Seriously , the first thing I would tell someone about this movie is : you'll get a HEARTATTACK !
I'm a fan of action and thriller movies and I've seen many of them both from Korea and USA but this one was surely one of the best action movies I've ever seen ! I wanna congrat the screenwriter first for having such a creative mind to put all these big events in order and only in 24 hours ! Also a special THANK to the great actor who SHINED even more in this movie : LEE SUN GYUN !
He amazingly played a careful detective who UNLUCKLY gets involved with the most challenging crime ever ! And does the things he could never imagine in his NIGHTMARES ! A HARDY DAY , as the name says , is maybe simply about a really hard day with really surprising events ... or It's maybe all about a WRONG TIMING or maybe even farther ... About the serious social problems of TODAY'S society !
But whatever It is ... It has something to talk about ! Something as important as one's life in A HARD DAY!
Make sure to watch it !
Uhh ! And I wanna thank Jo Jin Wook for showing his great acting skills as he always does !
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I have to say I wasn’t impressed with the lead character. Played by Lee Sun Kyun, he’s an arrogant dirty cop who thinks he’s above everyone just because he’s a detective. He ends up doing things in desperation that a decent person wouldn’t even think of. Though it was interesting to see some of the ceremonial rites of Korean funerals, I found the funeral sequence especially appalling. Then the whole scenario changes as the story develops. I realized there could be someone worse as his nightmare escalates in an instant.
The additional bump in Go Geon Soo’s life happens to be some mysterious crazy person. Go becomes involved in something bigger than anything he’s ever had to deal with and it’s an eye opener for him. It was a turning point for me because it shifted my focus and changed what I thought about the main character. There’s nothing like a psycho to change your perspective of things. Yeah, I felt bad for the poor loser. Eventually.
The crazy psycho man is played by Cho Jin Woong. On the surface, he’s a calm and reasonable looking guy. He could be a sweet and caring neighbor for all anyone knows. However, underneath there’s this layer of a lunatic just bidding his time. As I watched his scenes I just waited for his switch to flip. I thought Cho did a great job of showing the multi-faceted personality as Detective Go’s adversary.
What I liked most about this film was the constant change of events. Just when you think Detective Go can relax a little, the poor guy gets thrown another problem. If what happened to him didn’t kill him I thought the constant state of panic would have.
This was a great suspense movie. There’s a lot of testosterone flying around. When the movie really intensifies it’s essentially two guys sparring and trying to outmaneuver each other. Who’s smarter? Who’s the step ahead? And for me it was who’s going to end the damn suspense!? The movie did a good job of navigating the story as it became more and more complicated. I was impressed with how each predicament played out. Despite his stress, Detective Go could be pretty clever.
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A HARD DAY is perfectly scripted, rather so much that you won't get deviated from watching the film, and if some interruption happens between watching it, you might even get angry and start shouting. It's one of those films which don't let you move. Even if you move, you will not feel good to leave it. That's why I finished it in just one viewing.
Director Seong-hun Kim has done a marvellous job as he handles both the direction as well as writing departments in a very professional manner. He has done his best in telling the story with full force, and has provided plenty of entertaining elements to keep you engrossed.
Sun-Kyun Lee is an actor to watch out for. His performance creates a strong impact and after a point it doesn't seem he's acting at all. It's a natural act by him. Another round of applause to Cho Jin-woong: he's menacing at times and his performance is quite effective. Same for the rest of the cast.
The thrills are quite chilling and the action, superb. The cinematography is excellent in many shots, especially the action scenes. The background score is quite pulsating and increases the excitement from time to time.
That said, A HARD DAY is a mindblowing action thriller which has plenty of surprises to offer to viewers, especially those expecting just another action or thriller film. It's something you won't have seen before, and this film undoubtedly increases the respect for South Korean cinema in my eyes.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good but Corny
A HARD DAY tells a small-scale story about a cop on the edge; investigated by Internal Affairs for corruption, he accidentally hits and kills a pedestrian while out driving one night and must cover up the crime before he's discovered.The script is tighter than the direction and editing. But the set-pieces dazzle (think Korean war toys) and the performances by the cops have a nice cynicism about them. HAS GOOD ACTING !!!
VERDICT _ It's hard to feel sympathy for such a miserable miscreant. Impossible, in fact.
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A Hard Watch — Exhausting!
This movie is seriously underrated, when it's one of the best action-thriller movie I've ever watched! If someone underestimate Korean for being too girly and too cheesy (nothing wrong with this, tho), then you should give them this!You really have to be mentally (and probably physically) prepared before you watch this movie. This movie is basically about a man who got bad lucks a whole day (like, really really bad) and I think my heart was beating super fast for the entire movie.
But don't worry, you'll get super satisfied by the ending.
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