''Champion'' is a 2018 South Korean

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Kim Yong-wan. The film stars

Ma Dong-seok Ma Dong-seok (born Lee Dong-seok on March 1, 1971), also known as Don Lee, is a South Korean–American actor. With his breakout performance in ''Train to Busan'' and subsequent leading roles, he has become one of South Korea's most successful a ...

Kwon Yul Gwon Yul (; December 28, 1537 - July 6, 1599) was a Korean Army General and the Commander-in-chief (도원수; 導元帥) of the Joseon Dynasty, who successfully led the Korean forces against Japan during the Japanese invasions of Korea (임진� ...

, and

Han Ye-ri Han Ye-ri (born Kim Ye-ri on December 23, 1984) is a South Korean actress. Career Han built her filmography by starring in short films and indies. She drew notice in the sports drama '' As One'' (2012), for which she learned the Hamgyŏng diale ...

. It is related to arm wrestling competition. The movie is rated 9.4/10 in Asian TV Website within the first month of release.

Plot

The film tells the story of the adopted Mark who was a former arm wrestler but now works as a bouncer. He goes to South Korea for a competition to search for his mother who gave him up for adoption as a child. With help of his friend, Jin-ki, Mark finds his real family, only to learn that his mother had died. He then meets his step-sister and her family whom he never knew. Through his mother's emails that he came to read he learned what it meant to feel her pain of abandoning him. He later wins the national tournament against his opponents and in the end, defeats the opponent named Punch in the final.

Cast

as Mark / Baek Seung-min *

as Jin-ki *

as Soo-jin *

Choi Seung-hun Choi Seung-hoon ( ko, 최승훈, born 1 May 2008), is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television series Web series Film Television shows Awards and nominations References External links * * * 2008 births Liv ...

as Joon-hyung *

Ok Ye-rin Ok Ye-rin (Korean: 옥예린; born on 14 December 2011) is a South Korean child actress. She made her acting debut in 2017, since then, she has appeared in number of films and television series. She is known for her various roles as child actor ...

as Joon-hee

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critic review for Champion reads: "Champion's biggest strengths are its comedic sensibilities, as director Kim Yong-Wan recognizes the inherent absurdity of arm-wrestling and plays it up for big laughs."

Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor Ch ...

of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote:

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=tt8367080 2010s sports comedy-drama films South Korean sports comedy-drama films 2018 films Warner Bros. films Arm wrestling 2010s South Korean films