The Tower - Deadly Inferno - DVD

Content: Dae-ho (Kim Sang-Kyung), building manager of the exclusive Tower Sky skyscraper, could truly imagine something more pleasant than spending Christmas at work. The single father would much rather spend the day with his young daughter Ha-na (Jo Min-ah). But since Mr. Jo (Cha In-Pyo), the owner of the high-rise building, wants to throw his exclusive guests a lavish White Christmas party, the Tower Sky staff has to work hard even on a day like Christmas. Even restaurant manager Yoon-hee Seo (Son Ye-jin), who Dae-ho is secretly in love with, has to offer the best possible with her team to satisfy Mr. Jo's guests. But when at the climax of the party some helicopters are supposed to make it snow for the guests, disaster strikes. One of the helicopters crashes into the skyscraper and a deadly fire breaks out. In no time, the upper floors of the ultra-modern building are transformed into a hell of flames that could bring down the entire skyscraper. Amidst the panicked chaos, Dae-ho, Yoon-hee, Ha-na and other survivors must fight to escape the fire with the help of firefighter Young-ki (Sul Kyung-gu) - a battle against time that seems to have been lost long ago...

With The Tower, Korean Kim Ji-Hon has directed a technically superb homage to the disaster film of the 1970s, with the classic Flaming Inferno in particular of course being the inspiration for his spectacle. So it's not surprising that the characterization and the dramaturgical structure of the various conflict situations are very cliché-like. But that's not a big deal in this case, as such clichés are simply part of the classic disaster movie. Only the somewhat exaggeratedly dorky kitchen assistant, who wants to propose to his girlfriend, and the hysterical fits of Ha-na are a bit annoying in the long run, whereby this can be partly due to the dubbing in the case of Ha-na.

Such weaknesses are easily made up for by the film's effects. With a mixture of 26 elaborate sets, miniatures and CGI, Kim Ji-Hon and his team have conjured up a thrilling and in some sequences almost breathtaking spectacle from the dramaturgically not exactly original work in the almost two-year post-production phase, which does not need to fear the comparison with its role models from Hollywood. Scenes such as the helicopter crash or the daring attempt to cross a glass bridge, by which both towers of the skyscraper are connected, are, along with the very wet finale, undoubtedly among the highlights of the film.

Who does not attach too much importance to logic and who can also accept some sacrifices in the character drawing and instead want to get suspense and action in the best disaster film tradition offered, this hit movie from Korea can be warmly recommended. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD convinces with a decent sharpness and a very coherent color scheme. Also the good tuning of black levels and contrasts, as well as the good detail representation leave a very positive impression. The sound presents itself in the first third of the film still somewhat restrained, before then smaller and richer sound effects provide a good utilization of the surround channels. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has unfortunately only the trailer to offer the film.

Conclusion: The Tower is a successful mixture of homage to the disaster films of the 70s and modern animation technology. Even if the story uses numerous rather worn clichés and thus hardly delivers real surprises, action and effects but ensure that the viewer is offered two exciting and entertaining hours. The hit movie from Korea presents itself in Germany as a home cinema premiere in good picture and sound quality, only the lack of noteworthy extras is a bit negative. Nevertheless: for lovers of classic disaster films absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp