Wonderland (2024)

Interesting short stories only told at surface level, and a lack of understanding in AI

Okay, this movie is... weird. It feels like an incomplete draft with missing scenes, actually it's almost like they had shot a short series and edited the key scenes into a movie. There is not enough context and world building which makes it confusing. I get that the science fiction aspect of this movie is not its focus, but it really needed an extra 15-20 minutes at the start to properly explain how exactly this Wonderland service works. Like how are the AI characters programmed and what are they programmed with? There are so many ambiguities but they'll be spoilers. It's almost like the movie itself doesn't know the answers. I can't tell if the director is inexperienced in the sci-fi genre or they cut out those scenes because the basic foundation to make a coherent story wasn't there. At one point towards the end it was straight up a fantasy movie and not science fiction anymore lmao.

But then, I actually like the subject matter, the actors and parts of the movie especially in the first half. Most of the scenarios were actually interesting and complex -- but they weren't fleshed out at all. Which brings me to the point that this movie just has too many characters. Basically every story was only on surface level, some were just left hanging or abandoned. Suzy and Park Bogum's arc especially suffered from this, it needed way more screentime to be properly developed. I hate to say this but some of their parts felt half-baked and wasted their onscreen chemistry. Tang Wei on the other hand had the most complete arc and probably the most touching one.

It's a shame because I think if they expanded the material and went more in-depth for each arc, or removed all the arcs other than Suzy/PBG and Tang Wei's, it would have been way better. But alas the potential was wasted. Nonetheless, I think at the very least this movie can spark some interesting post-watch discussions.

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Great acting, great plots, but should have been a series

I actually really liked this movie. A lot of people did not enjoy it because they found it confusing or peiced together weird, which I will say is true to an extent. I really liked all of the plot lines and how they connected, but it left me wanting more from each one. We got a snippet of each plotline basically. I definitely think it should have been a series rather than a movie, that way they could flesh everything out better, and make it a bit more cohesive. Overall I think it is well worth the watch, and will probably watch it again when it releases on Netflix with the official subtitles.

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Confusing, awkward and sometimes questionable, but has a few interesting ideas

Well, that was a very odd viewing experience. It felt like a confusing hybrid of a sentimental arthouse film and science fiction drama. But whatever it was trying to do, it didn't really work. The constant shifting between stories and lack of development made the narratives seem unnatural. During the more emotional scenes, I was either busy wondering why characters were acting the way they were (mostly Park Bogum), or what exactly the character was (Gong Yoo), or why the AI were even capable of these emotions in the first place. Perhaps that stopped me from feeling emotionally connected.

Also, what exactly is the movie trying to say? It sometimes hinted at how exploitative the service was, both financially and emotionally, and how there was an obvious lack of restrictions on the service (Imo, creating an AI replica of a comatose person without their consent is completely unethical). This was interesting, but they never delve into any of these issues. Then at other times it implies that the AI, being programmed with the person's old memories and having created new ones, essentially become... almost another living being(?) deserving of love(??) That's questionable at best, if you ask me.

There was also something mildly awkward throughout the entire movie, which might have been the visuals which sometimes looked like advertisements, or the odd music placements at some places. So yeah, sadly I think it's yet another unsuccessful attempt at science fiction from SK.

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Weaving together chaos and hope to explore the future of AI and its impact on humanity

‘Wonderland’ is an emotion-driven movie that puts forward the pros and cons surrounding the idea that artificial intelligence can be used to transform death into a renaissance of lost hopes and dreams.The film presents a platform that attempts to blur the line between the living and the deceased through new technology. It explores AI’s power in manipulating human emotions by altering the subconscious mind’s memories, making it possible to forget a loved one is gone and give the illusion of forever being able to interact with them. This opportunity presents the possibility of closure and continuation in relationships for the one activating the deceased through the platform.

