Kim Ji-woon's Korean thriller is a romantic tragedy adrift in a revenge-movie bloodbath. It's operatic, Leone-esque, neo-Shakespearean in its grandeur. It's also neck-high in blood (if not extras on this minimalist DVD outing).
Life might have thrown Ji-woon into competition with Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) if his grasp of psychology didn't fall so far short of the action. Which is a shame, in a film that's about the life-and-death consequences of an enforcer (Lee Byung-hun) falling for the young girlfriend (Shin Min-a) of the gangster he works for. Big themes of love, suspicion and betrayal follow, culminating in an inevitable carnival of carnage.
It's thrilling and energised, for sure, but the lack of emotional energy between the two young leads undercuts any sense of tragic heft. You'll wince and you might be exhilarated, but the slew of corpses and ill-judged comic set-pieces runs the risk of leaving you not a little numbed, too.
DVD Extras:
Making Of, Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Film Notes, Tartan Trailer Reel.
