Opiniones de usuarios

This is good Korean crime drama about a police officer whose team infiltrates a drug cartel in order to find the person, or people, that killed his informant. The film has good characters. It is violent and gritty. Like all Korean crime films it has a noir quality . The Direction and action and fight choreography are very good. There are many layers to the characters and story in this one. The film has a whodunnit quality. There are several interesting plot twists in this one. I like it and I recommend it. This film, like all Korean films, is better in Korean with English subtitles instead of dubbed.

I have been watching several South Korean crime movies in a row now and I must note that they somehow manage to produce lots of terrific work over there in this crime genre.

This being a remake of the original "Drug War" from 2012, I do think that this very remake from South Korea callded "Believer" is actually significantly better than the original: better acting performances, slicker photography and direction, better suspense.

It simply is a really solid crime story, with lots of conning intrigues and double crossing, which engaged me from the start till the very finish, which had an open ending, which I didnt quite understand, but that didnt leave me behind feeling less impressed.

The story: a cop has been on the hunt for a mysterious crime boss for years on end. No one has ever seen this crime boss in the flesh. An undercover operation lead by this very determined cop must finally capture this elusive crimeboss. Will he succeed or die tyring? That's the cliffhanger...

Lots of suspenseful conning schemes. Lots of exciting fights, shootouts and a few horrific torture scenes. Well acted and directed. Beautiful photography and sound. What's not to like?

When a baleful underling survives an assassination plot, and the police accept his help to crack the drug gang's mysterious Mr Big (or Mr Lee) we know we will not be witnessing anything original.

I always try and catch Korean films in a festival, and I'm glad I caught this one. Borrowing heavily from style over substance hits such as Diva, through Usual Suspects and Infernal Affairs, it keeps a Mission Impossible tempo but in the end goes for a mystery ending. The hyper violence isn't quite up to 11 but is fairly unrelenting.

While definitely a great film, with notable sound and cinematography, it doesn't quite hit the heights of some other Korean action films due to some limited character development and imprecise editing. And the editing has filed away a sometimes visible consistent heart.

Believer is an entertaining, if not particularly memorable film. It's recommended viewing for lovers of Korean cinema who'd like something to kill a couple of hours.

Korean film industry these past few years continue to produce quality police crime tales. Acting, sets, locations and creative new twists continue despite that this genre is redundantly overloaded. For those who like the syndicate drug crime script w/usual dead bodies.

The first half of the movie was fast paced and intense, and I enjoyed it a lot more than the second half. The villains were kind of mediocre in the sense that they didn't feel fully fleshed out. The bad guys were like bad guys just for the sake of being the bad guys, if you know what I mean.

I think it was intriguing how the plot revolved around Lee, this drug mastermind whose identity was completely unknown to everyone but honestly I figured it out pretty early on. And when it was finally revealed in the end, I was like okay? But I still don't understand his motives. That ending though.. I know there's a sequel and I'm pretty sure Lee died in the end of this movie so I'm confused why there was a need for a sequel at all? I might consider watching the sequel just for Han Hyo Joo though.

Police detective Won-ho is tracking a drug cartel. His CI is murdered. The cartel is run by the mysterious and unseen Mr. Lee.

This is an interesting crime thriller from South Korea. It has good style. The story is not that inventive. Seo Young Rak could be made into a comic relief character. It's a movie with the bones of a great crime thriller but it doesn't fill out completely. I like the cult idea but it could be a bigger cult idea. It's good but it's trying to be great.

First, i am a korean movie lover since 2000 when i watched JSA. I am still a crazy about their movies. So when hear-say that one was Korea biggest hit, I watched it. It is confusing, kinda boring but the worst is that it is a pale copy of « usual suspects » Si, si, think about it. But it isn'it subtle as the original. I found out who Mister Lee is way too soon. It is unusual for a korean director to copy that much and that poorly another movie. It is more common the other way around. The sequel is just release on Netflix France. I won't watch it, the first one is too bad. Not anyone is Park Chan-wook.

