Yoo Ah-in (left) and Jinyoung (right) are featured in the upcoming film ‘Hi.5.’ Photo courtesy of Netflix and Channel A.
Yoo Ah-in will co-star with Lee Jae-in, Ahn Jae-hong, Ra Mi-ran, Kim Hee-won, Oh Jung-se, and Jinyoung (Got7) in the upcoming action fantasy film Hi.5, scheduled for release on June 3.
A superhero-themed movie, Hi.5, presents a unique narrative premise, juxtaposing self-discovery with survival when five commoners who gain superpowers through an organ transplant must save themselves from the nefarious villains who are out to steal their abilities.
Yoo Ah-in plays Ki-dong, a jobless man who sees electromagnetic waves following a cornea transplant. Writer Ji-sung, played by Ahn Jae-hong, develops amazing breath control in a lung transplant, while Lee Jae-in’s Wan-so, a Taekwondo enthusiast, gains strength following a heart transplant. Oh Jung-se will play her father. As for Ra Mi-ran’s Sun-nyeo, she is a working woman who turns powerful through a kidney transplant, while Kim Hee-won’s Yak-sun is a factory employee who gains the ability to heal others through his liver transplant.
Jinyoung, on the other side, portrays the malicious Young-chun, a cult figure who gains his superhuman strength through a pancreas transplant. He is on a mission to rob the five of their powers and absorb them so he can emerge as the strongest contender.
Hi.5 is written and directed by renowned filmmaker and recipient of several prestigious awards, Kang Hyeong-cheol, credited for making movies like Scandal Makers (2008) and Sunny (2011)—reportedly the highest-grossing Korean films at the time, as well as among the biggest commercial hits in Korean movies thus far. Kang is also noted for the manhwa-based crime film Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014) and the hit drama film Swing Kids (2018), which got him the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards (2019) for Best Director (Film).
Hi.5 comes about seven years after Kang’s Swing Kids. The plot stands out with its unique premise, using the narrative of superpowers through transplants to offer a fresh take on physical transformation and questions about belonging and identity in society.
The protagonists’ journey towards self-acceptance and control of their abilities in the plot seems to me like a metaphor for the difficulties faced by those who undergo sudden but significant physical or personal shifts, emphasizing the importance of strength and adaptability in challenging circumstances.
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