Exit

Exit is an entertaining, fast-paced and quirky South Korean action movie with suspenseful, romantic and humorous elements. It tells the story of a gifted rock climber who hasn't managed to get a permanent job or find a stable girlfriend and is seen as the family's black sheep. He wants to redeem himself by organizing his mother's seventieth birthday at a company where his former crush works as an assistant manager. On the night of festivities, a man who has recently lost his job has a metldown, unleashes a deadly gas in downtown Seoul and commits suicide. The entire sector needs to be evacuated but the gas is soon present in the streets and rising higher with every minute. The unemployed rock climber and his former crush try to evacuate the guests of the festivities and bring them to safety on the roof of a skyscraper. They manage to save their guests as a rescue helicopter arrives but they are unable to get on board themselves. They must try to find their way through the evacuated sector from roof to Roof on their own. On their dangerous journey, they save other helpless citizens, unknowingly become heroes on local media and realize that they still have feelings for each other.

This movie convinces on numerous levels. After an introduction that takes about twenty minutes, the film develops a frantic pace that keeps the audiences on its seats until the final five minutes conclude this blockbuster smoothly. The locations in downtown Seoul are quite diversified and intriguing. The stunts and special effects are done with great care and precision. The camera work is focused ans smooth. The two protagonists become more interesting with every scene as the audience ends up rooting for them until the very end. The decently employed suspenseful, romantic and humorous elements blend in very well without watering down the gripping action scenes.

Exit might not come around with a particularly surprising plot and doesn't reinvent the action movie genre. It's however executed with the highest contemporary quality, features sympathetic lead characters and convinces with entertaining action scenes that will take your breath away. Fans of action movies, disaster films or South Korean cinema in general should watch this blockbuster which received the credit it deserved in its home country but has been unfairly overlooked internationally so far. If you like what you see, recommend it to your family and friends and give them the opportunity to experience the beauty of contemporary South Korean cinema as well.

Ok, from now on, I would watch every excellent-rated korean movie in theaters just like I have done for years for the hollywood ones, in fact, I found out just recently (and a little bit too late) korean movies filled the mundane western movies with excitement that comes from the details that none of the western directors has ever thought before. 'Exit' is a good example to describe for what I have mentioned. it may not be as masterful as 'Parasite', the previous korean movie I watched in the theater (the first one to be precise, and it was very, very satisfying), but, almost from the beginning to the end, you would hardy catch a breath for the action it provides as the hero and the heroine of the story, hand in hand, struggle to escape (the word that I would use had I been the director instead of 'Exit', it's more fitting to me) the clutch of a sea of lethal artificial gas using the skills the main character gain from a hobby many of his relatives find useless to support him survive living in 21st century (South) Korea. his escaping struggle is kind of like a perfect metaphor for his (and maybe many people in the world) struggle in real world: escaping the crumbling of his life by nonstoppingly seeking jobs in many companies, that they end up rejecting. One thing I like from the metaphored message conveyed in the end of the movie that can and very possible to happen anytime to us in our life: no matter how closed our path is, no matter how pessimistic we are, if we keep struggling, keep moving forward, keep fighting for ourselves (while not forgetting to provide a helping hand to those who really need it), keep opening new doors to new paths, our goals and us will one day cross path. And it's Inevitable.....

Adorable cast, excellent acting. Humorous and dramatic. I was intensely engaged by the two main characters fight for survival. Relatable family relationship. Saw it twice and enjoyed every minute of it. Bravo!

I just love the story ,the acting ,the intense moments ,the ability to make you sit on the edge of your seat with every scene , the family relation and the romance

Just bear with me for the first 15 minutes or so, then you'll find yourself immersed into the movie. This doesn't mean that you can sleep for the first 15 min, because you may miss the subtly cute story line.

This movie is highly recommended to anyone tired of those superhero Hollywood movies. In this movie there is no Silvester Stallon or Bruce Willis; there is no evil villain to kick ass. Here we have real human heroes, who may be my brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors, or even myself, struggling in a crisis and managing to find a way to survive. In fact, these main characters are not even presented nicely. That was a pretty bad or clumsy job if the directors tried to present them as "heroes." Maybe they didn't, or maybe that's how these Koreans portray heroes.

Again, this is not a Hollywood movie. Some story lines and acting will be kind of hard to follow if you are not used to non-Hollywood movies. Maybe it is cultural differences. Just accept them as "different, maybe that's how they do things" rather than "awkward, so must be bad."

The bottom line is, aside from small kinks and flaws, you won't be able to turn away from the screen for one and half hours and appreciate every movement during the rock climbing scenes.