Hunt

Saw this in the cinema today. The movie is entertaining throughout, never short of action but both me and my friends are confused about the plot and what really happened. I think complicated story telling is not a good thing, it means the director has failed to explain something to the viewer. We were all not entirely sure what actually happened.

Acting was good. Action as well. You can stop reading here. And now I just have to fill up this text so that this site accepts my review which is annoying because I don't want to say so much more and you already read the important parts so that's it.

By the halfway point of this Korean spy thriller, I had completely lost track of who was the "good guy" and who was the "bad guy," though it seems this confusion might be intentional. The film is filled with men in suits, constantly second-guessing whether the armed person beside them is an ally or a potential enemy. This uncertainty is at the core of the story, but for non-Korean viewers, the exposition is muddled and poorly handled right from the start.

The film barely provides any background on the sociopolitical context of the country, especially regarding the fraught history between North and South Korea during the 1970s and 1980s. This lack of explanation adds further narrative incoherence for viewers unfamiliar with Korea's political landscape. What could have been an opportunity to explore the long and complex relationship between the two Koreas instead becomes a missed chance due to the film's confusing structure.

Its main weakness lies in its diffuse storytelling. The poorly defined time jumps make it hard to follow the timeline, and the constant betrayals and plot twists quickly become overwhelming, leaving the audience struggling to keep up. Without a clear narrative or context, the story falls flat, making it difficult to stay invested in the film's many twists and turns.

No pun intended - and of course this is not about hunting animals. Also it does not just have one hidden truth - there will be multiple reveals here. And the whole thing is based on history, on real events (as a friend of mine told me). Which makes it almost necessary to dig in and find out more about actual events (because as happens often, this surely has done some heightened reality, which the beginning suggest too).

The characters are well drawn, but also quite complicated. Also for people who may not watch too many Korean or Asian movies in general and have to concentrate on the subtitles, they may have some issues to distinguish the two main characters from time to time - no pun intended here either. Being confused about them may help elevate the suspense even further actually. Guessing game and all that.

Action scenes are more than well shot and the twists will keep you guessing from start to finish. Just do not expect this to ... resolve things the way you want it too. South Koread has a dark history too - they were apparently not always as free as they are now. And the movie is not shy about that fact. As it is not shy about blood and violence (good effects) ... not for the faint hearted, but really well done.

I think the story line is too complicated for a 2 hour movie, may be better for a 6 episode series so that the story can develop at a slower pace and viewers have the time to process and understand. Maybe it's ok for Koreans, but for me as a foreigner with little knowledge of their history, I find it difficult to take in the whos and whys. I have many questions while watching, why he is doing this, why he is suspecting them, etc etc.

On the whole this movie is not bad for a first time director. Action scenes and acting are great. I like the 2 male leads and other supporting actors are good too.

This action-packed film of non-stop double crossing was amazingly the work of a first-time feature film director, none other than lead actor Lee Jung-jae himself. Lee is a veteran leading man since the mid-90s, in acclaimed films like "The Affair" (1998), "Il Mare" (2000), "The Housemaid" (2010), "The Thieves" (2012), and "Along with the Gods" (2017, 2018). The hit Netflix series "Squid Game" (2021) made him a household name worldwide.

Lee was able to maneuver the complexity of this script (which he also co-wrote) like a pro. The story also went back and forth in time for both of the two lead characters to further elucidate (or maybe confuse) their relationship with other supporting characters (like Park's protectiveness for a certain college student) or their motivations for present actions (like Kim's experience as a soldier during the Gwangju massacre).

Lee also proved to be very adept in directing his major action scenes. Beginning from that fracas chasing the gunmen down in an American auditorium, the frenetic car chase and shootout in the streets of Tokyo after failing to secure a North Korean asset, and the climactic explosive showdown of assassins in a Bangkok palace. The way Lee executed the various scenes of violent interrogations and outright torture was realistically disturbing.

Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung have been very good friends since they were both cast in "City of the Rising Sun" in 1998. Therefore, even if they portrayed bitter rival KCIA operatives who hated each others guts, the two charismatic actors have a powerful screen chemistry together. It would seem that Director Lee allowed Jung to play the showier role of Kim. Lee made sure that even if both lead roles were flawed, you will empathize with both. You will keep hanging on undecided who the real good guy or bad guy was until the gripping finale.