Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » FANTASIA 2025: ‘Hi-Five’ Introduces A Scrappy, Superpowered Team Up

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Hi-Five’ Introduces A Scrappy, Superpowered Team Up

Allyson JohnsonBy Allyson Johnson07/28/20254 Mins Read
Hi-Five
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

We are so inundated with the excess of superhero films these days that it takes a lot to offer up something new. We have seen every superhero origin story told again and again, and even when it’s wrapped in new packaging, the beats remain familiar. Sure, some are well made – some are spectacular – but how many of them are offering up something new? Written and directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, Hi-Five tries to deliver something unexpected with an actual ragtag team of superpowered strangers who, despite their differences in class and age, come together to face down an immediate threat to their lives. It mostly works despite some definite rough patches. 

Hi-Five slowly pieces together our main team after an introductory event where the body of an organ donor vanishes, disintegrating into ashes while in a hospital. From there, his organs are transferred to five different recipients, giving each the power and a mysterious tattoo that links them. 

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Wan-seo (Lee Jae-in) serves as our main protagonist and the character who brings the rest of the five-member team together. Overwhelmed by her father, who has been suffocating her ever since her heart transplant, Wan-seo is feeling stifled by his refusal to let her live an everyday teenage life, too fearful of her health relapsing. This changes dramatically, however, when she learns one day that she now possesses superhuman strength and speed. Her desire to learn more leads her down a path of finding the other recipients, though the rest of the group have less showstopping displays of power. 

A charismatic group of characters delivers the best moments in Hi-Five.

Wan-seo prepares to fight

There’s Park Ji-sung (Ahn Jae-hong), who can summon gusts of wind and butts heads with the wealthy Ki-dong (Yoo Ah-in), who can manipulate electricity. Rounding out their team is Yak-seon (Kim Hee-won), who can heal others, and Seon-nyeo (Ra Mi-ran), who has yet to discover her exact power but brandishes a tattoo, indicating she is one of them. The five of them must work together against a cult leader with the ability to absorb the energy of others who seeks a God-like ascension. 

Hi-Five refuses to adhere to any pre-existing guidelines on what their superhero team should look like. No one is a chiseled, dehydrated athlete, and not all of them are purely virtuous. Instead, their coming together is more of an act of chance, and this kind of shrug of a response to powers – what else can they do with them other than use them for some sort of good? That they come from different walks of life and of various ages only adds to the humor. They’re truly a group of misfits who don’t fit together yet find a found family in one another regardless. 

However, strong characters and an intriguing central conceit aren’t enough to elevate Hi-Five to the necessary heights. There’s definite charm, and the actors all imbue their characters with an essential amount of warmth and intrigue to make them watchable, but the narrative itself and the direction lack. For such an offbeat take on the superhero genre, the film needed a director with a stronger sense of style. 

Bland direction hampers what would otherwise be a charming superhero flick.

Seon-nyeo in Hi-Five

The film is bland in its direction, hampered by unsatisfying effects when showing off a character’s new skill. Wan-seo’s speed and strength carry no weight or urgency for the majority of Hi-Five, despite the immense power she possesses. There’s one signature stand-out scene where we see four of our five characters racing through the streets while being pursued. While the special effects are still on the rudimentary side, it works because it forces the four characters to work together and figure out how to use their powers in tandem, rather than simply allowing Wan-seo’s speed to get them out of trouble. 

Any scene where the group works together stands out because it delivers on the promise of the feature—a superhero story. Albeit a very unlikely one. The clash of personalities, styles, and strengths works in the film’s favor, adding to its abundance of silly charm. There are no real stakes here because everything is so heightened and cartoonish that it instantly defuses the tension with its bloodless consequences. 

The dull start, due to the numerous introductions required, strikes an unfortunately somber tone, but revs up once the team is in place. While Hi-Five struggles to deliver on its immense promise, it, at the very least, offers us something fresh in the genre. If only a stronger filmmaker had thought of it first. 

Hi-Five played as a part of the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Hi-Five
  • 6.5/10
    Rating - 6.5/10
6.5/10

TL;DR

While Hi-Five struggles to deliver on its immense promise, it, at the very least, offers us something fresh in the genre. If only a stronger filmmaker had thought of it first.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Tales Of The Shire’ Has Magic, Even If Its Sometimes Hard To Find
Next Article EARLY ACCESS REVIEW: ‘Grounded 2’ Is Bigger, Buggier, And Better
Allyson Johnson

Allyson Johnson is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of InBetweenDrafts. Former Editor-in-Chief at TheYoungFolks, she is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Boston Online Film Critics Association. Her writing has also appeared at CambridgeDay, ThePlaylist, Pajiba, VagueVisages, RogerEbert, TheBostonGlobe, Inverse, Bustle, her Substack, and every scrap of paper within her reach.

Related Posts

The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

09/11/2025
Natasha O’Keeffe in Whitetail
6.5

TIFF 2025: ‘Whitetail’ Is An Intimate View Of A Woman Stuck In Time

09/10/2025
Love Brooklyn
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Love, Brooklyn’ Rests on Pretty

09/10/2025
Park Jeong-min in The Ugly
7.0

TIFF 2025: ‘The Ugly’ Is A Harsh Exercise In Self-Reflection

09/09/2025
No Other Choice
9.0

TIFF 2025: ‘No Other Choice’ Delivers a Bleak Vision of Capitalism

09/09/2025
Molly Lewis in Whistle
8.0

TIFF 2025: ‘Whistle’ Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

09/07/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Gojo Jujutsu Kaisen - But Why Tho (2) Features

Everything To Know About Satoru Gojo

By Kate Sánchez09/07/2023Updated:02/16/2025

Satoru Gojo is the heart of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — now, heading into Cour 2, here is everything you need to know about the character.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here