(Movie Review) 'One Win': uplifting sports drama treading well-worn underdog territory

By Woo Jae-yeon

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- Everyone likely experiences a moment in life where they are desperate for just one win. It is not about becoming a champion but about finding purpose in a hard-earned victory that, hopefully, illuminates the path forward.

The sports drama film "One Win" tells the story of an underdog volleyball team in their pursuit of such a victory to prove that it is not over yet and that they still stand a chance in life.

In the film, the Pink Storm are on the brink of disbandment after losing its star players. Kim Woo-jin (Song Kang-ho) unexpectedly receives an offer to coach the team from Kang Jung-won (Park Jeong-min), a chaebol scion who recently acquired the team.

Woo-jin accepts the offer, not out of a desire to save the team, but to use the opportunity as a stepping stone toward his next career goal -- being recruited as a coach for a prestigious university team.

But it is not that he is particularly ambitious. Rather, he is a divorcee drifting through life without a clear sense of direction, taking opportunities as they come and letting them go just as easily.

Equally, the chaebol scion Jung-won appears to have little genuine interest in saving the team or even in the sport itself.

His main objective appears to be boosting season ticket sales by exploiting the underdog narrative -- a winless, struggling coach, whom he dismissively claims has achieved nothing in life, and players who are just as, if not more, pitiful, all striving for another shot at life.

To promote the narrative and sell tickets, Jung-won offers a 2 billion-won (US$1.44 million) prize if the team can pull off just one win in the entire season.

As the first local film centered on volleyball, it convincingly captures the raw intensity of the sport, drawing viewers into the action through masterful cinematography that seamlessly tracks the lightning-fast ball with remarkable precision.

Featuring appearances by the country's real volleyball stars, including Kim Yeon-koung, the matches in the movie deliver an added sense of realism.

The two lead actors, Song and Park, bring the characters to life, making them incredibly vivid and compelling.

Park's portrayal of the chaebol heir, funny, quirky and somewhat flawed, marks a refreshing departure from the typical, predictable stereotype of a one-dimensional rich boy from a business empire family.

However, the movie's fast-paced progression, while keeping viewers engaged, comes at a cost: supporting characters feel thinly developed, with emotional shifts that appear abrupt rather than organically earned.

As is common in many similar films, an underdog story can only go so far before reaching a predictable happy ending, with no real surprises or twists. But the journey itself can still remain inspiring and rewarding.

"One Win" is set for release Wednesday.

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