“Wonderland” Gets Scathing Reviews Amid Highly-Anticipated Premiere

Wonderland, a movie starring actor Park Bo Gum and idol-turned-actress Suzy, has been one of the more anticipated premieres to hit the screens in 2024.

Following the release, however, both movie critics and avid K-Movie goers have shared underwhelmed reviews of the AI-centric sci-fi.

The sci-fi drama film revolves around a virtual platform service called Wonderland, which creates a virtual version of a deceased person through artificial intelligence. The story follows a group of people using the service to reunite with their late loved ones and communicate with them through video calls. Bae and Park will play a young couple who use the service when Park’s character falls into a coma.

— The Korea Times

Critics, via CINE21, a South Korean film magazine best known for its “One-Liner Review” platform, have dubbed it “too vague,” “too loose,” and “too forced.”

Critic Park Pyeong Sik: Tried to make us cry, ended up getting too vague.
Critic Lee Yong Cheol: This movie unintentionally proves that film is dead and we’re living in an era of soulless coding.
Critic Kim Cheol Hong: A fairytale for those who must leave and those who must come to terms with that.
Critic Jung Jae Hyun: Loosely put together, compensating all the details for mere passion and technology.
Critic Yoo Sun Ah: A difficult realization of life’s imperfections between oblivion and consciousness.
Critic Kim Kyeong Soo: Forcing tears with a cake mix of Zoom and After Life.

Viewers were more divided, though the CGV Golden Egg score (which works the same as the famous U.S. “Tomatometer” from Rotten Tomatoes) has fallen to 81%. While 81% is still a “Golden Egg,” with a “Good” rating, the more successful movies average above 90%. For comparison, Exhuma has maintained a Golden Egg score of 95%.

Some appreciated the deep thought and discussion that the movie sparked…

• “A clever take, but all fueled by the greed of the living. We need to let the dead go… Made me think not to go against what’s natural. Smothered in the regrets from the dying, the left-behind, the living… But the acting was superb. The small details were great. The directing, leaving a lot of the context up to interpretation, was also interesting, too.”
• “Should there ever come a time when re-creating someone with AI is possible, what kind of choices will I end up making? Will holding onto someone you love be any better than letting them go? I started watching without thinking too deeply into it, but it got me pondering about a lot. Sure, it wasn’t a perfect movie, but the idea and the cast’s acting were good enough for me.”
• “A world where the living can’t let go of the dead and the dead can’t be forgotten by the living… It’s hard to tell whether that’s right or wrong. But Wonderland shows us that anything taken too far will only destroy the reality as we know it. What a good movie.”
• “Wonderland comforts both the ones leaving this world and the ones getting left behind. The acting was immaculate and kept me watching the whole time. Don’t forget to pack tissues.”

…while others pointed out the plot and pace of the movie being difficult to follow, despite the cast’s superb acting skills.

• “Such a terribly made movie. It tries to deal with life and death, but there’s no depth to it. No flow. No philosophy. And no fun. I was so disappointed.
• “What a waste of my money this was! I’m so mad. I wouldn’t even watch it for free.”
• “I know how much love Park Bo Gum and Suzy put into promoting this movie, but the director cut out a lot of their story. The whole thing feels so choppy… What a waste of a great cast.”
• “I don’t even like the poster. It’s too simple. What am I supposed to expect from that poster?”
• “TBH, it’s going to end up one of those movies they play on TV over the holidays.”
• “It makes sense why it postponed release for multiple years.”
• “Must be one of the soapy movies that forces you to cry.”
• “Well, I thought the acting was great. After watching the movie, I wanted to see Park Bo Gum and Suzy work together again in a K-Drama.”
• “I liked it. The acting was good.”

For some, though, Wonderland has been a view-changing piece of work. Read more about how SEVENTEEN‘s Seungkwan felt after attending its VIP Screening.

SEVENTEEN Seungkwan’s Latest Post For Park Bo Gum Shatters CARAT Hearts