Aboard the spaceship called Victory are four unlikely people who sell space junks for a living.
Bubs (Yoo Hae-jin) is a military robot who plans to be a woman someday. He serves many roles inside and outside the spaceship. But usually, he is in charge of hooking up space junks with his harpoon.
Park Kyung-soo (Jin Seon-kyu), or Tiger Park, is a former drug king who escapes Earth to avoid capture. Even though he has a reputation, he uses his money to help poor children. He is now in charge of the spaceship engine.
Jang Hyun-sook (Kim Tae-ri), or Captain Jang, is the chief of the ship. She is considered a genius and a trained engineer. At a young age, Captain Jang formed a pirate group that aims to destroy the colossal company, UTS. But after failing and leading most of her men to their death, she now lives under a false identity.
Kim Tae-ho (Song Joong-ki) is the first-ever UTS genius and the inaugural commander of the Space Guard. As a soldier, he must follow orders even if it hurts people. But after illegally saving a human baby named Sun-ni, his heart and ideology change. And because he is unable to follow his duty anymore, he got dismissed.
Kim Tae-ho hits rock bottom overnight. And to make matters worst, he lost his adopted daughter in a freak accident.
He now works as the pilot of Victory.
One day, while fixing some parts of the spaceship. The crew discovers an android child secretly on-board in their cabin. Her name is Dorothy (Park Ye-rin), and according to the news, she is a literal walking bomb.
At first, they want to get rid of her. But the group soon realizes that there is something more about her that they need to protect.
"Space Sweepers" is the first outer space sci-fi flick of South Korea, and it is a sure treat.
People who like space movies such as "Star Wars", "Firefly", and "Guardians of the Galaxy" will love this film. It features exhilarating chase sequences, witty dialogues, and cool fight scenes. Even more so, it's a visual feast with beautifully rendered environments and spacecraft.
At the core of "Space Sweepers" is a story that will pull at people's heartstrings. Although it has its debilities: it's pretty generic, a tad long, and contains many storyline clichés. However, the film still manages to find the right beat to make it work. All thanks to the casts' sweet and lovable charm.
Moreover, the film is self-aware enough on its commentary about capitalism and pollution. It depicts a future where Earth is on life support because of greed and power. Jo Sung-hee's feature sends a clear message for everyone to protect mother nature before it's too late.
In summary, "Space Sweepers" is a good popcorn film. Considering that there aren't many sci-fi films on Netflix, this one is so refreshing to watch. It is not perfect, though. The plot needs tightening, and the villain is too bland and boring. But despite all these, I enjoyed every minute of it. I'm already on board if this will ever have a sequel, to be honest!
4/5
