Chilgeup gongmuwon

"7th Grade Civil Servant" is a quite entertaining action comedy movie with some curious spy flick passages and a romantic love story. A female agent loses her boyfriend because she can't tell him the truth about her real job as a special agent. Three years after, the two heartbroken and unique characters meet again. The boyfriend still doesn't know anything about his big love's career and has become a special agent for a different section of the state. His girlfriend realizes quickly that he is now also lying to her but she's emotionally furious and blind for the truth. In a case involving the transfer of a deadly virus from a scientist to a gang of Russian criminals, they have to figth against each other and sometimes work together without knowing it which leads to many hilarious sequences until the final revelations.

By only reading my introduction, you can easily see what this film is worth. The movie's two biggest flaws are that the story is nothing really new at all and heavily predictable at some points and that many comedy moments get a little bit too repetitive and silly from time to time.

On the positive side, we have two convincing main actors with the beautiful, hyperactive and tough Ahn Soo-Ji that is incarnated by Kim Ha-Neul and a clumsy, courageous and naive Lee Jae-joon that is performed by Kang Ji-Hwan. They have a good chemistry and perform very well together, both in the harsh and the romantic parts. The supporting actors are also very funny and only the main villains remain a little bit faceless.

The slapstick moments in this movie are rather comparable to the Japanese and Hongkong cinema of the eighties and nineties and fail to have the same unique brand of brilliance as recent South Korean flicks as "Save The Green Planet!" for example. Sometimes you rather feel as if you were in a Jackie Chan flick. If you like this kind of more accessible Asian humour, you will really feel at home with this flick but I think that there's a little bit too much comedy in it against its own good. The movie could be more unique and lacks of something really outstanding.

It's though a very entertaining, light-hearted and sympathetic flick that is worth a watch but in the end nothing more than a good average flick with solid comedy moments and average action scenes that are saved by a very good acting.

The opening to My Girlfriend Is An Agent is certainly one that will not be forgotten in a hurry. Ahn Su-Ji (Kim Ha-Neul) is a brilliant spy who spends her life undercover, unbeknownst to her boyfriend, Lee Jae-Joon (Kang-Ji-Hwan), who doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to realize something is amiss. Later when the film explores the history of their relationship, the layers of lies that Lee was able to discover add to the hilarity of the situation, though at the beginning, he only wishes to escape.

Unable to get Ahn on the phone, who, as he is venturing towards the plane that will take him far from home, is on an assignment, he viciously blasts her voice mail. When Ahn eventually completes her mission, she rushes to the airport, only to discover that Lee has already left, a situation that is as emotionally involved as it is humorous. Although the film often combines more than one emotion into many of its scenes, despite the well executed delivery by the actors, the romantic storyline is produced in the most perplexing manner.

Three years later, Ahn has discovered love in the arms of another man, however, this relationship is about to enter dangerous terrain. Though Ahn continues to be employed as an agent, little does she realize that Lee has, over the course of his time abroad, become an agent as well - albeit, not a very good one. In fact, to call him a terrible field agent would be an insult to all terrible field agents.

Much of the humor comes through his inability to complete a mission to the professional standard, a number of uniquely humorous occurrences providing several refreshingly comedic scenarios. However his shocking skills as an agent become even more unprofessional when he and Ahn unfortunately bump into each other, unwittingly working the exact same case from different angles. Her immediate reaction, which is repeated over the course of the feature, is, well, to call it 'rage' would be a bit of an understatement.

Finding themselves in such close proximity time and time again, the feelings they once held for each other begin to plague the case. Lee often appears hypocritical, having left Ahn for failing to provide him with the truth, yet he is unable to do the same to her, expecting their relationship to simply begin once more, even though he initiated the break-up. Ahn on the other hand, who, as aforementioned, has found love with another suitor, appears emotionally unhinged, her inability to restrain herself from pursuing Lee contradicting her unflinching professionalism.

Constantly they find themselves in awkward scenarios, and eventually even begin to suspect one another as been enemy agents, their mixed feelings reflecting unbridled passion one minute, and utter loathing the next. Forcing them into situations that often leads to ensuring violence does allow the audience to feel more attached to the characters, for at any moment tragedy could strike its chord.

