V.I.P. (2017)

It has gore and rape scenes, not for faint hearted. If you can close your eyes through those or fast forward, then watch it(I can't stand either, so closed my eyes).

Story of catching a serial killer from north Korea and how he is protected by different governments and secret agencies is portrayed in this movie. Will he ever get convicted for the gravest sins he committed? Watch the movie to find out.

They should have ended the movie at 1:50:50, then there would have been a scope for part 2. The scenes from 1:50:50 till the end was really unnecessary( but that is just my opinion).

No other serial killer creeped me out like Lee jung suk's character. Lee jung suk proved that he can handle any role with ease - not just the sweet lover boy role. Amazing acting Lee jung suk. You were perfect for the role. This is worth your time, watch it!

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This movie is raw, bloody and in my opinion can even called a bit grotesque.

Sometimes the movie became confusing as there were many "sides" to this story. Also what I think that should have given this movie more power is to focus more on the act that happend itself and why. I am not too sure that it was that believe-able to put in so many country problems at the same time in the movie. . I am intrigued by the political standpoint it takes and I found that very interesting on the other hand. Still I liked the way the movie proceeded and the story did develop over time, but they should focus more on the main point instead side points.
Dont let Lee dong Suk Lure you in as "he is a pretty boy" and all that. In this movie he is not the flower boy, I despised him in this movie, so in fact he played his role perfectly. Him and the others acted very well in this movie. I liked that they gave Lee Dong Suk this role and they should do that more often.
The story is dark, not noir dark, but damn dark. This movie isn't for everyone because it includes loads of blood and no scene is blurred out, so be carefull.

Watch this movie if you are into gory, revenge seeking dark thrillers.
Don't watch this for Lee Dong Suk's pretty face and you won't find any trace of romance in here.

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This movie if amazing for people who love bloody movies

At first, I put this movie a side and to be honest I don't even know why ...
But let me start of by saying this movie is by far the best movie I've seen in awhile and to be honest is my favourite movie at the moment. All the characters portrayed their character perfectly. I also love the way this movie is set out like a book:
-Prologue
- Chapter 1
-Chapter 2
-Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
-Epilouge
This movie is full of blood and there are scenes where I hid under my cover (not becuase of how scary, but because of how disgusting it was).I think this movie showed a lot of what goes on behind what the citizens know and see. One thing that got me was the fact that the Government Officials and Police were fighting over who got him first - which I think is completly disgusting and annoying.

What I find really incredible about this movie is the fact that Kim Gwang Il (played by Lee Jong Suk) didn't shudder one single bit and smirked everytime he was getting integrogated. Like even as a serial killer it's completely like... wtf he just murdered poor, innocent, young girls and he has the audacity to go smirking/flaunting about it. He played a sick physcopath who played with the minds of the politics and police. I personally didn't want him to die at the end but.... I guess there are lots of people who wanted him dead. The way he killed all the girls was absloutelty disgusting (especially the first girl in thr movie). Normally, Lee Jong Suk plays the romantic guy but in this drama he acts completely different and he played it magnificently. Personally, I think he should play more roles like this.

Chae Yi Do (played by Kim Myung Min) was also another amazing actor. After getting suspended and almost killed by Kim Gwang Il, he still did everything in his power to make sure he got rid of Kim Gwang Il. At the same time, I'm still wondering how he survived three gun shots and loosing lots of blood. At one point, I really wanted Ri Dae Bum to die but...

Ri Dae Bum played by (Park Hee Soon) was also brilliant. He portayed his character to the fullest. As a North Korean working for Bureau 35 and then kicked out because he was searching the case of the young girl that Kim Gwang Il. He was also like Chae Yi Do, in the way he didn't give up looking for Kim Gwang Il. Also in the movie Paul Grey says," Ri Dae Bum is like the North Korean version of Chae Yi Do."

At the end of the movie, I was left with loads of emotions. Personally, I didn't want Kim Gwang Il to die and actually I wanted him to be loose and cause more murders (so then the second movie would come out). There is a lot of asearing in this drama and a lot of 16+ scenes. This movie ,though, is good for people who love grotesque scenes and murder mystery type movies.

