Believer

Believer is an entertaining, if not particularly memorable film. It's recommended viewing for lovers of Korean cinema who'd like something to kill a couple of hours.

The first half of the movie was fast paced and intense, and I enjoyed it a lot more than the second half. The villains were kind of mediocre in the sense that they didn't feel fully fleshed out. The bad guys were like bad guys just for the sake of being the bad guys, if you know what I mean.

I think it was intriguing how the plot revolved around Lee, this drug mastermind whose identity was completely unknown to everyone but honestly I figured it out pretty early on. And when it was finally revealed in the end, I was like okay? But I still don't understand his motives. That ending though.. I know there's a sequel and I'm pretty sure Lee died in the end of this movie so I'm confused why there was a need for a sequel at all? I might consider watching the sequel just for Han Hyo Joo though.

Police detective Won-ho is tracking a drug cartel. His CI is murdered. The cartel is run by the mysterious and unseen Mr. Lee.

This is an interesting crime thriller from South Korea. It has good style. The story is not that inventive. Seo Young Rak could be made into a comic relief character. It's a movie with the bones of a great crime thriller but it doesn't fill out completely. I like the cult idea but it could be a bigger cult idea. It's good but it's trying to be great.

I have been watching several South Korean crime movies in a row now and I must note that they somehow manage to produce lots of terrific work over there in this crime genre.

This being a remake of the original "Drug War" from 2012, I do think that this very remake from South Korea callded "Believer" is actually significantly better than the original: better acting performances, slicker photography and direction, better suspense.

It simply is a really solid crime story, with lots of conning intrigues and double crossing, which engaged me from the start till the very finish, which had an open ending, which I didnt quite understand, but that didnt leave me behind feeling less impressed.

The story: a cop has been on the hunt for a mysterious crime boss for years on end. No one has ever seen this crime boss in the flesh. An undercover operation lead by this very determined cop must finally capture this elusive crimeboss. Will he succeed or die tyring? That's the cliffhanger...

Lots of suspenseful conning schemes. Lots of exciting fights, shootouts and a few horrific torture scenes. Well acted and directed. Beautiful photography and sound. What's not to like?

Korean film industry these past few years continue to produce quality police crime tales. Acting, sets, locations and creative new twists continue despite that this genre is redundantly overloaded. For those who like the syndicate drug crime script w/usual dead bodies.