With a summer filled with less than mediocre domestic films busting blocks in box office we get a quality entertainment from director Ryu Seung-Wan. This is not an entirely original film but Ryu packs it with enough real life relevance and intrigue in the plot to keep the audience thoroughly entertained.
The plot which has the same structure as "The Public Enemy" series, very popular and also from Korea, follows a hardboiled cop trying to take down a psychotic rich kid after his acquaintance ends up in hospital. Both parties do what they do best. One follows leads and the other does whatever it takes cover it up.
As mentioned above, the film's action scenes and its general tone (comic reliefs, charismatic yet evil rich baddies) are very similar to Public Enemy series. However the story is more focused here with director Ryu's confidence in his own style.
The entire cast turns in solid performances but the standout is Ah In Yoo, making a real nasty playboy who can convincingly smirk and get under your skin. Also worth mentioning is Hae Jin Yoo who's presence in a film almost always indicate solid performances. He plays a man who needs to juggle around running the company and keeping the young maniac under control. In its final action sequence, fans of Korean cinema will chuckle at a familiar face making a goofy cameo.
So far Ryu hasn't made a single film that wasn't worth the admission price. Sure, his film can come off cheesy at times but they were never boring. Ryu's style can also compensate for not entirely original plots in films like "Veteran" and "Berlin Files". A great success in box office, this film will pretty much guarantee the director to make any film he wants to make next. Anything he makes, I'll be first in line.
