This revenge movie set in a baduk gambling world was exciting. I liked that even though it was an action movie with hand to hand fighting it was also about contests on a game board between smart and cunning people. The opening scene with Jung Woo Sung definitely grabbed my attention.

The action scenes in this movie had plenty of bone crushing, face pummeling and bloody stabbing of fighters. The characters were brutal at times. It was evident why Lee Beom Soo, as the underground gambler, had the nickname of Killer. He was merciless as the bad guy. All of the characters had nicknames very telling of their role or position. I thought the names were a bit obvious and wondered if it was a joke of the writer but at the same time it was entertaining. I especially liked Tricks, one of the players that Tae Seok recruits in his quest for vengeance. He was a somewhat comedic and light hearted relief to the graphic fight scenes and the more serious baduk game playing.

I am not familiar with the game of baduk so this backdrop of the movie was interesting. I imagine it is like chess. It seemed to involve extreme strategy. I would think a professional player must be able to foresee an unfathomable amount of scenarios of stone placement to excel at the game. I wonder if some of the scenes in the movie would have been more suspenseful if I could understand what was happening on the game board. I felt I got the general idea by watching the faces and actions of the players but I think I was a step behind someone who actually knows how the game is played. It was fascinating to see how intelligent a person must be to play this game. I thought the movie portrayed the sense of that very well.

The thing I enjoyed the most about this movie was the journey of Tae Seok while taking his revenge. His gathering of players to go against the gambling establishment reminded me of the Ocean’s Eleven movies. (Not that their motivation was the same but the gathering of various talents to beat an opponent was the same.) The build up of his plans and getting them in motion was in itself a big game. Tae Seok’s calm and focused demeanor as he goes about his retribution was a good watch. I thought the movie was clever and the exacting of his vengeance was fitting.

If I had an issue with the film it would be that the characters and some of their relationships could have been explored more in-depth. There isn’t much background or development to several characters or the relationships they have to one another. I had to fill in the blanks and infer several things while watching. I would have liked a clearer explanation to several points in the story.

The movie played at a quick pace and there was never a moment I felt it drag. I was actually surprised when the ending came. I really enjoyed this film, it could have been longer and it would have been fine with me.

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This film sporadically flips back and forth between glimpses of the lead character's pitiful childhood and the happier memories of the mother with her daughter. The contrast is heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, the film spent too much time focusing on the back story of these emotionally torn characters instead of hard core action. The hit man, Gon and the mother, Mo-Gyeong are in their own private anguish yet entwined because he decides to protect her. Defending her from his boss is when the action in the movie amps up. It just takes awhile to get there.

The depressed finality in Gon makes him more brutal. The fight sequences were graphic and the pools of blood extreme. Jang Dong-gun did a good job with Gon’s merciless demeanor while fighting. His resolve made him an invincible opponent. The director highlights this once when they cut away from an impending fight only to show the aftermath of his skills. I was impressed by the assumption that the result of the fight had a foregone conclusion.

There was a big array of gangsters in this film. I didn't particularly like the swearing tantrums of one of the bad guys because it seemed overly dramatic and silly. The menacing nature of another underling was better suited to the general tone of the gangsters. My favorite baddie was Choaz, an ex-associate of Gun's. They had the more entertaining interactions in the movie. It was a relationship I would have liked to have seen more of.

It was interesting to see the dialogue switch between Korean, English and some casual Spanish. However, the characters overall conversations were lacking. This film focused more on telling the story through facial expressions and actions than by using words. I couldn't help but think the director was trying to make it like his other film, The Man from Nowhere. It didn't play as well though.

There were some fast paced action scenes when they did play out. There was an impressive shootout scene, a slice and dice knife fight and a great cat and mouse sequence that reminded me of the Hollywood Die Hard films. Above all else, I would watch this movie for Jang Dong-gun’s action scenes. They were pretty amazing.

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I was looking forward to watching this movie. I had heard it was one of the bigger hits in Korea so I had high expectations. In the end, it was a silly little look at marriage and the various stages of relationships.

The film relies a great deal on gimmicky and a slightly crude type of humor instead of what I considered funny and clever dialogue between the characters. There were several amusing moments between Jung In and Doo Hyun that were easy to relate to. These scenes, though a bit over the top, were also realistic and I understood some of the difficulties they were facing. I felt for Jung In as a frustrated housewife and for Doo Hyun as a disappointed husband.

The story is predictable. There are quirky scenes and entertaining antics but one the biggest details I noticed was the growth of Jung In as an independent woman. The other characters seemed to revolve around her and served more as a backdrop to her story than having their own identities. The out of touch and obviously clueless husband Doo Hyun had his own journey and realizations but it didn't grab me as much as Jung In's.

I found part of the movie very telling of cultural perceptions of a woman’s role in society. Whether women are housewives, mothers or work outside the home is often strongly judged by other people. Opinionated and straightforward women can come across as threatening to those around them. Jung In is one of these women. While this plot was used for some laughs, it also felt too serious and out of place in what I thought was supposed to be a wacky comedy.

It was interesting to watch Ryu Seung Ryong as Sung Ki, the Casanova. On one hand, he was portrayed as a depressed and tortured soul but on the other hand he seemed overly cartoonish and ridiculous. It was difficult to take anything his character did seriously, even when I think I was supposed to. Ryu Seung Ryong did have a deadpan look I found humorous. One of his funnier moments was after a scene that mimicked a famous sequence from one of Patrick Swayze's most beloved films here in America. I enjoyed seeing that particular Hollywood reference.

Even though this was supposed to be a comedy, the comedic scenes felt disjointed and did not flow well. I felt as if I wasn't getting all the play on words or meanings intended. This may have been due to translation or maybe I just have an off sense of humor and couldn't relate. The bottom line, not all jokes are universally funny. I found the beginning amusing, the middle a bit jumbled and the end a little somber and slow. Overall, whether it was funny or not, I enjoyed watching two people revisit their relationship and what made them fall in love in the first place.

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