Overall, the movie is especially touching and scary because of its resemblance to the real-life possibilities that may await us with AI’s rapid progression in intelligence. It explored the circumstances that can stem from its usage, using the Wonderland platform as a way to take a look at the possible future AI can bring to the world all while exploring the public’s many different opinions surrounding this topic.

The film starts off by providing viewers with a depiction of the service’s negative impacts on those who use it. It prevents the user from being able to let go. This effect on the characters’ daily lives is shown through different scenes. Firstly, there is Koo Jeong In, the girlfriend of a man in the comma missing out on the occasion to date someone new because she’s convinced her boyfriend is an astronaut coming to earth soon. Then, there are two individuals who pretend to be a couple in order to satisfy the woman’s deceased parents who are constantly pestering her to find a boyfriend. The platform allows lies to easily be believed and shared, distorting reality by presenting a different face to those who are actually long gone. For example, instead of remembering her deceased Mom as someone who is always there but never paid attention to her, Jia will now believe her Mom is someone who always listened to what she had to say but was never actually present. It additionally gives an improper ending to those deceased and severs relationships using the AI that changes their personalities, giving these generated people a life of their own. This was shown through the grandma spending her last moments with her grandson feeling like she wasn’t doing enough for him even though she kept buying him whatever he asked for because he became greedy.

By diving into the life of Lee Yong Sik, a dying man, viewers can gain a sense of understanding regarding the AI platform ‘Wonderland’ as he follows through its policies and braces for his ‘new life’. He disagreed with his wife’s opinion that one lifetime was enough and wished to go elsewhere, thus perhaps putting more distance between the both of them than death would have. With the storyline of his possibility in being Kim Hyeon Su’s Dad, he also allowed viewers to dive into the life of the one prominent character who wasn’t yet explored. Their interactions, such as playing ping-pong through a screen or an awkward video call provided some comedic relief amidst the movie’s heavy themes of loss, grief and acceptance.

The relationship between Song Jeong Ran and her grandson showcased how AI uses humans to evolve instead of the other way around. As for the relationship between Bai Li and her daughter, it suggests the opposite idea. Jia uses the platform to accept reality and emotionally process the loss of her Mom. This relationship between them also showcased the prominent barrier between AI and the real world. This was shown when both were trying to physically reach each other, building up on a climax that teased that the impossible would happen. The movie put focus on how these actions of theirs would result in breaking their invention because of how nonsensical the idea of AI forging its way into the real world as actual humans would be.

The AI Mom brought to the scene a person struggling to accept and process their own death instead of realizing the platform’s goal of making the deceased forget it even happened at all. Instead of continuing her ‘life’ by satisfying her own childhood dream of becoming an archaeologist, she wanted closure to it, wishing to come closer to the reality that she was gone so that she could settle things with her own child. Through the journey she took to the airport in her universe to help Jia accept the truth that she was gone, she herself accepted that she was deceased and could no longer continue her life. She admitted to being dead so that her daughter could move on even if it meant ending her dream life where she would stay stuck in the idea of who she had wished to become .

This particular scene where they reunited showcased the stark contrast between both worlds. Jia can move on, but her Mom can't. She’s an idea, mirroring how IA is simply just an invention. All the daughter wants is to be with her Mom in that very moment, showcasing her human need for love. The Mom (who is AI) is only there to provide her with it, mirroring the reality of this platform. AI is fake, and will never be anything more than an invention. It doesn’t have the emotional complexity of a human, making it impossible for it to take on a true form of life. What’s so scary about it is that it can give the impression that it is a real human being to us in terms of emotion even though it isn’t there physically.

Jia’s desire for the impossible, for her Mom to be more than just a face on a screen, was driving her crazy. She was literally losing herself by chasing after the part of her Mom that was long gone and unable to come back. The shadow of someone lost behind is represented through Park Tae Ju, who woke up from his coma as a different person. In the airport, he got a call. Unlike the time where it was a delusion that awaited to be picked up, it was a call for reality. There was no astronaut Park Tae Ju from the past that was trying to reach Koo Jeong In who never let him go and was convinced she was still dating him. Bai Li used the AI service’s phone line to reach her daughter and reveal the truth. When Park Tae Ju saved Jia from getting hit by a truck, it represented how he saved her from losing herself in the lie that her Mom was alive and still yet to be found. He provided assistance in Jia’s journey to wait for her Mom and Bai Li ended up providing her daughter with solace.

