Veteran - Above the Law

I rarely watch Asian movies, I made an exception for this one because I liked the description and the poster. I didn't regret watching it. The way the drama/comedy/detective/action is combined is truly amazing. It made me cry a little, laugh a lot, smile and be sad trough the movie. The detective's perseverance and the limits that he pushes makes it a wonderful story. I liked that we get to see a bad ass woman detective in a secondary role that we rarely see in Hollywood, (a thing that is something normal in Asian movies). Also, the fact that the main character was not a martial arts master is a big plus. A truly inspiring family and friends relationships between characters and real life situations is what makes this movie almost a masterpiece. The level of the actors, their playing deserves and Oscar or at least some international appreciation.

The first act of Veteran consists of utter shenanigans and plenty of nut shots, which might undermine its closer to reality dark story later on. When it introduces the rich mad antagonist it ramps up into one of the best cop dramas from Korea in recent times. The setup is smart, often looking eerily authentic yet still presents a couple of heavy themes with strikingly eccentric characters.

It opens up with simple case of car smuggling which feels as though it's usual Korean drama, while funny it doesn't possess the right gravitas. About half an hour comes the antagonist Tae Oh (Ah In Yoo) who practically turns the tone upside down. From then it's a mental and physical struggle that's utterly bloody and dark. This is quite the brutal chess game of cop versus criminal.

It's definitely a pleasant surprise, delivering harrowing scene of debauchery and corruption. The way the actors carry themselves bring just enough realism to the character, either it's from the daily life or interaction between colleagues or disproportionate respect to boss. The social and public culture is exaggerated, yet it's odd enough to be real. The director knows how to present the characters, both the flawed antagonist and seemingly suave antagonist, and make audience root or despise them.

Action is pretty good, it keeps the tone of actual brawl with real life martial art and has succeeded on portraying impact on its punches and kicks. The visual takes very direct ambiance and aside for a few distinct moments, it keeps the genuine atmosphere intact. If there's a hindrance in the movie, it's that the quirky comedy might not translate well. These types of gags are common for Korean shows, but they do tend to be excessive.

Using far end spectrum from both crime drama and action comedy, Veteran is a fervid and visceral cop thriller with dissonantly relatable social backdrop.

The beginning bit alone is worth watching the movie. Of course the movie has to settle a bit after that much mayhem, but does pick up the pace towards the end again. The comedy action mixture is really fitting and the actors are doing a great job. It's obvious they have fun with the script and the comedy that ensues.

It may seem all over the place and a bit over the top (alright sometimes a lot over the top), but if you don't mind that, you will be entertained as much as I did. South Korea has some really good filmmakers and some great talent in general and here are some on display if you are open minded and love originality, than you should give this a try

Veteran initially comes off as a typical, if still very good, action comedy in which we're introduced to Seo Do-cheol, a skilled detective who is in the process of busting up a car smuggling ring. In the first ten minutes we get both plenty of comedy and action as Do-cheol and his fellow officers show themselves as more grounded and relatable, despite Do-cheol's excellent martial arts skills. While we do get plenty of quick hitting action, we also get cops who get winded, criminals who run without shooting, and other foregone clichés that might exist otherwise. However, it isn't until we get to the meat of the story that we start to see the unconventional turns take place.

The story truly starts, about 30-40 minutes in, when Do-cheol meets Jo Tae-oh, a spoiled, rich, and sadistic executive at the powerful Sun- jin group. When Tae-oh becomes responsible for the near death of one of Do-cheol's friends. It sets in motion a cat and mouse game, with Do-cheol the unstoppable force and Tae-oh blocking him at every point. The film isn't especially action packed, though we do get a few moments of action here and there. Much of this is mixed between comedy and crime drama. What makes the comedy especially good is that it's not only somewhat unconventional for a crime drama of this sort, but that our characters are made relatable and realistic. Despite how they may be set up to be more than average, we're quickly reminded that they're still only human. The interactions are also wonderful, as we witness their personal connections and how they defy the clichéd character types. Do-cheol himself, played wonderfully and charismatically by the excellent Jeong-min Hwang, defies his first impression by having to navigate the legal system to catch Tae-oh in a way that is more about outsmarting his opponent than beating him up. He may act like a supercop, but as we see in the film, his more brutal actions come back to bite him. Tae-oh, played by an equally charming but far more sadistic Ah In Yoo, is a little more clichéd. He's a typically hated bad guy who has no problem embarrassing those around him, beating people up, and pushing his responsibilities onto others. Suffice to say, he plays a typical spoiled rich brat here. But it works. There's a scene early on which demonstrates this well, having a father get beaten in front of his son. He's a truly despicable.

The film is constantly entertaining all the way through and rarely lets up. We do get great scenes of drama and emotion, and the film does an excellent job of making Do-cheol likable, but it's at it's best when Do-cheol is navigating the roadblocks being placed in front of him and overcome his obstacles, which become increasingly more dangerous. When Do-cheol and Tae-oh finally confront each other, it will have been well worth it and the confrontation is something to be relished. This is a very well crafted film that balances all it's elements just right, never coming off as too melodramatic, and much of what works is owed to the excellent writing and acting by the two leads. Korea strikes gold again with this excellent film.

Brilliantly directed and even more effectively presented by all the actors. Ground breaking storyline backed by excellent dialogues and acting. Worth your precious time for sure. But I bet that in reality this super rich are too powerful and beyond the reach of cops. Let's hope that one day this will happen in reality as well.