Although both actors are as humorous as they are entertaining in their roles, it is often Lee's boss, Won-Seok (Ryoo Seung-Ryong) who is the most effective character of all. A well respected macho man who is forced to continuously suffer Lee's inadequacy's out in the field, his attitude and facial expressions are a joy to watch, though beneath all of this bravado is a truly honorable character.

The opening of the film prepares the viewer for a truly entertaining experience, and despite a unique blend of humor, action and characterization been applied, the rest of the film occasionally feels as though it is unable to live up to the potential exhibited at the beginning. The film's conclusion moreover feels as unnecessary as it does awkward, as though the creator's were unsure where else to situate it. This aside, My Girlfriend Is An Agent will surely entertain a wealth of audiences; though if the movie were in fact a cake, by the end, you may in fact be hungry for something a little easier to swallow.

When I saw the trailer to this I thought it would be some lame comedy with some action and drama thrown in, and not to my surprise I was right. So in another words it's like "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" with less cool action and more of the Korean humor in it, which ain't necessarily a bad thing but most of the humor I didn't find to be that funny as a matter of fact the action portion of this is it's weakest moments. Just about everything about this movie is predictable, but I give it props for being clever time to time although not original. Even for a comedy the character decisions can be awkward at times and doesn't seem to make any sense when a weapon is threatening to kill a lot of innocent civilians, but the agents go off and do goofy stuff. Which I can't really blame, cause there doesn't seem to be another way around it and if there was they needed to change a lot of scenarios around. I also found this comedy to be boring at times despite the actors and actresses doing the best they can with what they have. But overall like I said, I found it to be a bit boring but it was somewhat enjoyable as well.

6.8/10

Some parts of this comedy spy action movie are good and funny but there are many parts that are dated and not funny. The direction is a bit sloppy and the continuity isn't good between scenes. The action is alright and quite comical in parts especially the fortress scenes. Kim Ha Neul is okay quite up to the action and changes of costume. Kang Ji Hwan is likeable enough as the bumbling rookie agent and he has the best comedic sequences. For a 2009 movie I guess it's okay but in 2020 it doesn't quite stand the test of time. This is not one of those Korean movies that is better than Hollywood.

When I went to the theaters, I was not expecting much from this film. My only thoughts were,"Great... A Korean attempt at Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Boy, was I surprised when I saw this film!

First off, I'll review the acting, which I thought was pretty decent throughout. At first, I mistook Kang Ji Hwan's acting as "over-acting". However, I soon realized that was his way of acting comically. After getting used to that, his actions and reactions were simply quirky and cute. I loved his high-pitched screaming. Usually, the foreigners who act in Korean films/dramas are downright awful. I have no idea why; it just is. In Chilgeup Gongmuwon, they were mediocre, which was a HUGE relief because I did not have to cringe whenever they were on screen.

Next, the action and plot. The action was probably the worst part of the film. It was not terrible. It just needed some, or maybe, a lot of work. Some of the stunts were too unrealistic and poorly choreographed. (i.e. the jet ski, fencing thing...) The plot maintained a great speed. Like the action, the one turning point of the plot suffered from being a bit questionable. However, do not let these faults turn you off because the comedy makes up for it entirely.

Finally, the comedy. The film starts off right away trying to get the audience to laugh. And it succeeds. Some scenes are predictable. Yet, it is still hilarious! My family and I laughed at all the scenes meant to be laughed at.

Overall, Chilgeup Gongmuwon is a movie purely for laughs and should be watched lighted-heartedly. It succeeds in the comedy but fails in the action. You will not get any meaning from this film, but it is sure to entertain you until the very end. So if you are lucky enough to have a theater near you playing it, I recommend you go see it.

Notes: The subtitles in my theater made me laugh. They used "cuz" instead of "because", which made me think that the translator instant messaged too much or something. Instead of "spicy rice cakes", it was translated to "dumplings", a completely different food. But I guess, it is easier for a non-Korean audience to understand.

This film is NOT RATED. However, I would give it a PG13 rating. There was a comedic kissing scene, light action sequences, and some uses of sh*t.

7 out of 10