NC17

It is supposedly a thriller -gory at times- and an action movie but to me it is more of a black comedy.. a trip with an ?ambiguous art house movie ending all in one coherent package! What an achievement.

A cop desperate to find a vicious drug lord gets help from an underling .. or is it the other way around? Fast paced with elements that seemed to repeat with slower but no less thrilling parts set in beautiful scenery. The photography is stupendous and the music is quite good. Most importantly though, lot of the acting is amazing and quite credible however outlandish the behavior required is.

Reviewers are too hang up on the original movie that inspired this remake - ignore them. Every movie borrows more or less from others but the whole package is quite original.

"Believer" is one of those lesser-known South Korean crime thrillers that relies exclusively on the strength of its storytelling rather than neon-lit scenes of combat or thrilling chase sequences. As a result, the output here appears weakened and washed down in comparison to some of its more well-known peers.

However, it compensates for its less eventful plot with a fast-paced screenplay that keeps you occupied for the whole two-hour duration. As for the big twist, to be honest, I foresaw it a long time ago, early in the first half. However, the buildup to the final reveal is still pretty admirable!

In general, I like South Korean movies for the different types of visuals and story lines. I watched this whole movie start to finish, and although:

1) The acting was top notch 2) The filming was excellent 3) The story was interesting up to a point

With all things considered, what happened and how it happened were just too far beyond the pale of reality. The ending was terrible as previously mentioned. The sequence of events was farcical to the point of being fantasy.

I like my cop dramas to have some veneer of reality, and this had zero. One man's opinion, but don't say you haven't been warned. If you are intrigued by the "first Korean movie to get to XXXX viewers" or whatever that was. It was probably because the lead actor died in real life. It's impossible to believe that it was because it was such a good movie.

Rent this but dont buy it because you won't watch it a second time because of the ending.

Generally well-made movie with good music and visually-pleasing shots. some cool scenes. but overall i wasn't a fan and cared less and less as the movie went on (1 viewing)

Louis Koo gave an award worthy-performance in the original 2012 outing of Johnnie To's Drug War. The film was brilliant, and was a real wild ride. However, it's wild ride stayed consistent from start to finish, and it ended with a real bang... literally.

Believer maintains a bit of the intrigue, drama, and crime elements, but it's not quite as gritty as the original. To's Drug War was unflinching, uncompromising, and the ending showdown felt like a big payoff that came straight out of a late 1980s John Woo film.

Believer strips away a lot of the Hollywood-style veneer and goes for a slightly more realistic, more methodical, and more grounded approach. There are still some bombastic elements, but they are are far and few between and a lot more sensible within the context of the film (in many ways, Drug War was constructed to lead up to that massive shootout whereas Believer focused more on the outcomes that seemed more logical based on the situational events).

In this regard, the bombast from Drug War is missing. The drama is not.

Ryu Jun-yeol does a decent enough job as Rak, but he lacks the desperation and absolutely diabolical charm that Louis Koo exhibited to get his way in Drug War. Plus, Louis Koo seemed a lot more believable as a sociopath utilizing sycophancy and skullduggery to get what he wanted, while also being old and experienced enough to manipulate people in the way that he did.

Ryu just seemed too young to try to be a manipulator -- it's something you gain with age, unless you're taught very, very, very young. So that aspect of the film felt a bit contrived.

However, where Believer really shines is in its structure. It's logically sound, and while Cho Jin-Woong gives a far more subdued and less cut-throat performance than Sun Honglei, he still manages to capture a very real and very endearing detective that wants to do the right thing but seems way over his head. Sun Honglei never came across as being over-his-head and gave a far more commanding performance, which is what helped make the ending feel that much more explosive.

However, here, the ending is a complete 180 from the original movie. It's not big and bombastic. It's mellow and somber; putting a melancholic bow on a more steady-paced crime thriller than its progenitor. And in this regard, Believer shines brightly.

The thing is, you couldn't take Believer's ending and put it into Drug War; the two films are just vastly incompatible that way, and this is mostly due to the two leads giving vastly different performances. I did really like the original dichotomy of the duo in To's film, where they had a much more antagonistic and distrusting relationship. Whereas here, the lead duo have more of a father-son chemistry, which makes the way events play out feel more personal and somewhat sentimental rather than the enmity that was shared in Drug War.

