Hope is incredible in the kind of way a movie, in 2026, can only be if it’s seen at film festivals or if the marketing is extremely careful about what it reveals. Directed by South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin (The Wailing), the feature can be described as an action epic with monsters. Going much beyond that would give away more than we should about its nature, which leans on surprise to practically assault the viewer with pure adrenaline. It’s an approach that, of course, comes with its problems, but Na Hong-jin’s audacity is so impressive that it’s possible to admire even the way Hope goes off the rails.

Okay, I need to breathe.

That’s the state you’re left in just minutes after Hope begins. Its opening, while not showing much of local life, suggests that the biggest concern for the citizens of Hope Harbor (the small coastal town Na Hong-jin takes his title from) is the threat of North Korean infiltrators, since the border between the two countries lies just a few kilometers away. Even so, with a police force of fewer than 10 people and a community with that “everyone knows everyone” vibe, Hope Harbor could never have imagined what would happen on the fateful day the director stages with the heart rate of someone who’s just received the biggest shock of their life.

It all starts slowly. The local police chief, Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min), is alerted by his cousin Sung-ki (Zo In-sung) to a disturbing discovery: the carcass of an ox, slashed by something that makes a bear’s claws look small, left on the road. At first believing it to be an animal — there are rumors of a tiger in the area — they split up. Sung-ki takes a group of hunters into the forest in the mountains, and Bum-seok calls in fellow officer Sung-ae (a genuinely incredible Hoyeon, from Squid Game) to patrol the town. It doesn’t take long for the gravity of the situation to become clear.

The first of Hope’s two hours and forty minutes isn’t shot in a single take, but it does contain a long chase sequence — first with the protagonists running after a chaos that always seems to be just ahead of them, and then with them fleeing the monster they discover — that culminates in a moment so thrilling you can feel the filmmaker pausing to let the audience recover and, if your screening is anything like Hope’s premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, break into well-earned applause.

It would be criminal to go into detail about this creature, but we can say that it points to an even greater threat for the citizens of Hope Harbor, and although Na Hong-jin doesn’t shy away from the violence and despair inherent to the kind of attack they suffer, their reactions also allow the director to catch his breath through jokes that are, frankly, surprisingly goofy. I don’t necessarily mean that as criticism. Hope’s brand of humor is very welcome, and even when a comedic beat misfires, the film’s willingness to have fun is admirable.

We’re talking about a blockbuster. One that could easily be turned into a franchise, in fact, if it’s well received. Its selection for the Palme d’Or competition at Cannes is impressive in itself, because Na Hong-jin, long an artist interested in genre cinema, delivers something here that feels worthy of the IMAX screens Hollywood is obsessed with (and not for nothing, the cast includes American movie stars like Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell and Cameron Britton*). We’re also talking about a film that commits body and soul to its premise, even if that premise sometimes seems beyond the dramatic capabilities of the screenplay, also written by Na Hong-jin.

*I’m begging you: don’t even look up their character names.

Hope, as becomes clear in its final stretch, has much more on its mind than it initially suggests. The issue is that, by the time Na Hong-jin raises these more ambitious ideas — including, we can say, the good old “are we the real monsters?” dilemma — it becomes evident that he won’t be able to, and perhaps doesn’t even want to, fully explore all the balls he sets in motion. These execution problems include the thematic development of the third-act revelations, but also a series of technical issues, particularly when it comes to the mysterious creatures that plague Hope Harbor.

A lot of CGI is needed to bring Hope’s most important elements to life, and although the film is a major success in terms of design and conception, especially in areas like animation and movement, it’s hard not to be pulled out of the movie here and there when something behaves in a visually bizarre way. Once again, the idea of a larger universe becomes clear: perhaps, with the success of this film, Na Hong-jin will gain the room to better develop his ideas and, of course, the budget to match his ambition.

Even with all that, it’s hard not to be swept up by Hope’s ambition. This is the kind of movie that deserves admiration even for its imperfections. And through action sequences worthy of being mentioned alongside Mad Max: Fury Road and John Wick in this century’s Hall of Fame, Na Hong-jin makes sure our jaws will drop multiple times over the course of this roller coaster. Sometimes, that’s more than enough.

Hope (2026)

호프

2026

Country: Coreia do Sul

Director(s): Na Hong-jin

Screenplay: Na Hong-jin

Cast: Alicia Vikander, Hwang Jung-min, Cameron Britton, Michael Fassbender, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Taylor Russell

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