Escape

One of the best korean movies I've ever seen . I wasn't sure if i should watch this movie , because of its low imdb rating.. it deserves 7.5/10 imdb atleast.. i usually don't get a seat edge thriller experience from most of the movies.. but this one, i was not able to sit properly coz i was also tensed just like the hero.. loved it a lot.. the music is good , the camera work is fire, the filmmaking quality, editing , transitions everything was top notch.. underrated af.. i watched this movie coz i liked the poster design and knew it has good quality film making.. but i was surprised. Not only the film making, but the concept was also really good.. good writing.. a lot of intense scenes where i stood up coz i couldn't sit peacefully.. more movies like this should be made . Loved it a lot . Love from india.

Leave it to the South Koreans to create a mesmirising mix of action and drama! Only letdown being several unbelievable plot turns but that didnt stop me from thoroughly enjoying this solid escape drama.

The good: there is a lust for life and freedom which flows through this story which makes this story such a treat to watch. We get to see the harrowing fight to escape North Korea by 1 soldier who is trying to outsmart the entire North Korean defense line in order to be live free in Souht Korea. Will he succeed or die trying?

Any bad? There are several plot turns that are incredibly cringeworthy, because they just would not happen in real life. Such a shame, because with a little rewrite of these unbelievable plot turns this movie could have deserved 8 stars. Now I will award with a solid 7 stars.

Recommended watch for the fans of prison escape / war dramas. Dont expect fireworks, but it pushes the right buttons, delivering one solid action drama!

It appears that North Korea is managing to capture attention, as evidenced by the films produced by their adversaries in the South. Director Lee Jong-pil's adaptation of the screenplay by Kwon Sung-hui and Kim Woo-geun ultimately lands in an ambiguous space. The narrative presents an intriguing yet underdeveloped tale of a North Korean defector who escapes to South Korea after a decade of military service, pursued by a relentless North Korean National Security officer, which introduces a degree of tension.

The inclusion of contextual flashbacks enriches this otherwise linear chase story, although these digressions occasionally disrupt the dramatic flow, prompting questions about the narrative's depth and coherence. The overall impression is one of incompleteness.

The initial segment of the film was particularly engaging, introducing the highly focused North Korean Sergeant Lim Kyu-nam (Lee Je-hoon) as he stealthily exits his barracks under the cover of darkness, evading guards and strategically placing markers on his route to the Military Demarcation Line. Lim meticulously navigates a literal minefield, with each night bringing him closer to his goal. Upon returning to base, he is faced with reminders of the urgency of his departure.

Another soldier, the anxious Kim Dong-hyuk (Hong Xa-bin), witnesses one of Lim's clandestine outings and expresses his desire to escape to the South, citing, "Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. I miss her terribly." In a moment of folly, he attempts to flee on his own, leading to Lim's capture while trying to rescue him. At this juncture, Kim takes the blame, and I will leave the subsequent developments for the film to reveal.

While the film is certainly watchable and offers moments of entertainment and action, with good acting as part of it, the latter half becomes increasingly disjointed, with numerous subplots left unresolved, ultimately detracting from the overall experience.

The story is edge-of-your-seat gripping, quite easy to slip into and believable. About halfway, improbabilities start creeping in. Perhaps they're worth it, because they cause you to shift your focus from the actions to the minds driving them.

The psychopathy becomes the story. The (preachy!) longing to be free becomes an afterthought. We suspect unrequited love from one protagonist, but the relationship is never fully defined. The lovelorn one makes it clear he wishes to keep his object close, though. The rejection is profound, and the pet that turned ugly must be destroyed.

By the story's end, improbable becomes ludicrous. Still, if you hang on to the psych angle - divorce it thoroughly from any chance at reality, it's palatable.

A very intelligent Seargent of the North Korean border force meticulously plans his escape from his base and through minefields to get to South Korea.

He scouts out his escape route at night, makes elaborate plans, draws maps and hides them and more useful items until he needs them.

Buuut on the day of his planned escape everything goes awry and absolutely nothing goes right.

Instead of reaching South Korea he even ends up in the lion's den - a highly guarded party for the military elite in a far away town.

He still tries to flee though and gets into one tough situation after the other.

It is quite like a James Bond movie.

The dangerous situations he gets in are always surprising and you don't see them coming.

And how he manages to get out of them is even more surprising and like in a good James Bond movie he does so with intelligence, wits and smarts.

There is a lot of James-Bond-like irony, fun and black humor in this movie and it is almost always intelligent and clever.

You constantly think "There is no way the hero can get out of this now!"

But he does - and always in a very surprising and clever way.

What makes the escape of our hero extremely difficult is the fact that the antagonist who hunts him, is extremely intelligent too.

The bad guy is a little bit psycho like a James Bond villain but knows the hero from when they were younger and even tries to help him in the beginning.

I really enjoyed watching this clever and smart movie and the battle of wits between the two main characters.

Why then, only (highly deserved) 8 stars and not ten, you might ask?

Well, towards the end, the movie starts to have some really stupid moments and some things happen that are just not believable and totally out of character for the hero and the villain.

It also gets a bit schmaltzy.

It's like they changed the clever screenwriters after just three quarters of the script were finished and the new ones were not quite up to the job.

But the last quarter of the movie is still good but by far not as surprising, thrilling and clever as the rest.

I still highly recommend watching it.