Showdown in Seoul

When I first watched this movie, there were so many different genre elements that I wasn't sure what this movie would be like. It had some emotional drama bits and pieces, some humorous slapstick passages and focuses on the clash between Korean and Japanese culture and finally features a positive conclusion that concentrates on the approach or even slight reconciliation between the ancestral enemies. This cultural aspect gives a unique and interesting touch to the movie and distinguishes it from similar flicks.

The main attention still lies on the thriller genre with a couple of action sequences but this film is a modern and rather stylish flick and doesn't include artistic fighting scenes.

What really ties this diversified movie together are the two unique and very opposite main characters of the Japanese and the Korean police officer and their relationship. The characters are so intense and interesting that the movie could even be describes as a character study or an analysis of the Korean and Japanese culture, mentality and society. They also represent two different kinds of generation and the clash between them. Both actors do a surprisingly great job and I'm looking forward to see other movies featuring the unforgettable Tomoya Nagase and Min-su Choi.

The plot seems rather weak in the beginning and only works with those two brilliant actors and when you don't expect anything special from the seemingly ordinary plot, there is suddenly a big twist and the movie turns out to be a great robbery and even conspiracy flick that had the intention to let us think that the ending would be the ordinary explosive kidnapping story. The showdown is still rather mediocre but this turning point took me by surprise and accelerated the pace of the movie and pardons for some lengths before.

But instead of leading a mediocre plot to a great showdown, the ending sequences alone are the reason why i give seven and not eight points and why this movie is only quite good but not great. Everything is said after the final shooting and even though the characters ultimately develop and approach to each other in the last minutes, I must admit that the scenes right before the ending are overlong and unnecessary and that the final meeting between the two great characters is their weakest one and rather cheesy Hollywood stuff than the rather original Korean and Japanese way.

But if we forget about the rather disappointing ending and the mellow start, this movie is diversified and something quite unique. For some people, the different genre influences might be too overwhelming but to me this mixture is very interesting and makes this movie one of the most courageous and interesting ones I have seen in a while. even though my rating doesn't seem to be extraordinary for the mentioned reasons, I highly suggest the immediate purchase of this avant-garde movie to any fan of the Asian cinema, strong character movies and progressive thrillers.

This is one of the average 'policeguy tries to help in solving crime puzzle but is hindered by other police force' action flicks. It tries to look stylish and Hollywood-alike but on the whole it neither manages to reach Hollywood standards nor can live up to other well achieved Asian action movies. In no way this movie can compare to the excellent 'Shiri', any of the Takeshi Kitano films or the great Hongkong action movies. The movie characters appear rather flat in this movie and the flow of the movie is not really in the right pace. The excellent TV-series '24' with Kiefer Sutherland is a perfect example how to pace and direct a movie with that 'lonesome cop fights against all' theme. As for the comedy aspects in that film: stick to 'Beverly Hills Cop 1', 'Bad Boys', 'Lethal Weapon series' and similar films and you will have more fun. And as for Asian action movies: there are plenty of very good action flicks. Overall I rate this movie 5/10, it's not really that bad at all, but don't expect another 'Shiri' or 'Brother', 'Hana-Bi' or even 'Fulltime Killer'.

SEOUL (2002) D: Masahiko Nagasawa. Japanese cop Tomoyo Nagase, on vacation in Seoul is held over for questioning after he foils an armored car robbery. Meanwhile, Dawn of Nation, a terrorist organization, plots to disrupt the upcoming Asian summit, kidnapping Japan's Foreign Minister to back up their demands.

Tomoyo inserts himself into the investigation of hard-nosed Korean cop Choi Min-soo, an unwavering protocol follower who teaches him the finer points of Korean etiquette along the way, most often at the receiving end of a punch in the face. Choi himself is saddled with obstructive KCIA guys who regularly overrule his authority. Meanwhile, Tomoyo, against the wishes of his handlers, begins to suspect a link between the terrorists, the robbers and the monolithic Korea Japan Union Bank that could spell a deadly threat to Pan-Asian relationships. Slick, solid actioner with crackling action sequences, a worthy cousin to the seminal 1999 actioner SHIRI, though one rooted less in Tom Clancy-ish techno-fantasy than that film. Writer Yasuo Hasegawa lightly acknowledges Japan's shameful presence in Korea's history, largely through the character of a wizened Korean noodle-stand proprietor whose Japanese fluency surprises Tomoyo, but then in the films climactic turning point, in which Tomoyo rescues hostages on a city bus in defiance of Choi's orders (and is ultimately joined by Choi in his efforts), this act of Japanese redemption on behalf of Korean innocents seems tantamount to the Japanese (historical revisionists with the best of them) telling the stuffy, face-saving South Koreans to remove the stick from up their collective ass and get over themselves. A minor quibble, considering the film's general intelligence and quality in the face of so many cop thriller genre clichés. Trimming a few of the film's multiple denouements might have helped, though. I give it an 8.