A pivot is attempted here to move "Goblin" from a generally strange comedic drama to a more serious one. The results are mixed. To be honest I sort of forgot that Eun-tak didn't know the Goblin would die if she pulled the sword out. I kind of assumed that Eun-tak knew that taking the sword out would do something serious at least. Then again the characters in "Goblin" are not that competent when it comes to speculating as to the results of their actions.
Really, I'm halfway convinced the whole reason for Eun-tak's escape was just an excuse to do advertising for one of South Korea's ski resorts. I am loathe to specify which ski resort Eun-tak goes to on account of the fact that then I'll be doing the advertising too. It's the same issue with those sandwiches, which show up everywhere, even when a joke is made about how the Goblin is a very snappy dresser who could presumably afford better sandwiches were he inclined to do so.
But these weird head games also serve to make me forget the many plot holes in "Goblin", like how exactly Eun-tak got to the ski resort in the first place. And then there's all the world-shattering stuff going on in the background, like the Goblin using the weather to conduct searches somehow, the looming presence of the benevolent corporate conspiracy, or the Grim Reaper ironically forgetting that he wiped Sunny's memory, or Sunny wearing a turtleneck so small it exposes her midriff. Now that last one's just plain weird.
Oddly enough none of these strange plot points have any continuity errors, which makes it unclear which of these scenes are supposed to be important or just offbeat filler. Take the bit where the man crashes into the Grim Reaper's inner sanctum and much is made of how this is suppsoed to be totally impossible. Is this a sign of some impending form of supernatural apocalypse, or just a silly toilet humor?
Tonal issues are not helped by the cliffhanger, which starts out with big dramatic music popping up when a character offhandedly mentions Sunny's real name. I find it's much easier to gauge the intent of the production team via the musical cues rather than more intuitive methods, like the direction or the writing. Even the promise of more widescreen flashbacks feels like too little too late as far as backdrop is concerned.
Source:HanCinema