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I originally watched this film solely for Lee Jong Suk. I'll admit right now that the concept wasn't really for me, but I was hoping that Lee Jong Suk would make up for it. I'm sad to say that he didn't. Whilst he was arguably the best part of this film, and he played the role of serial killer very well, his talent was wasted in a pointless, boring film that adds absolutely nothing new, and focuses on all the wrong things. The film focuses way too much on a dull detective, a dull plot and a dull execution. The best part of serial killer films and dramas, is the serial killer. They're the ones you're supposed to focus on, supposed to want to catch, the ones you feel tense watching as you see a game of cat and mouse unfold before your eyes. This film did none of that. In fact, our killer spends most of his time in police custody, doing absolutely nothing except smirking and occasionally getting free and then caught again. There's too many plot threads that go nowhere, interesting as individual ideas but horrifically uninteresting when paired as a whole. All but one killing is done off screen, and we are told rather than shown that our killer is a super bad person. I didn't care if he got caught, and I didn't care if he did. This film made me feel nothing for anyone. I didn't feel the scariness that others have said they felt, and I didn't feel anything for any character. Nothing happens that I found interesting, and I found myself on my phone during any part without Lee Jong Suk. The characters didn't make sense, and I didn't understand anyone's motivations. Our main detective was supposed to be this hardened, goes against the law when he has to, ying to LJS's yang who everyone was impressed with, but was a good guy really. Personally I found him to be meh. Forgettable and lackluster. The only scene with any sort of technical effort or cinematography was the first killing, and after that it's like the director gave up. I don't recommend the two hours spent to watch this film, and if like me you only want to watch this film for Lee Jong Suk, might I suggest watching any of the edits of him made on YouTube of this film instead. They do the same job in three minutes that this film tries to accomplish in two hours and twenty minutes. He's not in it anywhere near enough to warrant watching this. Boring, forgettable, pointless.

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This is definitely a movie for a mature audience since there are excessive violence and blood.

The story centres itself around the three officers who are chasing the same culprit, Kim Gwang II. As already provided in the summary, the plot is mainly focused on the conflict of interest that these three officers face in their own jurisprudence. In that, the characters are saved from great acting by senior actors in the industry, yet at a closer look is a little flat in its execution. There was definitely more back table politics than on-the-field action scenes in this that if included in the plot, would have made the whole viewing experience much more interesting.

The biggest criticism of its execution is obviously on the characterization of Kim Gwang II, since he's the most interesting character in the story yet given very little to take away from. Interesting details that should have been included to add more depth into his killing rampage would be his motive, background and a deeper look at his familial-political influence.

Park Hee Soon, Jang Dong-Gun and Kim Myung Min are senior actors who did really well in their roles, except the actor who plays Chae Yi Do should go easy with his blowing cigarette off people's faces behaviour because it gets really annoying. There are also so many curse words thrown around which are probably meant to show some realism, but in my opinion, only further accentuates the weakness on the part of the scriptwriter.

Lee Jong Suk is definitely a show-stealer in this because his smirks are creepy and his cold-blood murder are incredibly terrifying to watch. It would be great if he has more chance in the future to play more antagonist character because he executes it so damn convincingly. A fantastic deviation from his usual cute, puppy-like main leads characters.

Definitely watch this for Lee Jong Suk, if not for anyone else :)

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I've read several things regarding this movie from writer/director Park Hoon-Jung. And many were offended by the use of anonymous female actresses in here to where I think, if I recall, Park Hoon-Jung even had to announce he'd do a better research of how to portray women in future projects. Well, I'm a woman and I say, The Hell. The thing is, if you're going to watch a movie and be offended or unable to take its content, do a review search first- the great wide-web is full of summary/critique reviews. Yes, there are gory movies which its purpose seems to glorify men and denigrate women but this film wasn't one of them. VIP's basic element was just to tell a story. It wasn't about the use of women or what women stood for here, but about political interest with the center of it all being a psychopath rapist/murderer. So if Park Hoon-Jung's antagonist is a nut bag with no soul, should he had written the character as a mild murderer who thinks twice about hurting women or better yet meekly portrayed that into his movie? No. The antagonist here was written, intentionally, to be brutal to the core. It's what the story is. And for anyone to tell a writer/director he needs to improve his execution of how he portrays one genre so to not offend people is banal. It's like telling a painter not to paint what he wants because the colors/themes he uses is too provocative for the sensitive minds. I suggest people watch what doesn't offend them then. Art isn't meant to be pretty. It's meant to be expressive even if we may find it absurd at times. I'm not denying the volatile depiction and graphic content of VIP, I did find it gruesome but I'm saying it's what it is, a film written to be that way. Park Hoon-Jung is famous for creating weaving complex political/crime stories: The Unjust, I Saw The Devil, New World. So These plots are to be expected.

