Deliver Us From Evil (2020)

I watched "Deliver Us From Evil" last night. It's a good Action-packed movie. The fighting and knife scenes are really great, it was shot in a unique way. I can't comment on the cinematography, because there was nothing special about it. All I can say is that they worked hard to reduce shaky cam scenes to the minimum, it's almost unnoticeable. Concerning the individual performances "Hwang Jung-Min" is really good as a contract Assassin, he was ruthless and skillful, but I really missed his sense of humour in this movie. "Lee Jung-Jae" as a brutal villain is really eye-catching, he was fierce and his presence was really haunting, "Park Jung-Min" as a transgender was something special to watch. The low point of this movie (for me) was the storyline and the plot, there was clearly a lack of backstories to give the audience a hint on how the characters reached the present day. In simple words, there was almost no (Character Development). I feel like they should've gave this one more time. It gives you this weird feeling that you're not satisfied with the conclusion of the whole story. Overall I would say its an enjoyable experience as an action-packed movie, but unfortunately I wouldn't put on a top 10 list of korean movies released in 2020.
I will give it a rating of 7.5/10.

Read More

It's like Tom & Jerry, if they were a serial killer and a hitman... and if it made you cry (Okay, it's not THAT much like Tom & Jerry)

PROS
- The casting is superb! Lee Jung-Jae is a genuinely terrifying villain and portrays the character perfectly
- Even though the movie has slow pacing in the first half, it delivers loads of atmosphere and audio/visual story telling
- Some of the score sounds more fitting to a horror movie, but it works so well in creating an unsettling tone
- The action scenes are expertly choreographed and are overflowing with realistic-looking violence and seat-gripping excitement
- Somehow there are even some beautiful moments that are touching and give a necessary balance to the rest of the film's overall "heaviness"

CONS
- There is an indirect story telling method that provides depth to the protagonist and it is easy to miss details
- The main character is not properly introduced for awhile, which was a bit unusual
- Some of the environments look very mid 00s with its oversaturated yellow tint aesthetics
_____________________________________________________

I can't think of a better movie to showcase the amazing talents of Hwang Jung-Min and Lee Jung-Jae. If you're familiar with Korean films (or have seen Squid Game), you'll definitely recognize these icons.

This is a heavy watch with a lot of violence, so beware if you're sensitive to those things. Other than that, it is pretty easy to recommend. This film has a similar feel to another great crime action/thriller called Night in Paradise; however, this one is less of a downer.

I can actually see myself wanting to re-watch this in the future.

8/10

Read More