a Time in a Battlefield and Battlefield Heroes show how influenced Korea was by the countries around it (specifically China, Japan and the United States) which caused a lot of internal conflicts within Korea. Release Battlefield Heroes was released in South Korea on January 27, 2011. The box office returns in Korea were not strong which led to Lee Joon-ik announcing his retirement from directing shortly after. Lee announced his retirement through his Twitter account, stating "I’m quitting directing because the audience [for Battlefield Heroes] was just 1.7 million, far fewer than the 2.5 million we had expected." He returned two years later with Hope, casting top actor Sol Kyung-gu in one of the lead roles. The film was shown at film festivals, including the New York Asian Film Festival in July 2011. It had its Canadian premiere on July 31, 2011, at the Fantasia Festival. Reception The Los Angeles Times wrote a generally favorable review of Battlefield Heroes, stating that the film "is a handsome, sweeping period picture, a robust, earthy comedy in which the humor, though sometimes labored, results in an amiable if lengthy entertainment". Film Business Asia gave the film an eight out of ten rating stating that the director had grown "in leaps and bounds as a technically confident film-maker" since the film King and the Clown. The review went on to state that an international audience would benefit "by an introductory caption explaining the story set-up in simple terms, as well as some slight trimming throughout". References External links 2011 films 2010s war comedy films South Korean war comedy films War films based on actual events South Korean sequel films Military humor in film Films set in castles Films set in the 7th century Films set in Goguryeo Films set in Baekje Films set in Silla Films directed by Lee Joon-ik Lotte Entertainment films 2010s Korean-language films Films set in 7th-century Tang dynasty 2011 comedy films 2010s South Korean films