The Drug King

Better than Scarface because it it is part dark comedy part blood and guts thriller. If you watch a lot of Korean movies you will get the style a lot sooner. The tension between Japanese gangsters is as much political as it is territorial. The movie straddles the Yushin (4th Republic) and 5th Republic eras including the assassination of Park chung-Hee. I watched on Netflix and it kept me engaged throughout. So good I will watch again very soon.

The story is pretty much the same as Scarface, so it's impossible to not draw a comparison. If you take away the legendary cultural status the movie Scarface has in the "West" and just put the two side by side, I would say this one's actually almost as good. What I liked even more in this film, is that it highlights a little bit more the detrimental effects of drug dealing on the community as a whole, instead of just glorifying it Hollywood style. Certainly worth a watch.

Watch this for Song Kang Ho in a meaty role. Endearing till the end. His character is funny and not bad like Escobar. Not a wanton killer. Interesting to see a Narcos biopic of a Korean drug lord.

GLOBAL POLITICAL REALITY

A solid but overly familiar true-life crime drama from Inside Men director Woo Min-ho.

WITH THE MIXTURE OF KOREAN HUMOR WITH BEAUTIFUL MUSIC.

ENJOY.

Your enjoyment of this movie will undoubtedly depend on your existing familiarity with Korean filmmaking. While I'm certainly not an expert on the subject, I do believe many of the more negative reviews come from western watchers who are less accustomed to the style and feel of Korean films.

The film takes its time to build up and wind down, but I never felt like it dragged out too long or got boring. Even the setting - 70's Korea - is exciting to get a look at and not explored, I think, in other films very much. I have absolutely no idea how well this flick represents the real Lee Doo-sam, but all the key performances felt very fitting and well acted and the cinematography is nice and does the job. I might add that I tend to analyze film pacing, and it hits all the usual turning points at the exact typical time marks.

What I think is most distinctively Asian in the filmmaking is the tone. It is a serious movie about several serious subjects with plenty of gritty scenes and emotion, but it's not afraid to let "wacky" characters act wacky. Some critics call this being tone-deaf or not making up its mind, but I don't think that is it at all. I consider it merely a refreshing cultural difference.

If you care about the setting or subject at all, watch it with an open mind and I think you'll like it enough to not feel like your time was wasted.