Bargaining (2023)

The final act is the main highlight

It surprisingly turns out that this is less of an action movie than ever, in contrast to its movie poster and trailer that screams adrenaline. The focus on the tension between Hwang Jung Min as diplomat, and Hyun Bin as NIS agent is the main driver that pushes the movie forward, but that could be a hit or miss sometimes. The final act will be the main highlight of this movie, Hwang Jung Min's sheer amount of acting skills during the final negotiation is so prominent that it's keeping the audience at the edge of seats induced in fear. Overall the cinematography was shot with great attention to details, and a storyline that works well, it's still a brilliant movie to be fair.

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The Point Men directed by Im Soon Rye was a mixed bag. Starring Hwang Jung Min and Hyun Bin, the acting was exceptional. The film was based on the real-life story of 23 South Koreans taken hostage in Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2007. Most of the film revolved around the negotiations between the South Korean representatives and the Afghan government, the Taliban, brokers, the Americans, and even their own government. Suffice to say there were a lot of tense conversations.

Jung Jae Ho and a team of negotiators are sent to Afghanistan to secure the release of 23 kidnapped South Korean missionaries. The missionaries ignored the travel ban, took the same road where Germans had recently been abducted, and unsurprisingly were abducted as well. Jung thinks he can walk into the president’s office and demand the release of the hostages and be home by dinner. The sticking point for the government is the demand for the release of 23 Taliban prisoners. A single release caused an uproar recently and 23 would be disastrous. Jung’s superiors are often more concerned about their reputations than the hostages’ lives. NIS operative Park Dae Sik is better informed about local customs and politics but largely ignored by the white collars from Seoul. Jung finally turns to him when his own efforts fail spectacularly.

This was not an action-packed film, but rather a cerebral thriller. There was one action scene in the film and I strongly suspect it was fictional, added because Hyun Bin looked like a badass on a motorcycle and fighting mano a mano. While I could appreciate the delicate and frustrating negotiations, the struggles within the Korean delegation did become tedious after a while. The final blood and tears negotiation was worthy of the grand finale.

The script did try to be well rounded. There was not outright Islamophobia. And the South Koreans were shown in the wrong when they arrogantly dismissed local customs and hierarchy. Most characters were portrayed as real flesh and blood men regardless of their side in the conflict. (Aside from the female hostages there were no women in the film.) I did have reservations about Kang Ki Young’s interpreter in brown face. And as so many directors do, Im Soon Rye used the dreaded sepia or yellow filter to indicate a third world country. It’s really time to retire that technique. There were sections where the music was so loud I couldn’t hear the conversations, a problem when they were speaking English with no subtitles.

Watching Hwang Jung Min and Hyun Bin in anything is usually worthwhile and the strongest recommendation for this film. If you enjoy the back and forth of complicated hostage negotiations involving different countries and groups this is a film worth trying. If you are hoping for something more action packed, this is not that film.

12 August 2026

Trigger warning: Smoking

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