Even still, both films good in their own right and well worth watching. This is a competently made remake that stands out with its own merits. It's not a direct copycat like some remakes, and the changes make it standard apart from its predecessor in significant ways. I still love the original for its bombast, but I also appreciate the more relaxed pacing and some of the gorgeous cinematography that helps round out the film in a way that feels more dramatic, even though it doesn't have the heart-racing moments from the original.

Maybe the South Koreans really have the knack - they sure do know how to create some realistic, gritty thrillers. I've seen quite a few over the past couple of years and this one is just as good as a lot of the others.

Coming into "Believer," I actually had a high expectation that it would deliver as well as other Chinese, Malaysian or Japanese thrillers. It definitely doesn't fail. A lot of intense scenes and dramatic moments make for a twisty joyride in this film. The acting, writing and cinematography was top notch, too. I love those scenes of their winter hinterlands - pure eye candy. Also, what other movie recently has a Chinese Scarface?

As far as the plot is concerned, it can be regarded as a reference for Hong Kong movies, but the localization is very complete. But the quality of the whole film has not improved significantly. There are no ups and downs in literary drama and no excitement in martial arts. The mystery gives clues from the beginning. The essence of several big men's performance is not fierce, but the temperament of the second grade.

I expected a bit more from this action flick from South Korea, but I have to admit that I also lost interest in films from Asia, I don't know why...If I watch again some of them that I have already in my library, that's OK. But this one is a bit confused in a plot very slow to begin. I was getting bored several times during this movie. The ending is totally opened, which I dislike very much. So, I don't know if I will purchse the sequel of this one. I don't think so. But don't get influenced by my comment if you are fans of this kind of action flicks. I only gave my opinion and feeling. That's all.

Believer is a South Korean remake of Hong Kong action-thriller Drug War. I haven't watched the original film but after having adored Believer so much, I might try to watch it soon. Believer convinces with outstanding acting performances, intense action scenes, solid pace, a twisted story and a huge amount of tension that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The intellectual conclusion even offers some philosophical depth and food for thought.

The story revolves around the mysterious leader of a drug cartel known as Mister Lee, whose identity remains a mystery. Reckless police detective Won-ho has tried to find and arrest Mister Lee for years. His underage mule has been brutally killed and Mister Lee's associate who was willing to cooperate got fatally poisoned. Won-ho's last chance is the survivor of a drug laboratory explosion named Rak who lost his mother in the incident. Won-ho decides to pose as Chinese-Korean drug lord who personally wants to meet Mister Lee and Rak assists him in meeting more and more powerful members of the drug cartel. Things take a turn for the worse when the Chinese-Korean drug lord who Won-ho impersonates decides to intervene and when a high-ranked member of the cartel plans on replacing Mister Lee.

The only slightly negative element I could point out regarding this otherwise excellent movie is the fact that I figured out quite early in the movie who Mister Lee actually was. A surprising twist would have been even better and made an excellent movie perfect. Still, the film remains intense even if you have figured out who Mister Lee is since there are numerous complex conflicts in the story.

The film's conclusion leaves an important question unanswered and invites the viewers to make up their minds. I believe such an ending is respectful towards the viewers as it expects them to challenge themselves and think about the movie's possible outcomes. Those who are used being offered predictable happy endings in Hollywood flicks might though feel overloaded.

In the end, this film deserves a much better reputation than it has and is among the best movies I have seen over the past few years. If you like intense action films, profound dramas and tense thrillers, Believer offers you all these elements at once in a perfectly interwoven way. The intelligent conclusion will make you think and invites to discuss the movie with your friends long after it has ended.

I selected this thriller without any expectation and in the end was highly surprised!Very stylish and entertaining detective movie with lots of dark humour, bizarre characters, plot twists, and great scenery.I highly recommend it.

For those of you that like edgy Korean action movies this is the one. The usual stuff for a good Korean movie, great plot, runs smooth and fast. Plus probably one of the best trailers I have seen.