The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil

A crime boss is attacked at night and realises the man who came at him is a serial killer. The police are hunting the same man. The two sides agree to work together with different aims: the officer wants justice and a promotion, the boss wants revenge. Lee Won-tae directed. It is based on a true story. Ma Dong-seok, Kim Mu-yeol and Kim Sung-kyu star. What breaks the partnership is the boss using the killer's weapon to frame a rival; from there the pair have to answer on both the legal and the criminal side at once. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 97 percent from 34 reviews. One critic wrote that it tells its entertaining story with a blend of humour and hard-hitting action, while some found the third act weaker. It screened in the Midnight Screenings section at Cannes in 2019 and grossed 25.8 million dollars. In May 2019 Sylvester Stallone's Balboa Productions acquired remake rights, with Ma Dong-seok set to reprise the role and James Wan later attached to direct for Paramount. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean action and hard fight choreography. Who it is not for: anyone uneasy about the police and the mob on the same side. The film refuses to draw a moral line on purpose.