Nameless gangster

Loyalty, deception, greed, arrogance, corruption, integrity, well it just holds too many elements in storytelling of being an epic gangster movie with some comical. You'll find a fascinating tale of how one small custom officer rose to the top of Busan's underworld and then fell back down.

South Korea declared war on organized crime in 1990. Thousands of people were arrested, from bodyguards to kingpins. Nameless Criminal: Rules of the Time begins in 1990 with the arrest of Choi Ik-Hyun (Choi Min-Sik), a leading gangster in Busan. He claims to be a civil servant, but who would believe a reputed gangster? He finds a significant amount of drugs while working and sells it to the mob. That specific mob is run by Choi Hyung-Bae (Ha Jung-Woo), a distant cousin of Ik-Hyun. And so begins Ik-Hyun's entrance into the shabby underworld. It's a classic case of muscle and intellect. Ik-hyun is a businessman who recognizes that the world they live in is ruled by corruption and greed. He pursued politicians and prosecutors, while Hyung-bae ruthlessly eliminated competing gangs in order to expand their territory. Over the course of a decade, they evolve to become the city's two most prominent criminal lords. However, in a gangster film, a beautiful climb is followed by a self-inflicted fall. Ik-hyun and Hyun-bae had already turned on each other by the time the authorities commence their assault on organized crime.

This smartly written drama revolves around the two leads' difficult interplay, despite consistently devoted performances. Female roles are rare in organized crime films, but Kim Hye-eun stands out as a cold-blooded nightclub queen.

Ha Jung Woo and Choi Min Sik are two of Korea's most versatile actors, and their performances in 'I Saw the Devil' and 'Oldboy' prove that they are equally capable of bringing a new level of realism to the film. Great job!

This movie is kind of like Goodfellas, a classic from Martin Scorsese. Both movies did establish a tense presenting an underground character's long shot career in order to generate both our sympathy and revulsion towards them.

You should give it a shot if you're seeking for a well-written tale of the underworld of gangs.

This is a movie about a wannabe gangster who is a survivor. He repeatedly wriggles out of tight spots without knowing how he got there, or how he got out. He is a civil servant at the docks of Busan, So. Korea, who stumbles upon a robbery, chases off the robbers, and discovers they were after several pounds of heroin. His co-worker is 'connected' and knows a big-time dealer. One thing leads to another (see the above review), and he becomes a kingpin - a neophyte in the drug trade.

The film was interesting, but a few things worked against further appreciation of the film. I couldn't grasp the significance of the importance of family relationships and how this could save him from death numerous times. This was very crucial to one's understanding of the story, because in an American gangster movie, he would have been toast quickly, and this would have been a film short.

Over and above that, he is beaten up several times and emerges with nary a scratch. In addition, he (Choi) is a rumpled and unattractive man who lacks a moral compass; as a result, I was unable to generate any sympathy or rooting interest, and the supporting cast fell into the same category. I also think there was an occasional continuity lapse. For instance, in one scene, one of the major drug dealers is stabbed in the abdomen and bleeds profusely. In the next scene, he is his old, menacing self, as if nothing happened to him. Many meetings and dinners take place seemingly without relevance or time frame; who are these people, and why are they there? And where are they?

I did the best I could to keep up and there were several violent scenes with fights and beatings and apparently no one in Korea uses guns, which would have ended some of those fight scenes pretty quickly. Sound was amplified for the fights and beatings - having seen many gangster pictures, the slaps and blows are never that loud.

I rated it a six - perhaps I would have appreciated it more if I had a better understanding of Korean customs and culture. Or maybe if I were given a reason to root for the protagonist.

Totally agree with all the positive reviews, quite original plot and very very entertaining!!

9/10

First, forgive me for sounding redundant, but in my opinion, Korean movies nowadays has surpassed Hollywood movies in term of storyline. I just can't stand how nowadays CGI has become kind of plague in almost every major movies of Hollywood with thin storyline. Not that CGI is a bad thing really but it just kinda hurt to see how decent Hollywood movies without CGI or dirty teen humor are failing in today's box office.

And although it's not a Hollywood produced, but watching 'Nameless Gangster' is like a remedy to bring back those old sweet experiences when movies are all but the lavish computer generated images. Loyalty, deception, greed, arrogance, corruption, integrity, well it just hold too much elements in storytelling of being an epic gangster movie with some comical situation which wouldn't hurt nobody. You won't find bullets flying or machetes swinging but you'll find a compelling story of how a minor custom officer build up his career through the top of Busan underground society and the downfall later on.

While it's not fair to compare Nameless Gangster head to head with classic Scorsese's picture like Goodfellas, but one can't help but to notice the similarity, and indeed both movies did build the same tense of depicting the long shot career of an underground character to build both our sympathy and repulsion. Choi Min Sik is a real versatile Korean actor, he has done a stretch range of convincing acting from a vicious protagonist in 'Oldboy' to a brutal serial killer in 'I Saw the Devil', and here he scored once again to add more depth to the movie with Ha Jung Woo putting the equal class of performance. Just great.

So give it a try if you're looking for a well packed story of a gangland world, but in Korean style if not to say in Eastern style, mind you!

It's a shame this movie didn't get enough attention as it should be...

A tale of crime, corruption & power, Nameless Gangster concerns a Busan customs officer who along with his corrupt colleagues doesn't mind bribes but when he's on the verge of getting fired & accidentally discovers around 10 kg of crystal meth which he, with the help of a colleague, later sells it to a gangster who turns out to be of the same family clan as his. The rest of the film is about him leaving his customs post & teaming up with this vicious gangster in what later becomes the most powerful crime partnership in Busan.

There isn't much to talk about this film so I'll try to point out the likes & dislikes. Starting with the likes, Choi Min-sik delivers a brilliant performance here as a wannabe gangster whose rise & fall is chronicled in this tale. The rest of the performances are no slouch either. The action is nicely choreographed, the characters are intriguing & overall, it works as a fine gangster film. And as far as the dislikes go, the story could've been more tightly structured, the flow of events could've been smoother & it could've worked with a reduced runtime.

On an overall scale, Nameless Gangster might work for some of its viewers but it's not as impressive as what the other Korean films of its genre has to offer. There are many noticeable flaws in here & the story is just not that interesting either to keep one emotionally invested. It didn't manage to meet up my already mediocre expectations from this film but its family themes & the choice one has to make when faced with loyalty vs own's life are nicely explored. Worth a watch? At least once for sure.