Shiri

This is not a romance, nor an action film. Despite the tragic love scenes and the overrated action scenes -- At the heart of this movie is a desperate cry for peace.

I don't know if the subtitles were flawed or the international audience just don't see the cultural implications, but the movie's final scene brought tears to my eyes. When I read the other comments, all I see is "Hollywood wannabe" and "overrated action scenes" pasted everywhere. Sure the movie dosen't have an incredible impact in its action scenes but the underlying themes and the awesome acting and chemistry between the main actors make this film a must-see.

If you enjoyed this movie, Also see: Joint Security Area, Friend, 2009 Lost Memories

Security agent Ryu stumbles upon a plot by North Korean fanatics (led by terrorist Park and assassin Hee) to disrupt peace and re-unification efforts by North and South politicians using high tech explosives and the hunt is on to stop them. Much gun play follows, as well as much talk about the politics and sociology of possible Korean re-unification. Given North Korea's history of selling weaponry to anyone with hard currency and South Korea's position as an important diplomatic and military ally of the U.S., such discussions are actually of worldwide interest. Since emerging in the mid-90s as a distinct cinematic power, South Korea has become filmdom's leading edge for cult actioners and this movie shows why. It is fast paced, uberviolent, with a polished look, tightly crafted plot line and strong performances by its ensemble cast.

Against the background of political tensions between north and south Korea, an elite group of soldiers (the 8th Special Forces) infiltrate the South with the aim of carrying out terrorist attacks. Most worrying of all is the reappearance of deadly assassin Hee in South Korea. Special agents Ryu and Lee are assigned to bring down Hee, however when the group get hold of a hi-tech new explosive they hold Seoul to ransom for $10million. Meanwhile Ryu and Lee realise that there is a mole inside their agency that keeps Hee one step ahead of them.

Other reviewers have said that this film is a good addition to the `heroic bloodshed' genre of Hong Kong cinema, with it's gory bloodshed and bullet ballets. However I personally feel that this is to do the film a disservice – the film doesn't just lift that style but rather delivers a solid thriller story line with plenty of well directed action. The plot is a detective story with the added boost of the terrorist attacks. It has a couple of nice twists along the way that work pretty well. The downside is that the plot occasionally makes minor jumps that are hard to follow, for example an action scene is immediately followed by a scene where the same characters are in a different situation, this happens twice and threw me a little. But these are minor problems. The political arguments are not too complex – one reviewed said to go and read up on Korean history before seeing Shiri, this is far from necessary. It is quite simple but doesn't get in the way of the bigger thriller story line.

The action is not of the slow-mo OTT type seen in The Killer or Hard Boiled but is more like the extended gun battles seen in Heat. Yes, they are a bit OTT but they aren't as heavily stylised as in many HK movies. Instead the tension comes from the excellent direction. Using a handheld camera really makes the gun battles feel intense and very close to where you're sitting. The action does have some HK clichés but these are still well delivered.

The cast are all well Han Suk-Kyu (Ryu) does well with the action as well as the romance subplot with Kim Yoon-jin. The rest of the cast are good – even the comedy odd-ball is good value, compared to the occasional Hollywood comedy character that can be grating.

I haven't seen too many Korean films but this was a particularly good thriller with intense action. Overall I enjoyed this film and fully expect America to pick up on the fact that it has action AND a workable story and commission a remake pretty soon. Wouldn't you rather see the original first?

Awesome, but violent film. I've only got it in the original Korean with Chinese subtitles, so I didn't get much of the plot, but it surpasses typical Hong Kong Action Flick genre stuff. Special effects are more than realistic, and it keeps interest going even if you don't understand it. The intro is one of the most violent I've ever seen, more action and death in the first 30 seconds than most other movies combined.

In summation, if you're a fan of Hong Kong action genre, this takes it to a whole new level.

As for the Shiri, there are plenty of them in the film. Fishtank's are featured heavily in the early part of the movie.

It's a cool movie . From the beginning until the end the action is unstoppable .

The flick talks upon a counter-terrorism outfit that has to fight against a murderous terrorist group who creates terror by means of an explosive liquid with the aim to blow up a soccer stadium and getting the unification Korea .

The movie has a John Woo style , there are amount of shoot-outs, frenetic action and running men while they are shooting .

The film blends action-packed , rip-roaring , a love story , betrayal , drama , violence and is quite entertaining .

The movie will appeal to action lovers and Hong Kong films buffs , it's very spectacular , it's an exciting film for adrenaline lovers .

Rating : 7/10 , good .