In the end, the reunion that concluded their search for one another was as heart-touching and realistic as could be. They learned that even though they remained in two different universes, they would always remain together at heart. Instead of trying to get to her deceased Mom and create new memories with her, she’s now content with just having their old memories to keep her company. This was represented through her being happy that she can at least communicate with her AI version, who is like a keepsake of moments they spent together in the past since she was only able to come to life as AI using old pictures and videos.

As for Koo Jeong In and Park Tae Ju’s relationship, it unveiled an unhealthy face to the ‘Wonderland’ platform. It delved into both sides of the sea of people that were affected by the platform. The heartbroken user, and the unconscious individual whose life was mimicked in a distortion of reality. He had finally woken up from his coma though it was as if he was by his girlfriend’s side all along since she would wake up and fall asleep to the AI version of his voice every day. Whenever she would experience whiplash from his drastic change of personality, she would run back to his past version of self using the service, wishing his normal self would come back rather than supporting him in his journey of recovery.

The day their relationship started going up in flames was the day their apartment was set on fire just moments after Park Tae Ju exited its entryway. This significant event gave meaning to the earlier scene that showed him eyeing all of the couple’s old pictures that were still put up in the house. He wasn’t admiring what they used to be, but wishing she’d let go of his older self. Something that added to these feelings of his was the scene that preceded the fire incident, where he saw that someone with his exact name kept calling Koo Jeong In on a second phone. This made him realize to what point she was still attached to his post-comma self and unable to let go.

By setting the apartment’s entirety on fire, he’d be attempting to get rid of his old self and cut its link to his girlfriend in the present. Not only does this give him reason for purposely starting the fire, but there are also small details that hint at it. After leaving the apartment, the first place he looked was right into the hallway’s camera. Secondly, when Koo Jeong In proposed different ways that could have led up to the incident, he denied them all, insisting it wasn’t him. Perhaps he meant that it was the other, past version of himself that caused the chaos in their lives: the fire and their relationship.

This tactic of his failed in getting his girlfriend to let go, and the subject of the ‘Wonderland’ platform introduces itself between them. The moment where he asks Koo Jeong In about her decision to make him an astronaut enables us to see an earlier scene from a new perspective. She answers that space is the farthest place she knows of and he had felt so distant from her, giving light to the prolonged moment where he sat in a seat by the window at the airport. He wasn’t just watching his girlfriend’s airplane fly into the sky, he was watching her approach space and getting closer to the old reality of who they were. This time, she was the one leaving him and getting farther away into the sky as he waited for her to come back down below.

After speaking with him about it and coming to terms with the truth, she calls the company for a favour, still emotionally connected to the AI version of her boyfriend. The only way she’d be able to let go was by providing him a happy closure. To satisfy this desire of hers, what she wanted was for the company to set up his arrival back to planet earth to make him believe that he’s coming back home during his last moment before deactivating that last trace of Park Tae Ju’s past self.

The couple settled things between them as Koo Jeong In spoke to Park Tae Ju with his new personality traits. Speaking about the matter allowed her to reconcile her feelings for the lost version of her boyfriend and move on. By stopping those feelings of hers from lingering, she has let go of her past relationship and Park Tae Ju walks away as a goodbye. Despite knowing that he's almost like a new person, she still runs back to him, not wishing to continue what they had, but start anew.

Seo Hae Ri, the woman who works for ‘Wonderland’ and picked up her call seemed almost disappointed to hear that her beloved came back because she’s aware that her deceased parents never will. Even though part of her knew their AI versions weren't real, in her mind, it was the only possible way to speak to them. It reminded her that it isn’t reality, helping her process the fact that her parents won’t ever be their real selves again. This jealousy of hers shows how despite knowing the truth, there will always be people who put AI in favour by choosing to seek comfort in pretense.

