Lightereul kyeora

A gangster tries to force a crooked senator to pay up money the senator owes him by sending the passenger train they are both on careening down the tracks. Meanwhile a poor schlub is engaged in a single minded quest to retrieve a cigarette lighter the gangster has taken from him.

The language is very rough and crude but not without some very funny lines. Sort of a Korean Quentin Tarantino script, Everyone is portrayed as a borderline incompetent. Gangsters try to scare people by stabbing the train seats but can't get the knives out. Police stand in disbelief when the gangsters don't act the way they predicted. Angry passengers slap the gangsters who don't know how to respond.

Anyway it's an uneven ride but not without some merit. The actors are very good. The director is better with the interactions between the actors than keeping the movie together. The photography is very good. Entertaining if the language doesn't disturb you.

Director has well adapted and synthesized the possible hilariousness of contemporary Korean spoofs, and its structure is following the die-hardish and under-siegingly action packed route. However, nobody is harmed nor killed in this action movie because what is intended is a small illustration of local dude's being a hero under an extreme condition.

The Achilles tendon is the script: too many Korean slangs and cheesy words are used. For Koreans, this movie is a cutting-edge comedy and one of the most brilliant wordy hilariousness; however, foreign audiences are not aware of their context and all rhythmical jokes will be lost out of language barrier.

Nevertherless, considering an output of a débutant director, the cinematography and layout of scenes are truly superb as much as can be picked one of the most joyful and tight-structured comedy within the category of action-packed flicks. Another version of English subtitle with finessed touch should be equipped in order for foreign watchers to better catch the lines.