Midnight Runners

Finally a break from the relenting string of dark, gruesome, violent movies from S. Korea! Midnight Runners is a refreshing break from the genre movie of gangs and violence that we typically get from Korea. The main actors: Park Seo Joon and Kang Ha Neul have fantastic chemistry and their scenes are effortlessly outrageously hilarious. Their comic timing, delivery and the way they play off each other's lines is just amazing to watch.

The story is not the most ingenuous or complex, but it works. It's a simple story about two young police academy cadets who don't have a real strong reason or desire to become police officers and who unwittingly find themselves in a situation that requires them to demonstrate the moral fiber and courage of what one would hope to find in a future police officer. It's not fancy and that's the key. It's simple, relatable, and most importantly a whole lot of fun and funny. I was definitely glad to have watched it, and walked out having felt like all the stress of the day was laughed off during the movie.

Wow. This one surprised me. I did not go into this movie expecting much, and it turned out to be a blast, and one of the better movies I've seen in a while. The movie starts out as a comedy, then becomes a mystery thriller, and then finally there is action (there is one smaller action scene during the mystery thriller bit as well). There is drama and morals as well. The movie is hilariously funny throughout though, and the chemistry between the two (student) buddy-cop main characters is perfect. It's these last two things that really make the movie stand out, I laughed out loud several times. And even better, something none of the other reviewers have commented on, and so I assume they didn't notice (they probably didn't watch until the end of the credits like I did), the end of the movie credits confirm that there will be a sequel with the words "The Midnight Runners will return" (sounds just like what they say at the end of pretty much every Marvel movie, right? ;-))! That makes me happy, and I will be sure to keep an eye out for the next movie in the series. So anyway, do yourselves a favour and watch this one!

P.S: To the one moron who talked crap about this movie and gave it 2/10 stars...People like you make me lose faith in humanity. -_- *shakes head*

Entertaining buddy-cop action flicks have not been lighting up the screens for some time. In comes Midnight Runners which tweaks the well-trodden formula and the result is one crackerjack of a super-fun thriller. So far this year, no other movies have made me laugh so heartily.

Gi Jun (Park Seo Jun), aka Mr Action, and Kang Hee Yeol (Kang Ha Neul), Mr Germophobe-Bookworm, are two best friends at the Korean National Police University. They accidentally witness a young woman getting abducted and decide to work together to investigate it because they have learnt that time is of the essence in cases like this – even when they get tied up in red tape and find out they could be expelled.

Buddy-cop action thrillers tend to rely heavily on counterpoints to draw the two main characters – one fit, one fat (21 Jump Street), one full of action, one wisecracker (48 Hours), one nuts, one down-to-earth (Lethal Weapon). All three became lucrative franchises so you know the studios don't like to mess with the formula much. Midnight Runners doesn't re-invent the buddy-cop wheel, but tweaks it just a little, making the movie stand out like a bed of roses. It doesn't lean on counterpoints to build camaraderie. They may be opposites in certain ways, but it is the passion for doing what is right that unites them. The screen-time is devoted equally on both of them and no one tries to out- play the other. They are the perfect duo; they are one even though they are not the same. Their chemistry is undoubtedly inflatable and infectious, and they seem like they are having a blast.

Sometimes in my classes I get kids asking me dreaded questions like "What is the point of learning Calculus?" or "Am I going to use any of these stuff in life?". Midnight Runners addresses that in one pivotal scene that had me guffawing in laughter. I enjoyed the scenes of them using what they have learnt to crack the case. Writer-director Kim Joo Hwan even skewers the upper echelons of the police force and iterates the true purpose education itself in a noteworthy scene. How Kim deftly balances the dark crime with a light tone and ponderous moments is a magical act. It helps when you have such winsome characters. I think the best praise I can give it is that I sincerely hope there is a sequel in the works. Make it happen…. please.

The movie was a perfect blend of reality and humor. Most of us we can relate ourselves with the jokes of the movie because those are the simple things which we do in life among close friends, this is the point why the script feels real and lively. The enthusiasm of a young cadet, desperation to get a girl and at the end the commitment shown in the movie is very precisely depicted. Loved it to the core. At the beginning the movie was all humor and fun but amidst that scenario the later is able to draw us into a serious crime fighting zeal with the flow of strong emotions. Apart from that the reality the script is able to associate with the reluctance of bureaucratic measures are precised. Hence a perfect blend of reality and humor.

A wonderful buddy comedy that boasts not just a great central duo, but also an impressive control of tone, as the chemistry between characters work well. If you are looking for good entertainment, but also crave serious stakes and thus action with real weight to it, this is the film to watch.