Neo-noir martial arts goodness
From "Swordsman" to "The Killer", Jang Hyuk is unstoppable. He's quick in combat and charismatic in acting, his movement is super slick making him one of the best performers in Korean martial arts films. The action choreography here is refreshing as they implement a lot of guns with deep neo-noir tone, camera work is precise enough to present little details during fight scenes. The premise itself is great but it would be better if the transitions between storylines are more refined, still this marks one of the best Korean martial arts movies in the collection.Was this review helpful to you?
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For Action lovers only
The story is what is just written in a synopsis, with an ample amount of action. So if you want a more deep story of character growth and bonding please just avoid watching this movie and bash it later.It serves an audience who loves action, and we all know Jang Hyuk doing action sequences, killing the baddies, and firing guns as if in a war is a treat to watch. Not much for acting but he really put a lot of effort on action, as viewers we know that action requires more physical strength.
Since I like watching JangHyuk's works, this was an OK movie for me but I enjoyed it.
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Bad plotting, pacing and a jumbled final cut. How's that for an honest summary?
Wow, is this one a hot mess?Have you ever read one of those comics with the "OP MC" (Over-Powered Main Character, for those who don't know) tag? Well, that's what we have right here!
The plot is almost nonsensical, the story jumps from set-piece to set-piece and the lead is so ridiculously OP that he literally walks through mobs, killing everyone without batting a eyelid. Dumb coincidences add to his invincible plot armour and, by the time this trash ends, you'll likely be thankful for a relatively short running time.
The fights are so-so, but the film is very well made - definitely not an amateur effort - and the woman who plays the lead's wife is gorgeous. These are pretty much the only pros I can think of!
An annoying female lead (the 17 year old), a toothless main villain and a motive revealed at the end that really doesn't make much sense are all pretty big complaints, but the film earned an extra half star for showing behind the camera clips during the end credits, which I've always enjoyed and were probably made popular by Jackie Chan.
Speaking of which, there are still a few of his films I've not seen and I'm sure any of those would've been more fun than this!
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Disappointed !
I watched it mainly for JangHyuk + got fooled by the high rating! and a friend's recommendation..I'll be honest with you all, it contains too much violence with an empty plot !!
Even after I finished it.. I still didn't get the reason behind all what happened, it was a slow paced and felt like 2 hours waste of time.. kinda boring and confusing along the way .. with no actual stroy!
+ I don't enjoy seeing movies with such violent scenes especially when it includes Minors..
the ML was impressively a Pro Assassin but thinking about it's not realistic + we didn't get to know anything about his story why is he the way he is? where did he train?
this movie was a waste of JangHyuk's acting skills
the only conveyed message was that we live in a trashy world!
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This review may contain spoilers
Action Hero
From beginning to end Action packed. I totally enjoyed this movie.I was searching Jang Hyuk's profile and found this movie.
He done so many genres and he is excellent here too.
The translation was kinda cut, so I don't know if I lost some
info on the way.
Happy I got to see Jang Hyuk in action. I've been
following him for years. He played a cool guy, almost expressionless,
saw him smile at the end of the film. Funny, he always
was drinking out of a cup. Reminded me of Robert Downy Jr.
always snacking on set.
I enjoyed this movie.
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Film saved by Jang Hyuk's particular set of skills
The Killer tread a familiar action movie path. Did it matter? Not with Jang Hyuk showing off his particular set of skills as many times as the writers could work a fight scene in. His quiet confidence and proficient use of a body well honed by real life martial arts training kept me engaged from beginning to end.Retired killer, Ui Gang, is maneuvered into babysitting the seventeen-year-old daughter of his wife’s friend when the two women embark on a three-week vacation. A reluctant sitter at best, Ui Gang finds himself dragged back into his profession when Yoon Ji is repeatedly kidnapped by human traffickers. The killer never breaks a sweat or even raises his voice as he works his way through the bad guy hierarchy. There’s never a moment when he doesn’t look completely in control, even when facing a gang of axe wielding thugs.
If I laid out the plot in detail, few people would find it surprising. If you’ve seen Nowhere Man, John Wick, or Taken or a jillion other movies with a similar story you’ll have the whole thing figured out in a matter of minutes. With this kind of genre, execution matters, and The Killer executed it well. As in there were executions aplenty. The action drove the story and rarely slowed down long enough for the viewer to start counting plot holes.
