No mercy

I am a fan of good Korean thrillers, and I also have a soft spot for Kyung-gu Sol. The man is a pleasure to watch. 'No Mercy' is not as good as for example 'The Chaser', 'Memories of Murder' or 'I Saw the Devil', but definitely worth watching. Though for the most part the script is not highly original, it still glued me to my chair for two hours, and the end left me in shock. Some things you do see coming, some you don't, and this ending was absolutely perfect and more than I could hope for.

This is the debut movie by director Kim Hyeong-Joon, and IMO, he has put himself on the list. I hope to see some more of him in the future. Kudos!

I went into this film cold. I knew nothing except that it did well in Korea. I had watched 'The Children' earlier in the week and it took me a few days to dry my eyes out over that one...the Koreans are so damned good at making films to genuinely tug on the heart strings. I won't give this very intelligent film a synopsis, I'll leave that to others. I've just finished watching this at home in the dark on my own, and that's how I like it. Good Korean films need to be savoured and enjoyed with no detail missed. No one else in my household appreciates these films other than the usual home made fodder and that suits me fine. This is a tense and sad film with a decent enough story line that gradually builds to one hell of an ending. It kept me on the edge of my seat from about 30 minutes in. I had to leave it 20 minutes in for a few hours as I kept getting interrupted first time around. Then I almost decided to not bother with it and to watch something else. Whoa! What the heck was I thinking!!! My patience paid off big time. That ending is the best I've seen in ages...but I seem to say this more often when watching Korean films these days. Beautifully done guys....fantastic film...shall I call it a masterpiece...yep along with several others I've recently seen. Someone gave it 3/10 are you nuts?!?!?

I heard a lot about this movie and guess what none of it is false. It surprised me when the killer told the professor to temper the evidence that the time I thought maybe he was just trying to prove himself innocent hence he could get outta here. But never thought things gonna turn like this..

It's good that Joon-ho Bong's "Mother" is getting some exposure and generally positive reviews. A very fine film, but I prefer "No Mercy" because it's a bit more engaging from the get go and has a more absorbing premise. There's a very good external review on IMDb that outlines the plot synopsis and general characteristics of this film. For those who wish to watch the film without much knowledge, I'll give you a mini-review here.

A forensic pathologist and a young detective investigate the motives surrounding a dismembered corpse. Han Hye-jin (of "Jumong") is fantastic in the supporting role as the neophyte but talented detective who banters with her boss. The creative aspect of this film is that tension is established between the protagonists as one of them (identified early on) works against the investigation and attempts to contaminate or cover up the evidence. The characters are well-developed and the scriptwriting is clever. There are also some excellent dead body effects and one of the most convincing autopsy scenes in recent memory. This movie blends certain elements of "Seven" and "Out of Time" together to create a fantastic suspense/thriller that is quite simply unmissable.

Essential viewing. Watch it!

Another great Korean crime thriller. It is a thriller that makes you think about choosing sides. More than morality and the righteous nature, it focuses on how each man has a side to it. At your lowest or in selfishness, how one can turn out to be evil. An engaging and quite intense thriller about revenge, pain, emotions and some past.

"No Mercy" is not for the faint-hearted and is more daring than its competitors.

Despite being one of the lesser-known entries in the crime-thriller genre, No MERCY is nevertheless another gem of the category.

If you like Old Boy (2003), then this movie is just the one for you.