The Killer

An action film set in Korea. Ui-gang is retired. He was once a hitman and now does nothing. He lives with his wife. She is going on holiday with a friend. She asks him something before she goes. Her friend's daughter is to be looked after for a week. Yoon-ji is seventeen. Silent, watchful, and she does not talk to him. Ui-gang does not want it but agrees. The first day passes. The girl sits at home. On the second she wants to go out. He lets her. She does not come back. From there the film is a search. Ui-gang tracks the phone. He finds her in a bar. There is a group of men with her. He takes her out. Then he understands: this was no coincidence. There is an organisation. They take young girls and sell them abroad. The girl was marked. Ui-gang wants to close the matter. He will handle it without telling anyone. From there the film is a story of clearing up. He goes to them one by one. His method is cold. He does not talk, does not threaten, and simply works. What the narrative is interested in is not revenge but return: its idea is that going back to the work he left makes him feel nothing at all, and that this is the genuinely uncomfortable part. Yoon-ji's line provides a balance. She learns what is happening and is not afraid of him. The action is hard and leans on choreography. One section runs through a hacker. An old acquaintance supplies him with information. There is humour and the narrative places it between the violence. The ending is closed. Jang Hyuk performs his own fights. Choi Jae-hoon directed. Jang Hyuk, Lee Seo-young, Bang Eun-jeong and Bruce Khan are in the cast. Who it is for: anyone who likes Korean action and one-man fight films. Who it is not for: anyone looking for story; the plot is entirely standard and the characters have no depth.