Ratings
(My Rating - 8 out of 10)
(IMDb Rating - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588170/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)
What It’s all about
A highly brutal and gory saga of an special agent in Korean police force taking revenge after a serial killer and rapist kills his pregnant wife
Behind the Camera Crew
Director : Kim Jee-woon
Screenplay : Hoon-jung Park
Actors: Byung-hun Lee, Min-sik Choi, In-seo Kim, Oh-san ha
Review
It's brutal, sometimes scary and extremely gory from the beginning till the end but yes, yet I gave it 8 out of 10. Simply because it's extremely well directed, well scripted, well acted and well engaging from the beginning till the end.
This film is about a special agent played by Byung taking revenge on a serial rapist and killer played by Min-sik after he rapes and kills the agent's pregnant wife. The central plot of the film revolves around how a cop who is supposed to be on the good side turns out to be evil during the whole process of revenge thing.
The story starts with Byung's wife played by Oh-san ha waiting in her car in a snowy night at a deserted location as her car broke down and she is talking on phone with her husband played by Byung who perhaps is at some crime-site doing some routine investigation. Min-sik was passing by, saw her and after that abducts, rapes and then kills her. Here, I don't want to reveal much and I left it to the viewer to see and experience the killing and Min-sik's enjoyment to the hilt in doing this ghastly act.
This film is not a who-dunnit kind of story where affected cop is looking for some clues and investigates into his wife's murder to find out who has done it. Albeit we and he figured it out that it’s the brute Kyung-Chul (Choi Min-sik) early on. That’s when the real cat-and-tortured-mouse games begin. Remember, Byung doesn’t want to just catch the guy. He wants him to pay for his wife’s pain. The ways he sets out to do this will make your skin crawl.
Kim Jee-woon is not known for subtlety in his films and it's clearly visible in this film. His trademark is not flinching, never shying from bludgeoning characters well past the point that most directors would yell “Cut,” not hesitating to show what serial killers might want to do with that flesh they have procured. That makes for an overly graphic movie but at the same time engaging as well.
This film is one of the best Korean films I have seen so far and after watching this, my regard and respect to its director Kim Jee-woon has grown multi-fold. Now, I am planning to watch and review his other successful films such as "ä tale of two sisters", "bittersweet life", etc.
Apart from the story-line and terrific acting by its main protagonists, this film's main highlight was its heart-wrenching and over the edge background sound-score which matches extremely well with the scenes on display.
In the last, my advice to readers - in case you are not in these type of films or can't really watch the graphic brutality, this film then is not for you. But for others who can tolerate an extremely well crafted brutality and graphic goriness for more than 2 hours, its a must watch and relish.
HappyMovieWatching !!
It's brutal, sometimes scary and extremely gory from the beginning till the end but yes, yet I gave it 8 out of 10. Simply because it's extremely well directed, well scripted, well acted and well engaging from the beginning till the end.
This film is about a special agent played by Byung taking revenge on a serial rapist and killer played by Min-sik after he rapes and kills the agent's pregnant wife. The central plot of the film revolves around how a cop who is supposed to be on the good side turns out to be evil during the whole process of revenge thing.
The story starts with Byung's wife played by Oh-san ha waiting in her car in a snowy night at a deserted location as her car broke down and she is talking on phone with her husband played by Byung who perhaps is at some crime-site doing some routine investigation. Min-sik was passing by, saw her and after that abducts, rapes and then kills her. Here, I don't want to reveal much and I left it to the viewer to see and experience the killing and Min-sik's enjoyment to the hilt in doing this ghastly act.
This film is not a who-dunnit kind of story where affected cop is looking for some clues and investigates into his wife's murder to find out who has done it. Albeit we and he figured it out that it’s the brute Kyung-Chul (Choi Min-sik) early on. That’s when the real cat-and-tortured-mouse games begin. Remember, Byung doesn’t want to just catch the guy. He wants him to pay for his wife’s pain. The ways he sets out to do this will make your skin crawl.
Kim Jee-woon is not known for subtlety in his films and it's clearly visible in this film. His trademark is not flinching, never shying from bludgeoning characters well past the point that most directors would yell “Cut,” not hesitating to show what serial killers might want to do with that flesh they have procured. That makes for an overly graphic movie but at the same time engaging as well.
This film is one of the best Korean films I have seen so far and after watching this, my regard and respect to its director Kim Jee-woon has grown multi-fold. Now, I am planning to watch and review his other successful films such as "ä tale of two sisters", "bittersweet life", etc.
Apart from the story-line and terrific acting by its main protagonists, this film's main highlight was its heart-wrenching and over the edge background sound-score which matches extremely well with the scenes on display.
In the last, my advice to readers - in case you are not in these type of films or can't really watch the graphic brutality, this film then is not for you. But for others who can tolerate an extremely well crafted brutality and graphic goriness for more than 2 hours, its a must watch and relish.
HappyMovieWatching !!
Well crafted....
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