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| Meta Title | 'The Match' Netflix Review: This Korean Movie Is Not For The Non-Go Fans |
| Meta Description | Imagine a 19*19 wooden board in front of you. There are black rounded stones and white rounded stones; you choose one. You and your opponent then place your |
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| Boilerpipe Text | Imagine a 19*19 wooden board in front of you. There are black rounded stones and white rounded stones; you choose one. You and your opponent then place your stones on the board until itâs all filled up and one of you has more territory than the other. I suppose this is the basic idea of the game âGo,â which Iâve learned in my nearly two hours watching the South Korean drama film The Match . The film tells the story of two legendary champions, pupil and master, Lee Chang-Ho and Cho Hoon-Hyun. The film begins with Cho returning home as the nationâs pride after defeating the world champion in a tournament in Singapore. A life-altering moment for him and for the game of âBadukâ in South Korea. Soon, Cho meets a young boy named Lee Chang-Ho. Seeing his deep interest in the strategic game and his calculative mind, Cho decides to take him in as a pupil. The film then follows the dramatic clash between mentor and student over the course of a decade. For a lot of us, the game of âGoâ is an idea that has crossed our minds at some point but has been completely forgotten. If youâve had the good fortune to play it, you might enjoy watching these two men try to find the game inside of them, but for someone who hasnât held the stones or touched the wooden board, The Match can definitely feel somewhat tedious, if not straight up boring. Take, for example, a show like âThe Queenâs Gambit,â which brings a mind game like chess to life through interesting storytelling and a character analysis that keeps you hooked on the whys of the leading lady. However, I notice that The Match has the same problem that a lot of biopics/based-on-true-events films face, and that is trying to get inside the heads of the people theyâre trying to talk about. What I mean to say here is that if someone bothered to search up these players on the internet or perhaps watch a little documentary, theyâd get the same information that this movie has to offer, which is not a lot of insight. Sure, we do see a little bit of the back and forth between the two champions, a teacher suffering after losing to his prodigy and a student who canât stand the thought of defeating his master, but is that enough to hold up for an hour and 50 odd minutes? Iâm not entirely sure. The best part of the film has to be the performances, and itâs interesting, because usually when a film isnât excellent, the first thing youâll bring up is how the actors were great, but the movie was subpar. This is not me trying to say that The Match is just a wholly bad movie; itâs notâthere have been far worseâbut, when it comes to a topic such as this one, it becomes just slightly difficult to keep things exciting if youâre not taking full advantage of the dramatic nature of the plot itself. Lee Byung-Hun is excellent as the reigning champion Cho Hoon-Hyun. Heâs equal parts broody and excitable, adding depth to a character that needs all the help that it can get to stand tall as a person. Itâs not that the character presentation isnât descriptive; it just seems somewhat lacking, you know? All Iâm saying is, I wish he had more to work with, because heâs so great to watch. Kim Kang-Hoon looks very different today than he does in this movie, because it was shot some 4 years ago. Itâs quite a shame that he only got to be in the first 20 minutes of the film because heâs just fantastic as Chang-Ho, but of course, too young, to play him as an adult. Yoo Ah-In plays the grown-up version of Chang-Ho, and I think we can step away from the controversy for a bit and appreciate the manâs skill at looking like a child when heâs 38. Okay, but in all seriousness, weâve always appreciated him as an actor, so I guess heâs lived up to his reputation in this one. I think where the film thrives is the way it showcases the âGoâ sequences. There are some interesting angles, cuts, and zooms that make the game look quite intriguing, I guess if you know whatâs happening. But I donât think thatâs enough to make me call this movie great. I guess having the movie set in the 1980s-90s allows it to be color graded with a warm tone that almost makes it look sepia-toned, but not quite. I think this works for this film, which hopes to give us a nostalgic feeling. There are some really clean shots of the âGoâ games, giving us the vantage point of the players, the press, other players, and casual viewers in the heat of the moment. I do appreciate that the film attempts to portray the internal conflict of both lead characters, but I donât think itâs enough to keep us hooked as viewers, especially when weâre trying to alternate between master and pupil every few minutes. It does become a little bit exhausting at some point. But the real big disappointment in this film is the lack of female characters, almost entirely, except for the one woman, who happens to be Choâs wife. She gets put on a pedestal because she acts as a maternal character for Chang-Ho, who is much younger than his master, making her role feel very tacked on. This is a huge flaw in the film because it doesnât pass the Bechdel test in any way, but it also makes it very clear that women are entirely uninterested in the game of âGo.â I suppose for a movie about male ego, it doesnât matter to the dozens of men who will be watching and enjoying this film. Yet, I canât help myself and say this completely erases the chances of me recommending it, especially to any fellow women (even if they enjoy the game). At the end of the day, this is an average film at best, trying to speak volumes about two very above-average human beings, leaving the viewer quite disappointed. The film attempts to feel glorious through its dramatic soundtrack, but it doesnât add much to the kind of negligible narrative. So, I will give The Match 2.5 out of 5 stars. |
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# âThe Matchâ Netflix Review: This Korean Movie Is Not For The Non-Go Fans
Published
May 8, 2025
By [Ruchika Bhat](https://dmtalkies.com/author/ruchika-bhat/)
[Comments(5)](https://dmtalkies.com/the-match-netflix-review-korean-movie-2025/#td-comments)
[](https://dmtalkies.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Match-Netflix-Korean-Movie-Review-cho-hoon-hyun.jpeg)
Credits: Netflix
Imagine a 19\*19 wooden board in front of you. There are black rounded stones and white rounded stones; you choose one. You and your opponent then place your stones on the board until itâs all filled up and one of you has more territory than the other. I suppose this is the basic idea of the game âGo,â which Iâve learned in my nearly two hours watching the South Korean drama film *The Match*. The film tells the story of two legendary champions, pupil and master, Lee Chang-Ho and Cho Hoon-Hyun. The film begins with Cho returning home as the nationâs pride after defeating the world champion in a tournament in Singapore. A life-altering moment for him and for the game of âBadukâ in South Korea. Soon, Cho meets a young boy named Lee Chang-Ho. Seeing his deep interest in the strategic game and his calculative mind, Cho decides to take him in as a pupil. The film then follows the dramatic clash between mentor and student over the course of a decade.
