Kill Boksoon

Watched on a whim without expectations and was thoroughly impressed.

Takes you back to the days of the classic early 2000s Korean crime/action genre. If you enjoyed "A bittersweet life", "The man from nowhere", "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" or even the much grittier "Old Boy" then you will enjoy this film like I did.

Convincing world building, a brilliant cast mixed with stylish action scenes and a dash of humor/heartache.

Made me sign in to this IMDB account of which I haven't touched in 9 years to leave a positive review to try and right the injustice of the current 6.8 rating.

Worthy of your time.

Awesome fight choreography, visual - special effects and many moments in the score section. Aside that a semi-incomprehensible lady invincible mumbo that is stretched for over two hours.

It is enjoyable and cringey at the same time, nice for listening to Hangul with its dramatic intonations and feast on the nice visually polished production value and yummy Korean cuisine with a lot of penchant to soy products.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6.5
• Development: 8
• Realism: 6.5
• Entertainment: 7
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 8
• VFX: 8.5
• Music/score/sound: 7.5
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 2.5
• Flow: 6.5
• Crime/action/thriller: 6.5
• Ending: 6.

It's really about an 8.5 for me, but like others, I felt the need to aid in getting this movie more appropriately rated.

What keeps it from being a full 10 for me was the length, a somewhat dissatisfying ending, and a not fully explained flashback scene.

But what it did well, it did very well indeed. The fight scenes were absolutely outstandingly choreographed and filmed. The angst between mother and daughter was realistic. The irony of honor and rules being part of an assassin's "moral" code was breathtaking in its absurdity, but the film still manages to convince you of the sincerity of their convictions, even as you disagree with them.

So please give this movie a fair shot. I probably won't watch it again, as gore isn't usually my thing. But it is a movie worth seeing for some amazing acting, fight scenes, complex characters living double lives, and the thing I loved the most was seeing a middle aged woman be attractive, strong, and portray such depth.

Not my typical watch. Lorry loads of blood delivered via a plot that only exists to provide an excuse for violence.

Yet this film does transcend those limitations. The characters are well drawn and acted with meaningful relationships. This is one of the key strengths of k drama that makes me watch so much of it.

So, much of the violence is more than mere violence. Otherwise it would grow ever more boring. But here virtually every duel to the death involves some complication between the characters that adds interest.

But the most important (and difficult) relationship is between the female protagonist and her daughter. I found that relationship believable and meaningful. It gave this film a much-needed dimension beyond the gore. It raised this film above watchable to almost recommended.

I enjoyed the movie. Very well directed and acted. I found the ratings and reviews of this movie are quite unique. The current rating is in the range 6~7 but there are few who scored 6~7 but one third scored very low and the two third scored very high (including me) and the average is that.

I think some people may criticize the movie for its stereotype, typical or cliche. But I don't get the bad reviews criticizing its improbable story or violence. Hey, this is not a suspense nor a drama. It's a dark black comedy, homage to Tarantino movies. An Asian variation of Kill Bill. Fair ratings should be based on the level of completion of the movie itself, not by the personal preference of special genre.