REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK'Hope,' 'The Assassin(s)' show widening gap between reviews, viewers

Is there a right way to enjoy a movie? How a movie makes us feel is personal, and everyone should be free to speak their mind — yet two major Korean movies released this year show how starkly different those reactions can be.

As of Wednesday, Na Hong-jin's "Hope" has been seen by 4.59 million viewers, while Hur Jin-ho's "The Assassin(s)" has drawn 3.08 million. Together, the films demonstrate a gap between critics' verdicts and ordinary audience reactions.

"Hope" is a classic case of mixed expectations. Made with a massive budget, it arrived in July as Na's first feature since "The Wailing" in 2016.

Many viewers walked in expecting a tense thriller and walked out confused or angry. Common complaints were that the story felt thin, the ending felt at odds with the rest of the film and the computer graphics felt awkward. Some felt the movie was not a complete story and just a setup for a sequel.

Critics saw something else, lauding Na's films for demanding people engage in interpretation without offering easy clues — something that leaves some viewers frustrated. Renowned critic Lee Dong-jin gave the film four out of five stars, praising its raw energy as a bold race through a bizarre mess.

Differences between critics and crowds is not new.

When Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece "The Shining" was released in 1980, the movie got a cool reception from many critics. Some found it too slow, while author Stephen King famously hated how the film changed his novel. It even earned nominations at the Razzie Awards, which recognizes the worst in contemporary cinema, before becoming a recognized classic. Early reactions are not always the final verdict.

With "The Assassin(s)" much of the dispute is not about the film itself. Dealing with the 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee that killed first lady Yuk Young-soo, the movie was dragged into a political debate before many people even saw it.

Online users left ratings on Naver, the country’s largest portal site, causing the score to drop to around two out of ten due to online political fights. However, scores from verified ticket buyers rose to nearly nine out of ten as more people watched it.

That points to a wider shift in how people watch movies today. Viewers now study online reviews carefully before choosing what to watch, meaning opinions often form before many have even bought a ticket. The divide is no longer simply critics against audiences. Audiences are now split between those who actually watched the movie and those who only comment online.

In the end, critics look at what a film tries to achieve. Audiences who paid for a ticket look at whether it gives them what they want. For "Hope," those two goals were very far apart, and for "The Assassin(s)," political debate split the viewers.

This has changed how filmmakers approach their releases. Director Yeon Sang-ho, who recently unveiled his new thriller "Paradise Lost," said Wednesday that promotional efforts have become more important because people search for reviews online before visiting theaters.

"We made many short video clips to maximize exposure for this movie," Yeon said. "Promoting our movie to as many people as possible has become essential in terms of raising awareness and bringing audiences into theaters."

On Oct. 21, "Hope" will arrive on paid video-on-demand services, giving even more people a chance to decide for themselves.