Runtime:
137 minutes
Directed
by: Yoon Jong-Bin
Starring:
Hwang Jung-Min, Lee Sung-Min, Cho Jin-Woong, Ju Ji-Hoon, Gi Ju-Bong
From:
CJ E&M
This is my return to South Korean cinema, and it wasn't too bad:
It has been too long since I had seen a South Korean movie; while
this one is not brutal to watch or outrageous, it was still a thrilling
spy drama... albeit one that definitely isn't like a Mission: Impossible
joint and instead is full of dialogue... yet that is OK.
An
important note is that it is not just Hollywood where you have movies
“based on a true story” that are actually loose adaptations; I
understand that applies to this film. Then again, considering it's about
real life spy Park Chae-Seo (code name: Black Venus) and he's still
alive, who knows for certain what he did or didn't do. What happens in
the film is that the lead is recruited to become a spy in order to
discover if North Korea is capable of making nuclear weapons. He goes in
so deep that Kim Jong Il makes more than one appearance in the film,
and the lead establishes a long, detailed con which takes plenty of time
as he has to convince a lot of people... mainly the North Koreans
residing in Beijing for business reasons.
The movie is rather clinical in how it approaches the subject; I can understand how some would find it to be too dry or even dull. Me, I was always riveted as the story was intriguing and there are several pretty suspenseful scenes. The movie starts off as one thing then suddenly pivots over to something else and you realize what the crux of the story actually is... without revealing too much, it's the sort of thing which can resonate with anyone as you wouldn't want to see your country engage in such nefarious acts and have entities in your government conspire like that.
No matter the truthiness of the plot, an interesting yarn was at least spun here.
The movie is rather clinical in how it approaches the subject; I can understand how some would find it to be too dry or even dull. Me, I was always riveted as the story was intriguing and there are several pretty suspenseful scenes. The movie starts off as one thing then suddenly pivots over to something else and you realize what the crux of the story actually is... without revealing too much, it's the sort of thing which can resonate with anyone as you wouldn't want to see your country engage in such nefarious acts and have entities in your government conspire like that.
No matter the truthiness of the plot, an interesting yarn was at least spun here.
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