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Fascinating Journey!

After reading a few of the other reviews I feel I just have to put my two cents in.

Some say that there should have been more information given at the onset about the different characters and their situation.
Without giving anything away, I think that we were meant to be left to piece together who these people are and their situations in much the same way as the characters themselves are trying to understand who they are and where they stand in this world. It is unclear to some of them as much as it is to us.

And that's the genius of this piece.
Without explanation, we are pulled through this scenerio as we try to figure out its boundaries. In the process, we cannot help but feel confused, anxious and unable to brace ourselves for the emotional impact.

Its been a challenge to review this work without giving away what transpires.

The special effects are dramatic and impactful. I didn't notice the music, which for me, means it did not distract.

And the acting is excellent. I thought that each role was handled so believably well. That includes Bae Suzy, who took some hits from other reviewers.

All I can say is, let yourself take this journey. Explore where the film takes you. It may lead you to some interesting thoughts and emotions.

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Lackluster at best

What could have been a great movie ended up being disappointing.

The premise was good, the trailer looked okay and seeing the cast made me feel hyped for the movie.
Acting was well done by the cast and the music was good as well. That is where the amazing points end for me.

The idea of AI as a replacement for people we have lost or cannot meet seems to hit close to home. Especially if you think about all the AI-advancements that have been made as lof late. The fact that this raises many ethical questions is also very true. At first, it seemed like the movie would touch on those ethical questions, but sadly it didn't.

At some points it even seemed like the movie was trying to make us feel 'sorry' for the AI. Completely disregarding that it is AI, not a real person.

I don't know how to explain properly, but it felt like the movie briefly touched on something that could have been good, but was afraid to properly touch those subjects. It left us with a beautiful lackluster surface level movie, without diving deep into anything at all.

Perhaps if this had been a 12 or 16 episodes series, they would have been able to write a more in-depth script.

I would say you can watch it if you are a fan of the cast, but don't expect anything great. Even if you would put this at the back while doing something else, you wouldn't miss much.

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Como destrozarte de la manera más bonita

Hay escenas confusas en la película, pero creo que son necesarias para dar mayor profundidad a la trama y para que formes parte de ese mundo, para que entiendas con mayor facilidad lo que elles están sintiendo aunque no hayas vivido una experiencia similar.

Por otro lado, si has vivido esa experiencia, hace que vuelvas a vivirla pero te reconforta de alguna manera, o al menos eso me ha pasado a mi.

Si viviese en un mundo con algo así, creo que no lo usaría, por ello entendí la actitud de la madre de Bai Li. Su reacción al final de la película me hizo replantearme ciertas cosas.

Supe de la película por Suzy y Bogum y estoy agradecida de haberla visto. Lo han hecho genial, al igual que todo el cast. Escuchar a Gong Yoo en inglés ha sido maravilloso.

Dudo volver a verla sola, pero sí es una película que me encantaría recomendar a mis amigues y, si sucede, verla con elles y poder hablar sobre los pensamientos de cada une.

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Facilitating reunions with lost loved ones.

"Wonderland" boasts a fascinating premise: a virtual world facilitating reunions with lost loved ones.

It's the first film I've seen by director Kim Tae-Yong, whose filmography leans towards lower-rated projects.

While the concept is undeniably intriguing, the execution falters. The screenplay feels messy, and the direction lacks polish. This is especially disappointing considering the talented cast, including Bae Suzy and Park Bo-gum. Their performances elevate the material, but they can't quite salvage the film's shortcomings.

Here's the verdict:
"Wonderland" is a mixed bag. The strong central idea is overshadowed by messy pacing and direction. However, the stellar cast delivers, making it a watchable experience for those curious about the sci-fi romance angle. 

Recommendation:
Yes I recommend it with 7/10 rating.

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