Technically accomplished, narratively impoverished.

While Battleship Island is sometimes unpleasant to watch, it is a consistently involving, atypically thoughtful crowd-pleaser.

Though Mr. Ryoo's taste for heightened theatricality threatens his story's credibility at times, there is no denying his skill with a large-scale action set piece.

Undermined by melodramatic and manipulative plotting, it's nevertheless an above-average Korean blockbuster, benefitting from a top drawer cast and grand sets and set pieces