Korean cinema has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, which is amazing considering its historical past and curious present. This film by Hun Jang continues the good work laid down by the likes of Bong Joon-Ho (The Host and Kim Ji-Woon (The Good, The Bad, The Weird).

It's 1953 and despite on-going dialogue between North and South, Korea is a country divided by war. Fighting on the side of the southerners is Eun-Pyo (Ha-Kyun Shin); after a sticky situation he found himself in, he was expected to either be sent to prison, or worse. And in a sense his punishment is more of the latter.

They have received intel that there may be a mole in the midst of Alligator Company, part of the first battalion. Not only that, a commanding officer was found dead under somewhat suspicious circumstances, as it appears he was shot by a gun from his own side. So Eun-Pyo and a captain are sent to the Eastern Front to investigate.

When they get there they are shocked by how bad the situation is. The acting commander appears to be younger than his current post suggests, and the men under him have been truly ravaged by war.

Just as the pair begin their enquiries, the company are ordered to take the area known as Aerok Hill, an area that now separates the two sides on the map. It's no wonder the members of Alligator Company are fairly blasé over the command, as this particular hill has passed hands between themselves and the enemy at least thirty times in the last two years.

As Eun-Pyo suddenly finds himself drafted into the ranks of Alligator Company, he begins to get not only a better understanding of the unwinnable war they find themselves in, but also a glimpse into the horrors his fellow soldiers have faced in the past.

I bet those guys on Band of Brothers got a Winnebago each. What do we get? A dodgy caravan to share.

Considering the relatively small size of Korean cinema, South Korean film defies expectation and belief in being so very epic in scale. Its director Hun Jang impresses with his cinematic savvy, cluttered as it is with gloriously sweeping vistas of war.

Luckily, the story is an engaging one too. The battle for the hill could have been presented in a fairly straightforward manner, but the script has a little more depth than that. And if that wasn't enough, it even manages to have an unexpected and highly welcome twist in its finale.

Hun Jang also manages to draw out some nice performances from his ensemble cast who do well to show a united front in the face of adversity.

Considering that this type of film is few and far between these days, The Front Line does a sterling job in waving the flag for all the classic war films that have gone before it. It doesn't pretend to re-invent the genre, but instead chooses to pay homage to it with military precision.