For a lot of us, the game of âGoâ is an idea that has crossed our minds at some point but has been completely forgotten. If youâve had the good fortune to play it, you might enjoy watching these two men try to find the game inside of them, but for someone who hasnât held the stones or touched the wooden board, *The Match* can definitely feel somewhat tedious, if not straight up boring. Take, for example, a show like âThe Queenâs Gambit,â which brings a mind game like chess to life through interesting storytelling and a character analysis that keeps you hooked on the whys of the leading lady.
However, I notice that *The Match* has the same problem that a lot of biopics/based-on-true-events films face, and that is trying to get inside the heads of the people theyâre trying to talk about. What I mean to say here is that if someone bothered to search up these players on the internet or perhaps watch a little documentary, theyâd get the same information that this movie has to offer, which is not a lot of insight. Sure, we do see a little bit of the back and forth between the two champions, a teacher suffering after losing to his prodigy and a student who canât stand the thought of defeating his master, but is that enough to hold up for an hour and 50 odd minutes? Iâm not entirely sure.
The best part of the film has to be the performances, and itâs interesting, because usually when a film isnât excellent, the first thing youâll bring up is how the actors were great, but the movie was subpar. This is not me trying to say that *The Match* is just a wholly bad movie; itâs notâthere have been far worseâbut, when it comes to a topic such as this one, it becomes just slightly difficult to keep things exciting if youâre not taking full advantage of the dramatic nature of the plot itself. Lee Byung-Hun is excellent as the reigning champion Cho Hoon-Hyun. Heâs equal parts broody and excitable, adding depth to a character that needs all the help that it can get to stand tall as a person. Itâs not that the character presentation isnât descriptive; it just seems somewhat lacking, you know? All Iâm saying is, I wish he had more to work with, because heâs so great to watch.
Kim Kang-Hoon looks very different today than he does in this movie, because it was shot some 4 years ago. Itâs quite a shame that he only got to be in the first 20 minutes of the film because heâs just fantastic as Chang-Ho, but of course, too young, to play him as an adult. Yoo Ah-In plays the grown-up version of Chang-Ho, and I think we can step away from the controversy for a bit and appreciate the manâs skill at looking like a child when heâs 38. Okay, but in all seriousness, weâve always appreciated him as an actor, so I guess heâs lived up to his reputation in this one.
I think where the film thrives is the way it showcases the âGoâ sequences. There are some interesting angles, cuts, and zooms that make the game look quite intriguing, I guess if you know whatâs happening. But I donât think thatâs enough to make me call this movie great. I guess having the movie set in the 1980s-90s allows it to be color graded with a warm tone that almost makes it look sepia-toned, but not quite. I think this works for this film, which hopes to give us a nostalgic feeling. There are some really clean shots of the âGoâ games, giving us the vantage point of the players, the press, other players, and casual viewers in the heat of the moment.
I do appreciate that the film attempts to portray the internal conflict of both lead characters, but I donât think itâs enough to keep us hooked as viewers, especially when weâre trying to alternate between master and pupil every few minutes. It does become a little bit exhausting at some point. But the real big disappointment in this film is the lack of female characters, almost entirely, except for the one woman, who happens to be Choâs wife. She gets put on a pedestal because she acts as a maternal character for Chang-Ho, who is much younger than his master, making her role feel very tacked on. This is a huge flaw in the film because it doesnât pass the Bechdel test in any way, but it also makes it very clear that women are entirely uninterested in the game of âGo.â I suppose for a movie about male ego, it doesnât matter to the dozens of men who will be watching and enjoying this film. Yet, I canât help myself and say this completely erases the chances of me recommending it, especially to any fellow women (even if they enjoy the game).
At the end of the day, this is an average film at best, trying to speak volumes about two very above-average human beings, leaving the viewer quite disappointed. The film attempts to feel glorious through its dramatic soundtrack, but it doesnât add much to the kind of negligible narrative. So, I will give *The Match* 2.5 out of 5 stars.
***
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[Ruchika Bhat](https://dmtalkies.com/author/ruchika-bhat/)
When not tending to her fashion small business, Ruchika or Ru spends the rest of her time enjoying some cinema and TV all by herself. She's got a penchant for all things Korean and lives in drama world for the most part.
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