Now as to the movie, it was a well written plot with all the political intrigue being the force behind it. It portrays how government agencies are taught to view the bigger picture (always for national interest first) before individual citizens. The local cop is but a pawn in this scheme - a lone wolf racing to end an injustice being done to innocent women. I like the leading cast of this crew very much. And Lee Jong-Suk really needs to broaden his horizon. This movie allowed him to do that. It took him out of the redundant typecast romance/rom-com pretty prince for a short while. We get to see that he is capable of other roles so I do hope he branches out more. It'd be a waste of his talent to just stick to easy roles.

Overall - good.

Recommend - It is an intriguing story if one looks pass the disturbance. Only for those who can stomach brutal movies.

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Too shallow of a story, but LJS looks so good as psychopath

I think the main problem of this movie is it’s lack of focus, they try to make it more grand and complex that it actually loses all semblance of connection to the audience. It’s just a jumbled plot that doesn’t pay attention to its character. I couldn’t connect to any of the character, because non of them actually have a character, they’re just there, without rhyme or reason, all jumbled together without ever being explained.

I got what their trying to go for, but it doesn’t translate because of poor writing and directing, I think. Everything is only shown in glimpses, no backgrounds that grounded them to reality and relatablity. It lack substance, and only throwing light jabs that doesn’t do anything for the overall story.

All three countries that fight over this serial killer, North and South Korea along with the US, are not explained well. It should be intriguing to see the power dynamic and political play from those three countries, but what we get is just a whitewash of the power struggle and political battle that should have happened.

All the actors other than Paul Stormare, who played the CIA agent, performed really well with what they have, which is almost nothing. They managed to expand their characters to be more than basic cops or agents. I found the CIA agent to be the worse though, he over acted a lot, the voice sounds like a dubbing and a bad one at that. He lacked subtlety and too one dimensional.

Lee Jong Suk looks so creepy as a psychopath, which is great. I really love him here. I hope he would get a great psychopath role in a future drama, so we could see him fully explore this type of character. I also like Jang Dong Gun as the NIS agent of South Korea, we got a bit of character development for his role.

I don’t pay enough attention to the music, I think I’m already distracted by the lack of focus on the character.

I might rewatch this just for LJS being psychopathic, but I definitely didn’t care enough about the story to rewatch the whole movie.

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Enjoy reading down....

I literally felt no emotions while watching this. There is no thrill and mystery in this mystery-thriller movie.
Kim Myung Min (Chae Yi Do ) : Nice person. Viewers at least would have been sad if he died, but he didn't. Regretful murder fail.
Jang Dong Gun( Park Jae Hyuk ) : Born to get humiliated by seniors. Never acts up, thus survived till the end.
Park Hee Soon ( Ri Dae Bum ) : Born to get beaten and killed by Lee Jong Suk. (watch "My Name"...he's ur new crush)
Lee Jong Suk ( Kim Gwang Il ) : Cute little flowery seial killer and keeps smiling uselessly. "I killed someone...UwU" kindda vibe.
Peter Stormare ( Paul Gray ) : Least scary and least seriously taken agent ever.
Choi Jung Woo ( Police Executive ) : Just another annoying senior.
Oh Dae Hwan ( Detective Kim ) : Just another annoying junior.
Jo Woo Jin ( Prosecutor ) : Top 10 anime betrayals. (watch "Happiness" to see him in full shape)

Things I liked :
1. makeup, cinematography and acting of the girl in the first murder scene.
2. Erectile dysfunction scene. That was a bit funny.
3. When Chae Yi Do was shot. I became sad but I wasn't anymore when I found out that he survived the gunshots.

