City of Violence

A must see for any fans of Asian extreme cinema. This is all that Kill Bill was unable to be and shows that Tarantino is but a poor imitator of the best Asia has to offer.

20 years after 5 childhood best friends close a bottle of alcohol with a serpent inside one of the five, Wang-Jae (Kil-Kang Ahn) is murdered by a bunch of young hooligans. Before his death Wang-Jae was an ex-mafioso boss, that settled down and opened a bar, still remaining an influential figure in the neighbourhood. Tae-su is a Seul cop, the best on the force and a real terror for everyone that has to do with crime. Dong-hwan (Seok-yong Jeong), a geeky teacher and Seok-hwan (Seung-wan Ryoo), a small-time crook, are brothers jointly caring for their 60-year old mother. Pil-ho (Beom-su Lee) is the crime lord of the city after Wang-Jae's retirement.

After the funeral Tae-Su in search of the killers of Wang-Jae decides to stay for a bit longer in the city. It quickly turns out that the case will force brother to go against brother and for the best friends to fight each other...

The movie lost a couple of points for not being able to properly balance the comedic with the dramatic with certain fragments standing out as if from a totally different movie. Also some of the fight sequences were too long and tiresome. There are better Asian movies out there, but still a recommended, if flawed movie. And no Tarantino hack can capture the strengths of the Asian revenge flick.

THE CITY OF VIOLENCE is a solid action film with an engaging, gangster-focused storyline and plenty of interesting characters to keep the viewer's attention. Things kick off with a brutal murder in the street, which leads to the victim's childhood friends reuniting to reminisce about the old days. We learn that each character has gone his own way: one's now a small-time gangster, another a cop. The gradual pursuit and uncovery of the truth eventually leads to violent recriminations for one and all.

Interestingly enough, the mystery-style plotting and gangster window-dressing eventually wear off until by the end the film becomes a riotous, ass-kicking extravaganza that bears more than a passing resemble to the infamous 'Crazy 88' action scene in KILL BILL: VOLUME 1. It works: the director contributes plenty of stylish flourishes and the action is well-filmed through, from huge, sprawling street fights early on to the epic bad-assery of the climax. It truly is an excellent ending, lifting what's come before and proving itself a film more than capable of holding its own against bigger productions.

City of violence is an action movie. And when it comes to action movies the plot isn't that important. At least as long as it never forgets to be in function of the action and not the other way around. But I was surprised to see that, (although not very original) the plot was quite interesting. The actors also did a great job in carrying this plot. They were believable as childhood friends who reunite after the death of one them. Doo-hong Jung (Arahan) who has the lead as the friend who is a cop also is the martial arts director for this movie. And it shows. He choreographed some excellent fighting scenes. Especially at the ending you will be in for a treat. One of the highlights of the movie is one big action scene in he middle of the city where Doo-hong Jung has to fight several gangs of kids on his own. He does gets assistance of a friend, Seok-hwan played Seung-wan Ryoo who is the director of this film. Not to be confused with his brother (actor Seung-beom Ryu from Arahan) who looks very similar to him! When these two get together the fun really begins. I don't know if it was meant as a parody or tribute to The Warriors, but it was sure a spectacular sight to see the Korean hoodlums dressed as the gangs from that movie. They were just as dangerous and menacing. The good mix of comedy, drama and action makes this a movie that has to be seen. It's one big and fun ride!

This is an entertaining enough modern-day martial arts action thriller which is, it has to be said, entirely unoriginal in almost every respect. The plot concerns a city cop returning to his hometown for the funeral of a childhood friend, victim of a back-alley knifing while chasing thugs from his bar. Together with a second childhood friend, our hero suspects something amiss and begins his own investigation into the murder. This decision is the cue for a succession of unlikely encounters and a particularly bloody and fatal encounter with yet another childhood friend.

There are some people whose personalities are so under-developed that they have a tendency to adopt the characteristics of those they are close to (accent, mannerisms, etc), and this film reminded me a lot of people like that. Watching it, I got the impression that the writer/director was mimicking every film he wished he'd made. There are a number of obvious 'homages', and a flashback to a juvenile fight that is as (hopefully deliberately) cheesy as any 70s chop-socky sequence. One of the 'homages' is to Quentin Tarantino's (himself the king of the 'homage') over-rated Kill Bill so if, like me, you were bored by Tarantino's self-indulgence, you might consider thinking twice about watching a film whose writer obviously thinks so highly of it. Having said that, there is something ironic about an Asian film so clearly referencing a film which blatantly ripped off so many of the staple devices of its national genre.

The action is as frenetic and professional as you'd expect, and the storyline is reasonably engaging but, when all is said and done, this is really nothing more than a decent time-filler.

As with most action films: forget about the plot - this one holds very little surprises and the villain is obvious from his very first scene, thus eliminating any suspense from the first 45 minutes.

But again: this is an action film, so who cares?

Actually, this is a very stylish action film, bringing some pretty neat photography and music along to boot.

It's also a rare tae kwon do mayhem-fest, so sit back and watch all those fighters leap into the air, pulling off unbelievable moves for your entertainment.

Overall: cool fights and a finale almost (repeat: ALMOST) on a par with the legendary finale of A Better Tomorrow 2.

Watch this film and - if you like martial arts action - you'll enjoy this immensely.