The Pirates (2014 film)

Plot

On the eve of the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, a whale swallows the Ming Emperor's Seal of State being brought to Joseon by envoys from China. With a big reward on whoever brings back the royal seal, mountain bandits led by Jang Sa-jung go out to sea to hunt down the whale. But he soon clashes with Yeo-wol, a female captain of pirates, and unexpected adventure unfolds.

Main Characters

The Pirates

The Bandits

Joseon Officials

Other characters

Domestic

The Pirates sold 272,858 tickets during its first two days of release, placing second on the box office chart behind The Admiral: Roaring Currents. After 17 days in theaters, it became the third Korean film in 2014 to reach 5 million admissions. At the end of its run, the film reached 8,665,269 admissions, and also grossed US$56,104,937.

International

Lotte Entertainment pre-sold The Pirates to 15 countries at the 2014 Cannes Film Market.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics and currently holds a 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Martin Tsai of The Los Angeles Times described the film as a "derivative trove of swashbuckling action, romance, comedy, special effects and revisionist history" which contains typical Hollywood devices, while Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times notes that "Neither the action nor the comedy in this action comedy is consistently strong." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter criticizes the film for its "endless slapstick fight scenes" and the film's special effects but praised the underwater scenes with the whales which he says have a "hauntingly ethereal quality."