Things I freakingg hatedd :
1. murder of Ri Dae Bum (I'm absolutely a fan of Park Hee Soon....the movie didnt do justice to this actor)

Movie fails :
1. Let alone serial killer, Lee Jong Suk was so cute throughout the whole movie, it took the movie downhill.
2. Acting was pretty good by all the actors, but not worth the story and script provided.
3. Murders were supposed to look sad and gory but it didn't not because the initial pity for the victims was never built by the movie....You know its not sad to lose a diamond ring you never had in the first place.
4. Everyone in the movie is like...."yea, Mr. Serial Killer, Kill me please".....I felt no pressure on the shoulders of the people from their superiors who were saving Lee Jong Suk(not potrayed properly).....He killed dozens of girls and got saved because of his dad's bank account, and at last after all this drama the movie ends with the fact that thers no money in that account and the guy saving lee jung suk all this time for the money didnt seem to be sad, angry or regret it much.

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Listen this film is Brutal, as everyone else has said, there are some scenes that are really hard to watch.

But with that said I still think its an excellent film. Though the story may be a bit confusing at first as it's broken down into different, sometimes out of order, segments once you get the drift of why they showed you the events in that order I think the concept is really engaging. First off the acting by each cast member is insanely good, for all you Lee Jong Suk fans out there (myself included) he will blow your mind, this is a COMPLETELY different role from what he's played in the past and he's almost so good that even though he's the antagonist you can't help but sort of root for him. The controversy around this film arose due to the violence against women seen in the serial killer scenes and if that's something that triggers you then this film may be hard to watch.

With that being said I don't think this film has a misogynistic message in fact I think the message of the film is hidden in that very excess of his violence towards women. those scenes are MEANT to make you upset and to be shocking, to point out how unjust it is that his character has been allowed to commit these kinds of atrocities for a long time simply because of his connections. If anything the film is trying to point out these issues, that despite his good looks, connections, knowledge ect.. he, in the end, is still a murderer who deserves to be held accountable for his actions. You're meant to be uncomfortable, murders like the ones in this film have all happened in real life for years, especially towards women and so often even go unsolved! This film rather than shying away from that shows the viewer the grim reality of those crimes, and even though at times it's hard to watch I think it sends a powerful message. The fact that people reacted this way shows just how effective it was.

I would definitely recommend watching this film if you get the change just know what you're getting into beforehand. ;)

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So, honestly this one started out great but for some reason got boring mostly because of the leading character Jang Dong-gun as Park Jae-hyuk an agent working for the South Korean National Intelligence Service(NIS) who's hell bent on putting the son of a high-ranking North Korean official, Kwang-il (Lee Jong-suk), who is suspected of committing serial murders around the world. To stop the killer, South Korea, North Korea and Interpol chase after him. First off, they had Lee Jong Suk and I'm not his fan exactly but he's beautiful and his acting is pretty good, so how they managed to ruin the experience is beyond me. Like I said, the first part is impressive for how disturbing it is, truly. I give ten points for that. And please, not for the faint of heart. This one is seriously disturbing. They don't pull any punches and it's all so realistic. And Lee Jong Suk gave such a good performance as a sociopath it will mess you up. But the problem is the actor who plays Park Jae-hyuk was so boring and inconceivably lackluster it ruined the whole effect. Plus, there was barely any story, and it seemed a few scenes strung together. The characters were half cooked completely one dimensional. Overall, I enjoyed some aspects so giving a higher ratin than I normally would.

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Yikes, didn’t expect it to be this disturbing

Came across this movie because of LJS, and wanted to see him in a negative role and wow I got ore than what I bargained for. VIP is an unsettling movie that makes you question if this much gore was really necessary. The plot is fairly decent, a little bit confusing in the beginning with respect to the timelines but once you figure out the characters there clarity. The cast does a pretty good job and Lee Jong Suk takes it to another level with his feeling less stares. I appreciated the fact that they didn’t glorify him or his actions which could have easily happened. At various points we get to see him as someone pathetic who deserves to be punished for his sick actions. Overall a decent movie, there’s lots of trigger warnings but (rape, murder, torture) so watch it if you can put up with such heavy content.

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