Space Sweepers did give a pretty standard space opera construct in the storyline, but that meant that the audience could anticipate what was going to happen and therefore enjoy the changes and the adjustments to genre, more. The was the way they treated the characters as an ensemble of people with different perspectives, who were also able to live and work together effectively, was what made it so clever.
The character that in any Hollywood movie until very recently would've been played by a white male and be the lead character was in this case presented as having an incredibly flawed moral compass and the lowest in pecking order among his crewmates. The main power characters, in contrast, were an asian woman, a male who did not fit the standard norms of handsome and caring, and an android that sounded male but identified as female.
It used humour in a way that was inclusive rather than targeting individuals or minorities (had some Guardians of the Galaxy vibe here) Additionally, the normalisation of multiple languages, rather than expecting that everybody would speak the same language, is a huge step forward in what is considered blockbuster cinema. Until now, it was only seen in hard-core sci-fi series, like The Expanse.
Yes, Space Sweepers did have some cliche aspects, and the baddie was indubitably not fleshed out or given any reason for his actions, however that should not take away from what is a great example of how K-cinema has changed our expectations of how we should see ourselves on screen in 2021, as global citizens.
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