Eunmilhagae euidaehagae

Another great film from South Korea. I've said this so many times before and every film I watch, proves my point: the South Korean films are very unpredictable. Most Hollywood films follow a set recipe, but South Korea doesn't and that's why I love their films so much.

Once again - as with so many other Korean films - characters are introduced in a comedic fashion. Only, here it is understandable, as our hero Won Ryoo-hwan is a spy acting as an idiot, Gong-du. I thoroughly enjoyed this humor, but all along one senses there lies so much more beneath the humor. There's also sadness, as Won longs for his mother, and his comrade longs for his family - not knowing their fate.

Just over the halfway mark, the film drastically changes direction to become an action-packed thriller. There's quite a few twists as the film bulldozes its way to the climax that will leave you sitting pondering the ending. As I said, Korean films are very unpredictable...

My only complaint during the final scene was that some of the guards were just standing there with nothing to do whilst the main guys were fighting. These guys are also special forces, yet they have no weapons?? Their mission was to terminate the spies, so why didn't they bring along guns and just shot them? Why the hand to hand combat? I found this purely for the sake of the thrill and suspense of it, but was too Hollywood cliched. Apart from that, this is an awesome, beautifully made film. Oh, and Granny is such a sweet character! I absolutely loved her.

It's difficult to live Normally in some countries.

This movie is on another level of perfection, and I am not exaggerating. I watched this with no expectation because I only did that for the main actor, Kim Soo-hyun, who is my favorite Korean actor. But it turns out to be one of the best movies I've ever watched.

It first started funnily, with the dumb things they do and such. I think their comic acts are quite entertaining. And then, when something comes up, they begin to reveal their true self, as North Korean spies. And from that the movie begins to change with more of actions involved. And as someone who isn't really fond of action movies aside from Hollywood movies, I find the actions in this movie impressive. The actions are well-made and enthralling, it doesn't look bad at all.

But what makes the movie beautiful is the message implied in the whole movie. We have to watch it from the beginning until the end to understand it, but sometimes the little things in life are those that matter.

Recommending it for everyone. It's worth the watch.

p.s sorry for the bad English, not my first language =)

to be honest I never cried that much for a movie. this movie is outstanding. At the beginning the movie could appear long but when you get to the middle, you are just in it. All the action is really good. A lot of people said it was long, but not for me. I strongly recommend it. seriously. really inspiring. I cry every time I think of the movie. Watch the movie till the End! Kim Soo Hyun was srly the best. He has really good acting skills. It gave me goosebumps. The story line is a bit complicate at the beginning but at the End you understand everything. If you are very emotional, this movie is for you (might need tissu boxes)! Well watch the movie till the End. seriously it's really good:)

There are some great parts to this film, and there is some strong craft at work, but as a whole, the film suffers from imbalance and then struggles to maintain pace.

What starts off as ostensibly a comedy changes its genre completely by the middle. Whereas there are attempts at silly humor for the early going, they are dropped completely in favor of the action/intrigue aspect before too long. It's very strange to be halfway through and remember the early tones of the story, now all but forgotten.

There are strong points: the photography is great; the fight scenes are good (too many cuts, but still good); the philosophical struggle the characters face is well-drawn.

There are also some low points, but overall the film I'd say is worth watching - just be ready for two different halves.