Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 26, 2018

In just one of those synchronicities and/or coincidences that can’t be entirely accounted for in any rational way, this supposed quote from the Dalai Lama popped up on one of my social media feeds just as I was preparing to review Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days, a film which deals overtly with aspects of Buddhism and (especially) reincarnation:

Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much. Whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much; as a Buddhist, whether you believe in reincarnation or not does not matter so much. You must lead a good life. And a good life does not mean just good food, good clothes, good shelter. These are not sufficient. A good motivation is what is needed: compassion, without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their rights and human dignity.

While the belief in reincarnation is an underlying tenet of both this film and its predecessor, Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds, that “without complicated philosophy” bit gets left largely by the wayside in both films, arguably even more so in this sequel, which offers an almost insane amount of plot mechanics as three “way showers” attempt to guide a deceased fireman to either reincarnation or eternal damnation. That journey would probably be enough to inform most any other film (and indeed it’s the main focus of the first Along with the Gods), but in this follow up, two of those “way showers” also descend to our mortal plane to supposedly “help” an elderly man make his “ascension” (that’s “philosophical” speak for dying, in case you were wondering). That leads to a whole sidebar (actually, a whole bunch of sidebars) where not only the earthly predicament of the elder and his sweet grandson are developed, but a “house spirit” looking over the pair turns out to have a longstanding connection with the two spirits sent to claim the old man, leading to a sometimes confounding series of flashbacks.

Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days picks up more or less exactly where the first film left off (the two films were reportedly shot simultaneously), though a quick “dream” sequence begins to hint at reincarnation — in this case, of Guardian Gang-rim (Ha Jung-woo). Gang-rim spends most of the rest of the film attempting to “help” Soo-hong (Kim Dong-Wook), the troubled brother of the first film’s focal “dead person”, who has to undergo his own 49 day set of trials (and definitely tribulations). An opening fracas with “head afterlife honcho” King Yeomra (Lee Jung-jae) leads to a “contest” of sorts, though as with the first film, I’m not certain those without a secure grounding in Korean myth and/or religion will have a firm grasp on some of the details. While certain sequences of the almost quest like efforts of Gang-rim and Soo-hong are among the most stupendous CGI moments of the film, from a narrative standpoint they may strike some (as they did me) as near incomprehensible. What, for example, is up with Gang-rim attaching Soo-hong to a giant masthead on a ship and then repeatedly dunking him in an ocean where leech like creatures attach themselves to him?

Meanwhile, part of the “deal” made between the Guardians and King Yeomra leads to the “earthbound” element at play in the film, as Haewonmak (Ju Ji-hoon) and Deok-choon (Kim Hyang-gi) are sent to “retrieve” an elderly man who has overstayed his mortal existence welcome (at least according to Yeomra). Unfortunately for this pair of Guardians, the old man and his adorable grandson are being protected by a so-called “house spirit”, Sung-ju (Ma Dong-seok), who in turn ends up having important knowledge of the former lives of both of the Guardians (hence the flashback sequences mentioned above).

While there’s an expected attempt to weave all of these disparate elements together (including how past lives of various characters intersected), this is probably an overstuffed offering with too many competing story elements going on for any of them to develop a ton of momentum. As with the first film, there are fairly obvious efforts to tug at the heartstrings, most obviously with regard to the old man and his grandson, but also at least in part with regard to the past lives of the Guardians. The film is continually impressive on both visual and audio levels, but it tends to wander to and fro in terms of both timelines and individual back stories that it ends up seeming like an almost hallucinatory crazy quilt. That probably means any attempts at developing emotional tethers fall by the CGI wayside.

Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. Considering the fact that many online sources detail the fact that both Along With the Gods films were shot simultaneously (and as is even mentioned in one of the brief supplements included on this particular release), it may seem just a trifle odd that this release's aspect ratio is 2.38:1 while the first film got released in 2.39:1. Other than that, though, this is an extremely similar looking transfer, although I personally score it just a bit higher since I was more consistently impressed with fine detail levels, and I also noticed very little if any of the banding that afflicted the first release. Once again, the film is a veritable riot of CGI, and as is often the case with such ubiquitously green screened material, there's a certain softness that can accrue in some of the backgrounds. That said, other CGI elements, like the almost Ray Harryhausen-esque dinosaurs that show up late in the film have excellent detailing and nice, almost palpable, textures. The palette is widely variant, as perhaps can be made out in some of the screenshots accompanying the review. The "hellscapes" vary from lush, watery environments to barren deserts, while the "earthbound" sequences are often brightly candy colored and pop extremely vividly.

Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days has a fantastically immersive DTS:X track, one of the more consistently impressive tracks from an Asian fantasy film I've reviewed lately. From the first huge washes of sound that pass over and past the listener as the opening battle scene begins, it's clear that regular engagement of all the surround channels will be the norm rather than the exception here. The film abounds in completely outtlandish sequences where a variety of well rendered sound effects consistently swirl through the air and around the soundstage, but commendably dialogue and score are also presented cleanly and clearly and with excellent prioritization. Fidelity is spot on throughout the track and dynamic range is also extremely wide.

Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Character Introduction (1080p; 2:37) plays as more of a trailer with some "recap" elements.


• Production Documentary (1080i; 3:00) is actually a very short EPK with snippets of interviews and some glimpses of some of the green screen elements.


• Teaser Trailer (1080p; 00:36 )


• Trailer (1080p; 1:39)

As is standard operating procedure with most Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the supplements have been authored to follow each other automatically, though each is accessible separately under the Bonus Menu (that said, if there are any supplements after the one you've chosen, those will then play automatically afterwards). Trailers for other Well Go USA releases follow these supplements automatically. Those same trailers for other Well Go USA releases play automatically at disc boot up as well.

Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As incomprehensible as much of Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days may be, there are still pretty glaring lapses in whatever logic the film offers. Why, for example, would King Yeomra send two Guardians to deal with a spirit who restores memories that Yeomra himself erased? And what is up with the grandmother character who shows up for one brief scene and is never seen nor referred to again? But for those who (as I often do) like "shiny object" films, despite some confounding aspects, Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days provides a lot to look at and to listen to, even when not much sense is accompanying it all. Technical merits are first rate, for those considering a purchase.