Jang Hyuk is an accomplished martial artist in real life and it showed in his agility and quick moves. The brutal and bloody fights were well choreographed and exciting to watch. Ui Gang dispatched the baddies with a number of different weapons or whatever sharp object happened to be nearby. Shadowy scenes were often Illuminated with neon lighting making the action seem otherworldly.
The Killer didn’t have the most inventive script. Luckily this genre doesn’t require uniqueness, only thrilling action. Would the film have worked without charismatic Jang Hyuk and his martial arts skills selling the action? Thankfully, we didn’t have to find out.
4 February 2024
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20 year old storyline with bad direction,pacing of story and cuts
The storyline is pretty similar like that of Man from Nowhere except few changes.The movie has good starcast. Acting was good too.
Though, thanks to bad direction,you will always feel that the film lacks something. It lacks heart. The film just feel meaningless.
Except action, nothing is good. It will not touch any hearts. Plus, one doesn't connects to any scene.
About music, it is standard. It's not great.
Rewatch Value is less. Only for action sequences, one can watch some scenes. But rewatching whole movie is waste of time and mind space.
Conclusion - Ignore this. Instead watch Man fron Nowhere again. If you don't like action, go watch anything. Even staring at stars for 1 hour is better than this if you have watched assassin turn good movie before.
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Intelligent? non. Divertissant? oui
Alors oui. Cela ne casse pas 3 pattes à canard. Oui, on a déjà vu mieux.Un scénario classique et dont parfois la logique peut paraître alambiquée. Des vilains pas très fute-fute et qui plus est anti-charismatique. Un héros dont l'aisance de ses actions ne rencontrent que peu de résistance et qui peut faire sourire. Oui et mille fois oui, un film qui pourrait juste se laisser regarder un soir de pluie et où votre cerveau s'est mis en mode "je m'en foutisme", voilà la réalité. Mais nous savons, vous et moi, que rien n'est plus illogique que le coeur humain!
J'ai aimé. Je n'ai pas honte. Il y a bien des dramas encensés, des films applaudis et qui ne m'ont laissé ni chaud ni froid. Des dramas vilipendés, des films hués qui m'ont fait rire ou pleurer. C'est le mystère du coeur humain...
Pourquoi avons-nous aimé? Pour une des raisons les plus simples. Nous nous sommes amusés, nous avons souri, nous avons apprécié les scènes d'actions. Et puis Jang Hyuk est bad ass quand même.....
La réalisation n'est pas exceptionnelle mais n'est pas non plus mauvais. La fluidité des scènes d'action est agréable et se regarde avec plaisir. On pourrait mettre en doute la véracité et l'objectivité des scènes de combat. En effet, Jang Hyuk glisse tel un patineur artistique au milieu d'une flopée de pantins tous utilisés ici pour mettre en valeur notre héros. Tout comme l'opposant qui va lui donner du fil à retordre et qui ne sera finalement qu'une poupée un peu plus coriace dont notre tueur jouera tel un chat avec son jouet afin de nous faire prolonger le plaisir. C'est questionnable. Mais je mentirais si je disais que je n'ai pas apprécié ces moments. C'est relaxant et nous évite les angoisses typiques du "merde, il va s'en prendre plein la figure, se faire rosser, tabasser, saigner comme un porc avant de se relever tel un dieu vengeur et tous les buter avec un bras cassé, deux jambes pétées, un oeil en moins, 24 côtes brisées et le nez qui pisse le sang..." (chais pas pourquoi, mais j'ai en tête "Die Hard" avec Bruce Willis). Hum, à me relire, je me dis que vu comme cela, ce n'est pas mieux qu'un protagoniste qui dégomme tout le monde avec classe. Bon après tout, avouons le, on a tous été plus ou moins fans de "Ryo Saeba", non?
La violence des scènes? On est devant un film, il n'y a rien donc de d'inhabituel (il y a bien eu pire dans certains dramas estampillés Netflix...)
Le scénario? idem, cela n'a pas dû provoquer une syncope cérébral au scénariste qui s'est plus donné à coeur joie sur la partie je bute tout le monde mais pas sur la profondeur des dialogues. Mais j'ai apprécié les dernières minutes qui apportent une touche de douceur dans ce monde de brute. Et aussi, une explication, certes loin d'un masterpiece, mais qui aura le mérite de nous faire sourire.
Bref, un film de série B qui n'est ici après tout que pour divertir. En ce qui nous concerne, on s'est amusé et c'est ce qui importe.
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