Jambok-geunmu

It just amazes that people critique a film as though they were film critics and such connoisseurs. When I pay money to see a movie, it's an investment of time for me. Then the questions that arises are; was it entertaining, was I able to escape from reality, and did I feel like it was worth my money, waste of my money or just ehhh? This movie fulfills 2 out of the 3 criteria. It was entertaining and I was able to suspend my disbelief for the duration of the movie. I loved the gym teacher, I loved her commanding officer and I loved Kim Seona.

I loved how this movie subtly teaches what goes around comes around. She beats up the high school bullies then the PE teacher disciplines her. I love the relationships in the movie. I won't go into much details of the movie, but it wasn't a waste of money nor was it a more than my money's worth. But if you want to watch a movie that allows you to escape for a coupla hours and be entertained, this is the movie for a nice Friday or Saturday night snuggle with the significant other.

I spent the entire day feeling bored, so I decided to indulge in watching an old classic Korean film. My main reason for choosing this film was because it stars a rookie Gong Yoo. :)

The plot revolves around a female police officer who is assigned a mission to apprehend a gangster. To accomplish this, she goes undercover as a high school girl in order to get close to the gangster's daughter.

The storyline was somewhat predictable and had a few weak points with some plot holes. However, despite these flaws, I found myself enjoying the film, primarily due to the strong performance of the female lead (Kim Sun Ah) The fight scene and the ending kissing scene were particularly well-executed and added a delightful touch to the overall experience.

A fish-out-of-water undercover cop comedy/action film in the same vein as Kindergarten Cop or Miss Congeniality, She's On Duty stars Kim Seon-a as tough policewoman Chun Jae-in, who reluctantly poses as a high school student in order to get close to Seung-hee, daughter of criminal Cha Young-jae. By befriending Seung-hee, Chun Jae-in hopes to find the whereabouts of the girl's father, who is needed to testify against an evil gang boss.

Familiar stuff through and through, this South Korean film lacks originality, isn't especially funny, and is not particularly great in the action stakes either (none of the performers are very convincing when throwing punches and kicks), but Kim Seon-a makes for a likeable enough lead (once you become accustomed to her exaggerated expressions, that is) and, with its upbeat ending, the film ultimately proves a charming enough way to spend some time nonetheless. I don't regret watching it, but I doubt if I'll ever feel the need to see it again.

Personally, I enjoyed this movie immensely because Kim Sun Ah (main actress) plays a character very similar to the character she recently played in an outstanding TV Drama/Comedy "My Name is Kim Sam Soon". I watched this movie about two weeks after the series MNIKSS had ended, and personally, the movie was very special.

The movie itself, however, is full of clichés from both Korean and American action comedy films. The storyline is too weak, some parts of the movie had definitive plot holes, and... there really wasn't anything impressive about it.

Kim Sun Ah once again manages to portray a very unique and lovable character (though how she pulled that off is still a mystery to me, considering the average~weak script that she was given), and Nam Sang Mi also plays her role very well. Kong Yu I was not convinced, and to put it simply, there were way too many actors/actresses playing comical, cartoon-like characters (the bullies, the gang boss, the gang members, Jae-In's friends, the teacher, the detective (Jae-In's partner) and, at times, even Jae-In (Kim Sun Ah's character) herself) This is a good movie to burn time on, because it is certainly funny. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on a movie that only wants to be a laugh-off action comedy. It achieves what it wants to achieve, and in that respect, She's On Duty is a great film. But using a more generalized criteria...

5/10

I am a huge fan of Asian cinema, and this Korean movie is worth a watch.

The story of a police officer having to go undercover in a school, and no one really wonders about her age? Yeah, already there is the first laugh.

The dialogue is good and funny, the scenes are well put together, and the movie works well all throughout. And the characters are well portrayed and have that sparkling on-screen chemistry going on.

The lead women, Seon-a Kim does a marvelous job in her role as the undercover police woman.

However, if you are unfamiliar with Asian cinema, you should know that many things in these movies are fairly extreme and out there, so you should approach this movie with the intention of being entertained and not having to think too much about what is going on.

It is a movie that you will pick up again later and watch it for a second time. It has good entertainment value, and could use a sequel for sure.