is so clearly a debut, with all the messy, bumpy execution that that implies, is partially offset by the film’s sheer energy and its walloping budget, which help turn the whole exercise into a wham-bam guns ‘n’ explosions romp.
As to the story itself: Jung-jae, directing himself in one of two lead roles, plays Park Pyong-ho, an intelligence officer whose investigation into the existence of a mole within his organization brings him into conflict with Kim Jung-do , another spy chief. Park and Kim are not terrifically well delineated, with both actors bringing a stern, hard-boiled intransigence to their roles.
Lee Jung-jae, who co-wrote the script on top of directing and performing, does show some promise in this film, which can be quite snappy from a formal point of view: atmospheric lighting, a nifty score, and a decent eye for composition help keep the show on the rails, even as the film lumbers toward its eventual finish with several maddening false finales.
They only have one color of suit in South Korea.
GTFO