I am pleasantly shocked that newbie writer (this film his 3rd) and director (this film his 2nd) Won-Tae Lee came up with this outstanding little gem!
Apparently this film is based on true events, which that alone is enough to pique anyone's interest.
Lee's directing was in par with seasoned Hollywood directors. I'm not a fan of slow-mo shots, but his were few and well placed.
His writing was excellent, especially towards the ending, but I felt the pacing could of been a little better in the first half, and/or the 109 min. run-time edited/cut down to around 90 mins.
The cinematography was good, the score on point, and the casting great, with an exceptional and comical performance by Don Lee.
It's a well deserved 9/10 from me
Plot summary
After barely surviving a violent attack by an elusive serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su (Don Lee) finds himself forming an unlikely partnership with local detective Jung Tae-seok (Kim Moo Yul) to catch the sadistic killer simply known as "K".
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One of, if not THE BEST Korean film I've seen!
Good and bad
Or is it the other way around? If one has to team up with a certain individual that is morally not on the same level - well that can be problematic. But the movie does a great job with all the main characters. And it may take a while to really get going, but once it does, it really can't be stopped. Parasite has proven that Korean cinema is strong. Hopefully that helps movies like this (based on a true story nonetheless) to get the spotlight they deserve.
This isn't the only movie to look out for, but one of them. So if you accidently came here, because of the Oscars, I believe that is a good thing. Keep exploring and you may find a few gems you may never have watched before. Acting here is top notch, the technical aspect is great too. There's almost no bad thing you can say about it ...
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
Like so many of the genre that hail from Seoul and its suburbs, this one punches well above its weight with an inventive reworking of well-worn plot tropes and slick production values.