Confidential Assignment 2: International

Fun Action Comedy!

Equally entertaining as the first one, this fun action comedy did not disappoint! Hyun Bin delivered on the action scenes and Yoo Hae Jin stole the show with his comedic timing. I absolutely loved the dynamic of Hae Jin's family, specifically with Yoona. I kept bursting out laughing at their reactions to Yoona's flirting tactics. I'm not a fan of Daniel Henney's acting, but his character did add to the comedy and gave an excuse to show Hyun Bin's cute jealousy.. Jin Seon Kyu did a great job as the villain too. I'm always amazed at how these soft spoken kind actors transform themselves into such great villains.

On the story side, I will say it was weaker than the 1st movie and you'll have to overlook some of the flaws in logic, but honestly I didn't care too much because the action and comedy were strong. This was such a breeze to watch. And if you are a fan of Hyun Bin or Yoo Hae Jin like I am, then this will not disappoint.

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This time, I got to see a fly swatter used as a weapon!

PROS
+ The awesome, buddy-cop duo returns with and even adds a third to their epic team dynamic
+ The refreshing globe-trotting plot sets the action in several cool locations
+ Well-executed and expertly choreographed fight scenes that are reminiscent of the practical effect showdowns present in Jackie Chan films

CONS
- Admittedly, the pacing isn't as kinetic as the first movie
- There is a noticeable dip in quality from some minor role portrayals (The American cast)
- As entertaining as it was, there are a good amount of re-treaded scenes mimicking ones from the original
- A few plot elements are unnecessarily convoluted by the background conflicts of each of the main cast (America, North and South Korea)
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We've got another winner in the action/espionage subgenre! My favorite aspect of these two films is the exciting and engaging the pacing. Thankfully, none of the common espionage banter is present here.

Basically, if you liked what made the first movie special, then you need to see this one!

8/10

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They raised the standard for this franchise

It's rare to see a sequel as good as the original. Confidential Assignment 2 was not only at par with the original, it surpassed it. This is more fun to watch. Have more action scenes. And, much solid plot. If they are going to release another sequel, they raised the standards too high with this release.

What I miss with Western movies: a solid plot, a serious story, but still can make you laugh because the comedy parts were natural. Glad to see the Koreans are sticking to that formula instead of following the footsteps of Hollywood.

Well done, great acting from all the actors, the staff, the director, writer, and editing team.

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Eye candy galore

I enjoyed watching it; great casting, with Daniel Henney (Jack) as an added character. The comedy timing was perfect and I find Yoona hilarious here.

I loved the fight scenes, they were perfectly executed for me, that's why it was believable.

Story was cliche with drugs, revenge, chemical bombs and political inclination; but heck, it was an entertaining movie for me.

Hyun Bin is a well versed actor, and here you see that he knows his craft well, as he is very convincing with his actions scenes, they looked well executed and real.

YHJ as his SoKor detective partner is also as always a very good actor, he played his role perfectly.

So, definitely worth watching it. Their trio team, was a perfect combination.

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North-South conflict with Americano blend

The usual formula of North-South conflict but with a style of "Americano" blend, overall a pretty high quality production but does have its shortcomings. Despite the complicated three way multinational storyline, it still pale in comparison like this year's best selling korean movie The Roundup, it lacks defining thrills as the villain doesn't even look intimidating enough, and most of the time it was overwhelmed by comedy all over the place. The meaty part kicks off too late and the first half of the movie is basically lifted only by comedy, fortunately it gets better when the main case is on track which provided a satisfying ending sequence with enough pressure points. Action scenes do look very gripping with accurate sound effects and exhilarating scores, but i guess most audiences will be moved by the visuals of the two male leads which is prominently highlighted in here.

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good action comedy

I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. It had a good dosage of humor and fun without compromising the seriousness of the main issue.

North Korean elite detective Im Cheol-ryung (Hyun Bin) is back in Seoul chasing a ruthless crime boss, and once again, he’s paired with the goofy, endearing South Korean detective Kang Jin-tae (Yoo Hae-jin). Their tried-and-true North/South 'bromance' is the undisputed heart of the film, constantly shifting between reluctant partners and genuine friends.

The story is quite easy to follow too not convoluted and has a little international elements with 3 countries trying to catch the bad guy.
The entire cast did an amazing job playing their characters. The chemistry between Hyun Bin, Yoo Hae Jin, and Daniel Henney was really good with their comedic acting.

If  enjoyed the first part of this movie and want more of the same with added international flavor, I can recommend it.

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Still action-filled less comedy and now a trio

The story is completely different from the first movie so if you can watch it even without the prequel. Pretty much the same premise where North Korea is trying to apprehend a criminal and launches a joint investigation with South Korea then FBI also comes in the picture. Then we still have the NIS poking around again to find out what is NK really up to.

There's still those doubts among each other at first but in the end they got each other's back. There's also that attempt to add a love line on the story but I find that detail a little trivial. The story will go on without it. The chemistry among the leads is a bit different since it's a trio now, it kind of meh for me. The balance of good-looking and not-so-good looking has been kind of disrupted.

Still this was a great movie to watch on a weekend filled with action but not so with the comedy part. It was still an epic movie and I love it. You should watch it too.

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Not as good as MDL hyped it up to be! But almost as good as the original

After reading reviews here, I was expecting maybe too much. I enjoyed the first film a lot, so I was excited to see this anyway, but the reviews on this site made out that this was a massive improvement on the original in every department.
It wasn't.

Throwing in a half-Korean-American cop for more international appeal, this sequel opens with our North Korean hero and the said American losing the criminal they're both chasing... who then pops up in South Korea. Yes, a good way to get it all going...
but then it quickly goes downhill.
In the original, the South Korean cop was a bit of a loser and very funny; in this one, his introduction really lagged - so that high-octane start was right out the window!
Noodles aside, the gags were dumb and the calibre of writing clearly wasn't on a par with the first! Sadly, this would prove evident throughout the rest of the film.

The sister-in-law many of us saw as the perfect Korean "waifu" is back and, where the producers were smart to give her more screentime, she felt shamelessly additional to nearly all of her scenes outside of the home, making her nothing but fan-service,
And if you're going to do fan-service, why not go bikinis too?

Joking aside (I'm glad she kept her clothes on), the problem with ensemble cast films is that they tend to be overly long; this wasn't an exception! Many scenes felt devoid of humour and failed to drive the story forwards or develop characters, while the moment the hot sister-in-law meets the American is pure cringe!
I was hoping that she was trying to make the North Korean dude jealous, so that he'd be forced to act, but instead, she was just made to look bad.

The fights are okay in this; there's a lot of gunfire which isn't very interesting and the South Korean seems oddly bad-arse - which really cost comedic potential - but really, for me, the plot just wasn't anywhere near as good as the original. This one also left a few loose ends... which may be to set up a 3rd instalment, but I'm not sure the American cop would be needed, and just trying to get our handsome hero back to the South to finally settle down with you-know-who would take too much screentime already.

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