfolds when a mysterious monster suddenly invades Hopo Port, a fictional coastal village located near the Demilitarized Zone.

The local police station chief (Hwang Jung-min) and village people, including Seong-gi (Zo In-sung), scramble to deal with extraterrestrial entities while residents form a defense group against them.

Supporters praise the film as a groundbreaking masterpiece, highlighting its intense action sequences, grand scale and rebellious narrative structure that breaks away from traditional Korean cinema.

Prominent movie critic Lee Dong-jin gave the film four out of five stars, praising its raw energy and cinematic ambition.

"It is a bold race through a bizarre mess where the entire ...