Silent Assassin

Early in T.O.P.'s acting career, but he does just fine in action scenes as well as the drama itself. He's believable, and empathetic as the hero desperately trying to do his assigned job and then save the two people who mean the most to him. It's not perfect, of course, and is rather predictable, but I still enjoyed this one

The son and daughter of a falsely-accused North Korean traitor are imprisoned for their father's crime; one day, the son is given the chance to not only earn their freedom, but to erase the stain on their family name by becoming a spy.

Sparing us the needless training scenes, our anti-hero enters the South, the Republic of Korea, as a refugee, where he is "adopted" by North Korean handlers (despite being an adult) and sent to school. Okay, so I've no idea at what age Koreans leave school, but this seemed weird... but not as weird as teachers bullying pupils with a wooden cane before leaving them unsupervised. Still, carry on...

The lead soon develops an attachment with a classmate, and even though there's never any romance per se, there is a genuine chemistry, which makes their relationship feel more meaningful than just two horny teens bonking. And this is important, because we already know she'll most likely be kidnapped - but certainly used against him - later on by his enemies. This is an action flick, after all.

But what's this? As our spy sets about his duty, a rival faction's bumping his fellow spies off as a major player seeks to usurp power in the North.

Yeah, I really liked this part of the plot, just as I really liked how our young spy understood none of it, being naive to the ways of the world. Anyway, the story twists and turns, there are shoot outs, plenty of kick-arse fights scenes and then we get to the ending, which is either going to be the typical Hollywood ending (the hero rides off into the sunset with the girl) or the typical Korean one (i.e. everybody dies), because so far, the film hasn't broken any seriously new ground to elevate it beyond being a merely good action-thriller. And South Korea knocks them out by the dozen.

So, if you're new to Korean cinema, you'll likely love this flick, but for fans who have seen it all before, there's really not enough here to recommend, even though it is very enjoyable while it lasts.

Commitment is very decent in everything it does and makes for an enjoyable two hours of spy games, just don't expect any really outstanding moments.

A teenage N Korean spy is sent on a mission to the South he has to kill some targets but then gets betrayed and his sister is used as a hostage. The killing was confusing at times- who and why. Still it's the kind of film that you can watch without getting all of it. The action is quite well done and the fights are intense. Some school bullying and some romance helps with the human element. Why he had to go for the final fight seems questionable. T.O.P. acts well enough and his action is okay. Not great movie but watchable.

After his father is killed by South Korean security police, his teenage son, "Ri Myung-hoon" (Seung Hyun Choi) and daughter "Ri Hye-in" (Yoo-Jeong Kim) are sent to a North Korean concentration camp as punishment for their father's failed mission. At least that's what they are told. The real reason behind their imprisonment is to entice Ri Myung-hoon into volunteering for a highly classified mission in which he is to assassinate North Korean agents working in the South but under a rival official. Naturally, he isn't told anything but what he needs to know and since his sister's life depends on him he doesn't ask any questions. However, upon getting into South Korea he is then instructed to assume the identity of a high school student and this makes his mission even more difficult. Now rather than reveal any more of this film I will just say that I thoroughly enjoyed the political intrigue and accompanying drama. Although Seung Hyun Choi looked a bit too old for a high school student he still managed to perform in an excellent manner as did Ye-ri Han (as "Lee Hye-in") to a lesser degree. In any case, as anyone who has been to South Korea surely knows, the North Korean mindset is more than a little fanatical and this movie manages to capture it pretty well. That's not to say that this movie is totally realistic because it isn't. But it's still enjoyable all the same. I have rated the film accordingly. Above average.