Beuiaipi

A great Korean spy detective movie that starts as a crime movie and ends up as a quite good thriller. I liked the originality of the long fingers of espionage forces which reach not only to their northern neighbors but over the Indian Ocean to America. To watch a story of a serial killer while wondering about which organization would benefit the most from getting their hands on him – that hasn’t happened to me in a long time. The Koreans made up their story perfectly and the ending was absolutely thrilling. Of course there are a few moments that are a bit more emotional than they should be – that is typical for the Koreans. Nevertheless, while watching the ending scenes I felt like I was watching an old Asian thriller like Infernal Affairs. It was a great movie which saves the action till the end to knock you off your feet. I even enjoyed the cast including the psycho who enjoyed his role probably more than he should have. But even that eventually helped this movie’s atmosphere. In my opinion, it was a great movie experience and another successful attempt of South Korea at western film making. (16.09.2019)

The decent director Park Hoon-Jeong didn't make me too happy this time and it hurts when my favourite Jang Dong-Gun from the blockbuster No Tears for the Dead is available. However, it's worth noting the new discovery, Lee Jong-Suk, who portrays a pretty sleazy metro-sexual serial killer, but his spree ends a quarter of the way through the film and then it's just South Korea, North Korea and the American Interpol arguing about who gets to take over, which I didn't much enjoy. At the beginning the film looked very dirty and brutal, with scenes of a murdered family in a house and one decent murder by strangling a naked girl with nylons, but that's the end of it. No other action is shown, apart from the final shootout in a building, which was fine. The story is not engaging enough, the suspense is also lacking and there is no twist, there is not much to praise. I was expecting much more, at least it was nice to see Peter Stormare in a brief role. Disappointing. 60% (15.12.2017)

The beginning was wonderfully atmospheric, and I genuinely didn’t know which direction the story was going to take. The chapter-based structure didn’t bother me too much, but I would have appreciated a bit more organization in the script next time. I don’t know about you, but as time went on, I started to get a bit lost, especially since there were a lot of characters coming from seemingly nowhere. The storyline involving the killer was disturbing; I wouldn’t want to meet such a twisted individual in real life. And then, when various organizations got involved (South Korean police, South Korean intelligence, a CIA agent, and even a North Korean spy), it started to feel a bit over the top. The story did manage to grab my attention, and the plot was impressive, but the unnecessary shifts from one character to another became quite irritating over time. Don’t expect much action, as it wouldn’t fit well here; there’s a stylish elimination of a few villains, including the slimy killer, at the end. It’s not a flop, offering a dense atmosphere supported by good performances, but it's also no miracle. I give it 65%. (02.07.2018)