The Villainess

There's a lot of similarities that can be drawn with this movie and others. There is "Hardcore Henry" which was an experimental 1st Person action movie, and definitely "Le Femme Nikita". The version I saw had terrible amateur subtitles and seemed to run 5 min short of the official release running time. Still, the movie kept my attention through out, which is more than I can say for a lot of the movies I have seen lately. There is some excellent cinematography in regards to the action sequences and they come across fluid and realistic. There is a lot of fairly graphic violence to go along with it, which I kind of liked as anything with a budget from the USA these days seems to be tame on the gore front. Its a shame it seems to be getting such a limited release given the just over 500 + ratings its had on IMDb 3 full months on from its release. Hopefully this movie will find its audience in the future.

This movie reminds me of Batman vs Superman, fantastic action sequence, good cinematography and great score but terrible script. The movie action sequence are like Kingsman except much more brutal. The cinematography was also beautiful. However the main characters were dumb and the villains were cartoonishly evil. You could see the plot twist and the characters motives as soon as you saw the character. If the movie had a simple plot like Raid or Die Hard, it may have been spectacular but instead it tries to be Shakespearean Hamlet saga and fails.

Sook-hee (OK-bin Kim) was just a little girl when the assassin training started in Yanbian, China. After the death of her mentor, she went to South Korea to work as a government agent. They promised her that she would be free after ten years of service, but the truth was not so easy.

Everything you need to know about "The Villainess" comes in the first ten or fifteen minutes. The opening scene is a first-person, frenetic fight scene that just never seems to end. Much like the hallways fight scenes on Netflix's "Daredevil", the punches and kicks are well-coordinated and just get more enjoyable as they go. And despite ultra-violence that goes well beyond Peckinpah, Tarantino, or maybe even Miike, in "The Villainess" it never seems gratuitous. There is an art to the whole thing, which may be less surprising once the viewer discovers the assassin's ballet background.

Some viewers may compare the lead character to the Bride from "Kill Bill", which is not altogether off-base. There is also something of a connection to "The Professional" and "La Femme Nikita" (coincidentally both from Luc Besson). But any comparisons will only go so far, because Sook-hee is a character all her own. While she is trained by her assassin school to be a world-class actress or gourmet chef, this only enhances her ability to get the job done when she needs to fight off several thugs on motorcycles while using a katana. Each fight scene manages to dwarf the previous, going so over-the-top you have to wonder how the stunt people and fight choreographer managed to work it all out.

While writer-director Byung-gil Jung is relatively new to film, genre fans will likely recognize his star, OK-bin Kim, from her role in "Thirst" (2009). If she was not already a big deal, this is the perfect showcase for a wide range of talents and on-screen emotions. To say that Sook-hee carries the film would be an understatement. Amazingly, cinematographer Jung-hun Park and editor Sun-mi Heo have practically no other credits to their names. With the impeccable lighting and clever editing to make long shots seem continuous, it boggles the mind how these folks could not have been in the business for years.

If any criticism of the film needed to be made, it would have to be in the lack of real depth. The characters are two-dimensional at best, and most of the plot twists are fairly obvious up front. While this sort of criticism would be correct, it would also be completely beside the point. "Villainess" is a fun movie, and a real popcorn-munching escape. This is not a cerebral tale with any satire or symbolism, but it never pretends to be.

The Fantasia Film Festival picked this visceral action flick to be their 2017 opening picture (July 13). This was a wise choice. Whether or not it will be considered among the best films at this year's festival remains to be seen, but it is easily one of the most satisfying. Nothing puts rabid genre fans in the mood for three weeks of insanity like a fast-paced ninja-themed bloodbath. Standing ovation? You bet! (For those not attending Fantasia, the US rights were purchased by WellGo earlier in 2017, so expect a limited theatrical run and a home video release in the not-too-distant future.)

'The Villainess (2017)' contains some of the craziest action-sequences in recent cinema, primarily because of the frenzied and ferocious nature of the camera itself. It is used as a tool to put you right in the centre of the violence, often literally putting you in the P.O.V. of our protagonist, and never strays further than a few feet away from any of the killing. As such, there is a claustrophobic and relentless feel to each and every such scene, which don't cut away until away until our lead has finished her dirty-work. Because of this, we don't get to rest until our hero does, instead being breathlessly whisked along from brutal but balletic beat to beat. All of the neck-slicing, blood-spilling, body-piling action feels guttural, given a visceral and grimy sense that only one person can survive. This runs counter to most high-concept pictures of the kind, where glossy, clean framing and shiny, pain-free choreography paint a picture of violence that doesn't really hurt and death that doesn't really matter. While death is depicted as similarly cold and callous here, each life that is taken feels painful and we're always on edge for the few people we care about. It's in both the tight and precise but scrappy and explicit fight-choreography, and subsequent blood-letting, and the down-and-dirty camera-work that the picture finds its footing as an 'in-the-trenches' and 'honest' depiction of despicable work, revenge in high-numbers shown from right up-close and watched with gritted teeth. The strongest of sequences are the opening first-person fight and a phenomenal sword-crossing motorbike chase. Both of these use impressive long-takes and hidden camera-cuts to appear as fluid as possible, with the former being an apparent 'one-shot' until its final moments. The use of small digital cameras allows the frame to go places it wouldn't normally be able, with the audience being transported into a one-on-god-knows-how-many battle or even through the wheels of a moving bike seamlessly, and it allows for a very intimate relationship with the lead and her struggle to survive. The only time a combat scene falls slightly short is in the feature's final movement, with some ever-so-slightly dodgy green-screen sky-replacement honestly looking pretty hokey and reducing the effect of the entire segment. Still, what was achieved on its relatively low budget is undeniably impressive and equally exciting. What isn't as exciting are its slower segments and convoluted, though completely understandable, plot. The contrast of its balls-to-the-wall action with its rather domestic, though still out-there and thematically appropriate, story is quite heavy and isn't always balanced too well. There are times where it feels as though the piece has switched gears entirely, with its initial intentions then coming crashing back down onto its new pace just as you're settling into it. This is conceptually appropriate but it does take you out of the film. As does the contrived plot-device used to inject tension and a proper antagonist in the latter half of the second act. This 'twist' feels as though it comes from nowhere, without the explanation afforded to other sequences of less importance, and is handled with confusion even within the narrative. Still, it doesn't ruin the plot and begins to inject some decent pacing back into the piece. It just feels like most of the picture is, or was trying to be, set-up for this moment but it happens too late for that to be the case, or for it to work successfully. On the whole, there isn't anything that isn't enjoyable about the picture. The eclectic, energetic and exciting action-sequences are a sight to behold and the flick plays with some intriguing themes, as well as having an appropriately 'strange', if slightly generic, story. It is always entertaining, even if it loses its drive and isn't quite as pacy as you'd expect. 6/10

"The Villainess" is a movie with a bravura opening and ending sequence, and a middle which reveals its filmmaker has no idea how to do anything other than bravura sequences. The whole movie couldn't have been like that, apparently - especially not at the idiotic two-hour plus length that it goes on for.

The movie has flashbacks that really add nothing, plastic surgery makeovers that also add nothing except confusion, and a bad guy who changes for no reason I could discern.

It also doesn't evince any sympathy for its protagonist. You want to see her kick butt, sure - but she only does that at the beginning and end of the movie, really. Other than that, you don't care, and I was never really sure who the main bad guy was.

This is a movie that was basically made to be cut up into clips and watched on Youtube, saving everyone's time. Don't bother trying to sit through the whole thing.