Seongnan hwangso

I really enjoyed this movie. The story is not something we have never seen before, in fact its pretty similar to Liam Neeson's Taken. But the difference is that this one incorporates a lot of humor in this special way that South Koreans are famous for. You have the badass, the feisty wife, the dorky sidekicks, the over the top evil villain. It was entertaining from beginning to end and I had quite a few very good laughs.

I'm very happy I clicked on this movie. I'm not one who typically seeks out foreign action films. I'm not sure why, exactly? But this one caught my eye.

The best way to pitch this movie, would be a hybrid between Die Hard and John Wick. One man against the world who has a dark past he wishes would have stayed there.

Ma Dong-seok plays the Wick type. He's much more brawl than anything else. Not so much martial arts (that I'm aware of), just bare knuckle punches. Him being a pretty unassuming guy, it's very cool to see him kicking ass.

Song Ji-Hyo plays his wife, whom is in peril. It would typically be a thankless role, but she's a tough, no BS woman. Plus! The main vengeance plot is not predicated on some sort of sexual assault. Tho, human trafficking is the main scheme, at least the filmmakers didn't feel the need to put in a r*pe scene or the like.

The true standout was Kim Sung-oh as the villain. He could have gone full Nicholson's Joker, but was able to deftly balance between over-the-top comedically evil and dangerous and unpredictable enough to warrant tension.

The tension is amazing, in my opinion. There may have been a few jokes I would have cut from the two comic relief characters. Because, you really only need one and having the other character (Bear) was really unnecessary. He was the tracker - why was he going with the main characters at all?

Great direction from Kim Min-Ho. He too, from what I gather, is at stunt performer turned writer/director. This is much like how the John Wick movies began. If I see a film of his again under my suggestions, I'll happily watch.

Excellent film, truly. Great story, great cast, fantastic action and a universally important story.

I truly wanted to give this an 8 for The Man Don Li but I felt he overplayed the pushover part of his personality which wouldn't have been bad if he would have done the same with his rage when he was pushed to the point of the Wrecking machine. The Villain was a bit over the top for an issue like human trafficking and more suitable for a Drug/Gambling/Extortion type. He's pure sociopath but cares way too much about money to fit the bill. Yet this was incredibly entertaining and not overly drawn out so for Action/Suspense that if I love maxes out at 8 I gave this a seven.

In his heydays in the 80's. its a film about king crab, human trafficing, kidnapping, and a vengeful vigilante, who from a job as a salesman on the fishmarket, takes on the hunt for the criminal syndicate that has merely by accident taken his wife.

remember this is a south korean flick, with its cultural differences and humble earthcrawling awe and respect for superiors which makes this a weird experience for western viewers, but its darn good on the action, fighting,speed and revenge factor. i do seldomly giggle over fighting scenes in an american flick(unless bud spencer and terrence hill) but the korean takes the winner badge, and this film is a good example.

the grumpy old man had a nice ride, and so will you too.recommended

No pun intended - and of course this is not Bud Spencer. This is Don Lee and he is his own man! The Bud Spencer vibes I got from other movies he did is not as in your face in this one as they were there. Still I am only comparing those two great people with good intentions! But I also want to make clear that Don Lee is at a point in his career where I should not have to do that.

And speaking of unfair or rather bad comparisons: I read that this is (South) Koreas answer to Taken with Liam Neeson ... let me tell you something: no it isn't! While there may be some small things that can be compared directly ... the movie right here is quite different. This is violent, but this also takes its time.

And if you are an avid South Korean movie watcher, you may recognize more than just Don Lee here ... his side kick for example! He played a completely different role in The Outlaws and the sequel that spawned. Really well made, with spikes of action and a villain that more than deserves that name ... what a psycho that is ... one that is also quite charismatic ...