The Roundup: No Way Out (2023)

A perfect weekend movie filled with comedy and action packed.

The Roundup has done it again.

I'm glad I watched it in the cinema.

It was a fun and thrilling ride. The movie, as always, started by showing the bad guys and then later on introducing Ma Seokdo in a funny way. Very typical, but still entertaining.

The plot is great, it's predictable but absolutely not boring. The casts are perfect for each roles. They really went out of their way casting actual Japanese actors instead of making Korean acted like Japanese (just like the usual) which I highly appreciated. The action scene is chef's kiss, although it's quite a pitty that they had to censor it so the graphic part weren't shown at all but it's still satisfying to see all the actions.

Definitely will recommend it to everyone. Can't wait for the fourth movie already!

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More complex storyline, but weaker fight sequences

Guy is back again after a year, whether it is an upgrade this time around, the answer is both yes and also no. The story building is more intensive in this third installment as they go for a more complex structure of a three way conflict that involves a lot more thought process, and the implementation of the characters are great along with the flow of the story. Now onto the weakness that this movie had, which sadly should be its main selling point, the action choreography. The franchise that was known for having masterclass martial arts sequences, somehow turns out not as powerful as the first and the second movie, fight scenes here were a little plain and dull, punches get simpler and battles get shorter, which feels like a rushed production. The previous two villains also fare so much better in terms of fighting skills and the pure charisma on screen, whereas the villain here is just not that intimidating and thrilling. It also has a weird tone that relies on too much humor to push the plot forward which almost becomes a full blown comedy. Well i guess sequels are just not that easy to preserve its excellence but I hope the next installment could really do better than this.

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