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There is no motivation attributed to the antagonist other than 'he is a spawn of demon'. His past in a oppressive system could be taken into account. His father perhaps? But nah. 'He did it because he can' is the best they came up with. And a hint about his reproductive organ. Groundbreaking.

There is no female character in the whole movie and the very few female "characters" exist without any lines other than begging for their lives. They as mere tools for the antagonist to display his cruelness. Most of the scenes with cruelty were unnecessary considering what the audience gathered so far against the character of the antagonist. It is so much that it is hard to not question the motive of the director.

Also some of the scenes of protagonist come off as complete bs. Totally realistic scenes are not what one looks for in action movies but when they are also unimaginative, it leaves a bad taste. Police force ganging up on national intelligence like they are a bunch of street thugs? Really?

This is a power/revenge fantasy movie that is catered for male audience and it doesnt require for much critical thinking. On the contrary, you need to turn it off to enjoy it.

SPOILER: All the A-list Korean actors, but sadly wasted by a ridiculous screenplay. Americans were again played the role with no conscience and blind justice. South Koreans had kao-tau to the Americans, covered up the horrible serial killer from the North Korea. And North Koreans also got no conscience and turned a blind eye to the serial crimes as long as the guy's father was still in power. South Korean Police high ranking officers got no conscience either, so the real detective who did the right thing was wasted for nothing to gain. The whole movie is a much ado about nothing circle, just telling a ridiculous story, but there's one thing to learn from this film, especially to our men, you and me:

Never insult another guy's impotency publicly, if you do, you might pay a very high price later.

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REVIEW:

• The story was really interesting but there were parts that seemed too slow (scenes without action). By the second half of the movie, there were twist and turns happened made things a lot better.
• You would get really mad at most of the scenes but the ending was very good.
• There are so many morbid/brutal scenes. I almost stopped watching in the beginning because of it.
• Action scenes were really good and intense.
• I was shocked to see Peter Stormare (Lucifer from Constantine movie) here.
• I was really amazed at Lee Jong Suk here because he was so scary at some of the scenes. This is the first time I saw him as a villain and he did a great job especially since his previous characters were good guys.
• Jang Dong Gun and Kim Myung-min were amazing in their respective roles.

SHOULD YOU WATCH IT: Your choice. Take note that there are many morbid scenes.

Although he is a serial killer, there must be some motive to kill him. Despite having more than two hours of screen time, his motive is not clear.

I mean the main antagonist is indeed a serial killer, so why not? It was more like a political drama with some action thriller. The cast was well-chosen and I have no complaints about their acting. I am still not sure what role the CIA plays in the movie. Why are they involved?

Lee Jong Suk's characters have surprisingly few lines throughout the film. I heard he is really shy in real life, but villainous characters really suit him, to be honest. Looking forward to seeing him playing more challenging characters in the future.

I would recommend this film if you prefer something dark and twisted. Happy watching.