Flu (15) - film review

This big-budget Korean blockbuster about an outbreak of avian flu is far more entertaining than its clammy title might suggest. The sheer relish with which Kim Sung-Su tackles his subject rekindles memories of the best 1970s US disaster movies.

He throws every trick at the screen – huge close-ups of slow-motion beads of saliva floating through the air, plentiful crashes and fight sequences, lots of anguished scenes in emergency rooms, tanks on the streets and the usual skullduggery from the politicians. Somehow, as characters are vomiting blood or being thrown into quarantine, he keeps a romantic subplot bubbling and even finds time for some cutesy scenes involving a doe-eyed kid.

Kim Sung-Su, 122 mins Starring: Hyuk Jang, Ae Su, Min-ha Park, Hae-Jin Yoo