Na Hong-jin's 'Hope' Drops at Cannes 2026 — A 'Brilliant, Bawdy, Broken-CGI' Sci-Fi Riot, According to Critics

Na Hong-jin — the Korean director behind The Chaser, The Yellow Sea, and The Wailing — finally premiered his long-awaited fourth feature, Hope, in competition at Cannes 2026. Korean Instiz users have been frantically aggregating overseas critics' reactions, and the picture that's emerging is... extremely on-brand for Na Hong-jin: divisive, ambitious, and impossible to ignore.

The setup

A mysterious presence wipes out a 1970s Korean coastal village. A cop (Hwang Jung-min) chases the unknown thing across the countryside, half-mystified, half-haunted. The first hour plays like a Wailing-style mystery thriller — then the creature actually shows up, and Hope shifts gears into a full-blown blockbuster sci-fi action movie.

Variety: "Among the best — and funniest — action movies you have ever seen"

Variety's Jessica Kiang led with one of the boldest takes:

"Despite subpar creature effects and silly stabs at mythology, for about 70% of its hefty runtime, the Korean master's fourth film is among the best — and funniest — action movies you have ever seen."

Vogue France: "The big shock of Cannes 2026"

Vogue France's Lolita Mang went further, calling Hope "le grand choc du Festival de Cannes 2026" — the festival's biggest shock — and arguing it proves how thin the line can get between auteur cinema and pure blockbuster.

IndieWire's David Ehrlich: "Mummy Returns–level CGI. Something went very wrong here."

Not everyone is sold. IndieWire's David Ehrlich gave the film a D+ and tweeted that the magic falls apart the moment the creature is actually shown:

"The first hour of Na Hong-jin's blockbuster creature feature is electric. Then you actually *see* the creature and it all falls apart. The script is worthy of the Mummy Returns–level CGI. Something went very wrong here."

Cine21's Kim So-mi: "Cannes Competition's alien moment"

Korean critic Kim So-mi, writing for Cine21, called Hope proof that the Cannes competition lineup is officially home to aliens — half Wailing, half loud cosmic action epic, with a deliberate absence of subtext.

"Almost everyone's first reaction was: 'What did we just watch?'"

Where this lands

The early consensus, even from the skeptics, is that Hope is not a Palme d'Or contender — but it's clearly the talked-about title of the festival, and the kind of movie Na Hong-jin fans (the ones who've waited a decade since The Wailing) are going to argue about for years. Brutal practical electricity, terrible CGI, action set pieces compared favorably to Predator and The Host, and a director who apparently still does not care what the festival jury thinks.

In short: Cannes got hit by an alien, and nobody can agree if it was a masterpiece or a disaster — which is the most Na Hong-jin outcome possible.