Psychokinesis: An Oddly Entertaining Little Film

By Dave B.

​The Korean-language Psychokinesis (Netflix), is an odd film. It’s a quasi-campy “superhero” movie about a deadbeat dad who gains telekinetic powers and tries to help his estranged daughter prevent her fried chicken business from being destroyed by the thugs who killed her mother after being subcontracted by a major corporation to clear out the market district where her store is located in order to build a shopping center for Chinese tourists. So, yeah. The plot is a little involved.

​The first thirty minutes of the movie are boring. I can’t soften that critique so I won’t even try. That said, the final hour of the movie is fairly entertaining. This isn’t a big-budget movie by any means, but the cast really throw themselves into their roles (that pun will be hilarious to you once you watch the movie, I promise). The acting is decent. It’s generally more enthusiastic than competent, but enthusiasm can take a movie pretty far if it doesn’t take itself too serious, which Psychokinesis doesn’t. Jung Yu-mi’s performance as Director Hong is more than solid and actually fairly intimidating. She’s a very talented actress who was also in one of my favorite movies, Train to Busan (review here). The translated subtitles are bad, but if viewers can make it past the first half-hour, the movie builds enough momentum to hold your interest and enable you to mostly ignore that issue.

​Psychokinesis isn’t a great movie. I don’t think that I would even categorize it as good. But it is cute, mostly lighthearted, and fun. I wouldn’t put this movie at the top of your queue if you have a lot of other good things to watch, but if you’re looking for some feel-good entertainment on a dreary day, there are worse things that you could spend your time watching. 5.5/10