Wonderland review: Is the Netflix Korean movie worth a watch?

Wonderland starring South Korean actors Park Bo-gum and Bae Suzy was released on Netflix on July 26, 2024. The film was originally released in South Korean theatres on June 5, 2024, however, it failed to attract even a million ticket sales.

The movie centers around a futuristic world where a company offers people to create AI-generated memories of their deceased loved ones. Bae Suzy portrays the 20-something-old flight attendant, Jeong-in, who recreates the AI version of her boyfriend Park Tae-joo (Park Bo-gum). Tae-joo has been in a comatose state for some time and finds it hard to adjust to the real world after regaining consciousness.

The latest film is reminiscent of the Hollywood sci-fi movie Her starring Scarlette Johannson and Joaquin Phoenix, which showed humans co-existing with AI as a guy falls in love with his AI assistant. However, Wonderland is more about a lover's yearning to reunite with her beloved; it is also about a mother's undying will to be with her daughter at all costs.

Wonderland is an easy watch despite having several confusing scenes where it fails to provide clarity to viewers. The story has several sub-arcs that could have been used to answer questions like how Bai Li's AI replica was able to override the system and feel emotions.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this movie review belong solely to the author.

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Wonderland's lacklustre plot leaves several questions unanswered with an even more confusing ending

In his latest sci-fi fantasy film, director Kim Tae-yong imagines an AI future in which a firm named "Wonderland" provides video call services that allow individuals to maintain contact with loved ones who have passed away. Nevertheless, the film leaves viewers questioning the depth of human connections.

With a devastating conclusion, the film leaves viewers with more questions than it answers. Concerns about the program's potential impact on a person's mental and emotional stability arise, as does the judgment of holding onto the deceased without giving them a proper send-off.

Interestingly, the AI can use family recollections, historical images, and videos to build a character of the departed. However, people can never meet the AI replicas or tell them about the deaths of the original person as it may confuse the AI's coding. Over time, the AI builds their personalities over daily interactions with their respective family members.

Choi Woo-shik and Jung Yu-mi play "Wonderland" service providers, who customize the program for each of their clients. They are tasked with creating Bai Li's AI personality and providing the service to her daughter who is unaware of her mother's death.

Though Choi Woo-shik and Jung Yu-mi play secondary characters in the movie, they do justice to their limited screen time in this emotionally charged film. Still, director Kim Tae-yong left Choi Woo-shik's and Jung Yu-mi's characters underwritten.

Meanwhile, the AI version of Tae-joo (Park Bo-gum) is an astronaut on a spaceship in the virtual world. In real life, he used to be a flight attendant before a fatal accident left him comatose for years.

The virtual Tae-joo communicates with Jeong-in through a phone device. He wakes her up every morning, reminds her to take her vitamins, and entertains her via video calls. Bae Suzy delivers an impeccable performance as Jeong-in, who spends each day with the AI-recreation of her beloved.

It is crucial to note that Wonderland is the story of Jeong-in (Bae Suzy) and Bai Li (Tang Wei). Bai Li uses the AI service to create artificial memories for her daughter so that her daughter will never learn about her death. Bai Li pretends to be an archaeologist uncovering antiquated artifacts in a distant desert and shares her daily activities with her daughter through the service as though she were still alive.

However, in actuality, even her AI existence is unaware that the real Bai Li has succumbed to her illness. Tang Wei's portrayal as Bai Li, a mother, is a testament to her acting prowess since she has a young daughter in real life.

Tang Wei exhibits a surprising depth of emotion while expressing a wide variety of feelings, from inner strength to grief and perplexity. The scenes make us question our human capacity to embrace others, which would cease to exist if we could command or recreate an AI persona that will match even our unrealistic expectations from relationships.

Furthermore, the star-studded lineup includes big names like Gong Yoo, Tang Wei, and Choi Woo-shik, which brings forth several captivating scenes in the film. However, Gong Yoo makes a special appearance in Wonderland, as one of the character's Bai Li's virtual world. Several character arcs were underdeveloped while some scenes were overplayed in this Netflix Korean film.

Even in the end, the movie doesn't answer who Choi Woo-shik's real father is. Bae Suzy's Jeong-in's irritation towards the real Tae-joo was confusing as she started avoiding him despite his suffering from cognitive dissociation due to his coma.

Additionally, it was still unclear if Gong Yoo's character, Sung-joon, was a figment of Bai Li's virtual world or another employee like Choi Woo-shik and Jung Yu-mi. Or was he another AI designed to take care of Bai Li's codes and AI replica?

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Wonderland is a good attempt to see a futuristic world through the lens of two female protagonists as they navigate human connections and emotions. However, the movie is a one-time watch, at best, with some heartwarming moments and a lot of missed opportunities that the director could have leveraged.

Wonderland is available on Netflix for global streaming.