Actor Park Hae-soo delivered another compelling performance, pushing the limits of survival acting.
The Netflix movie ‘The Great Flood,’ released on the 19th, is a sci-fi disaster blockbuster depicting a desperate battle for survival in a submerged apartment on Earth’s final day after a catastrophic flood.
In the film, Park portrays Son Hee-jo, an intelligence security team agent with a stoic personality who prioritizes duty over emotion while navigating extreme conditions to complete his mission and survive.
Park built his character with quick judgment and decisiveness. His cool-headed demeanor amidst extreme physical exhaustion, coupled with restrained acting that contrasted with intense action, vividly highlighted the character’s traits.
In the latter part of the film, Hee-jo’s behavior shifts when he discovers he has unwittingly been repeating a cycle of trying to save Anna (played by Kim Da-mi).
Hee-jo transitions from a mission executor to understanding and supporting Anna’s choices, ultimately making a new decision after repeatedly facing similar situations.
Hee-jo’s personal trauma underlies this change. Abandoned by his mother as a child, he had believed that in extreme situations, anyone would abandon their closest loved ones.
However, witnessing Anna’s unwavering determination not to give up on Ja-in (Kwon Eun-sung), he realized his belief was flawed. The line, “If it disappeared a thousand times, it means someone was waiting for someone to find them,” symbolically reflects Hee-jo’s shift in perception.
The primary setting of ‘The Great Flood’ is an apartment where floodwaters, caused by melting Antarctic glaciers from an asteroid collision, rise endlessly.
Park confronts the disaster head-on, fully immersing himself in the scenario as floodwaters mercilessly rise from the first to higher floors, threatening lives and realistically conveying the disaster’s urgency.
Particularly notable are the high-intensity underwater action scenes, where Park excelled. He maintained character movement and tension while maneuvering underwater, engaging in physical combat, and handling firearms in unpredictable environments—key elements that enhanced the film’s immersion.
In ‘The Great Flood,’ Park masterfully navigates the physical demands of underwater scenes, high-level action, and firearm use, all while effectively conveying the character’s narrative and emotional arc within the disaster genre.
He has once again proven his capabilities as an actor committed to fully embodying his character even in extreme conditions. Expectations are high for what new limits he will push in his next project.
Meanwhile, ‘The Great Flood,’ starring Park Hae-soo, is currently streaming on Netflix.
Image source: Netflix
