Public Enemy

Director Kang Woo-suk dresses up his diatribes about the social ills of modern Korea in the well- worn finery of the cop-vs-serial-killer thriller so beloved by Hollywood. Disheveled cop Sol Kyung-gu, unrepentantly violent and perpetually on the take--because, let's face it, that's just how thing's get done in Korea--relentlessly pursues a dapper, smarmy financial whiz (Lee Sung- jae, who he believes killed his parents over his father's decision to remove a large chunk of money from a big investment deal in order to save an orphanage from the bulldozers. There's no doubt Lee is guilty of the crime--we see the act in all it's squishy glory, and he further confounds the investigators by randomly killing a hapless stranger to make all the murders appear to be the work of a serial killer, but Sol knows better, and will use every dirty trick at his disposal to put this doggy down. The real target of director Kang's venomous social criticism is quite obviously the soulless corporate culture he seems convinced has poisoned Korean society and subverted traditional family values far more than corrupt law enforcement ever could, and which he views as a wellspring of self-obsessed Armani-clad sociopaths who would slit their own mothers' throats to score a big ROI, only here the metaphor isn't actually a metaphor, it's the central plot device! (I'm guessing he read "American Psycho" or at least saw the movie; certainly Lee's icy villain would make an ideal overseas pen-pal for Bret Easton Ellis' Patrick Bateman). As in TWO COPS 1 and 2, the director sides squarely with the overworked, underpaid cops, and he lovingly (and humorously) illustrates the complex, even necessary web of corruption and deception they must weave in order to maintain the status quo.

Gonggongui Jeog (or Public Enemy) is simply one of the most entertaining films I've seen in ages. Nothing particularly new in terms of theme (wild-cannon cop chasing serial killer), but in terms of execution and sheer ENJOYMENT, there's no doubting this films worth.

Great characters, performances, direction, scenes, dialogue... I could go on.

If you like rough cop action (oo-er) which ooze black humour this is for you.

Loved it. 9/10

The movie is a cross between "American Psycho" and "Infernal Affairs". It just doesn't do it in terms of quality of the scenario, or probably the way some actors play. Only the psycho was halfway decent. It could have been better if some of the actors just avoided to show they were acting by overdoing it, like the comical moments or some dramatic ones. The story would be good, but there were little things that prevented me to appreciate it. The ending should have stopped when the villain is done and dealt with, but there was an addition, which annoyed me. I saw similarities with the other Korean movie ("The Host"), in that I can't decide whether I should be happy or sad about the character, if not the movie.

At first I wasn't sure what kind of film this was: cop film, murder mystery, comedy? The black humour throughout is peppered with lots of swearing and some gruesome killing scenes.

What's different about this film is the cast - the main cop Kang Cheol-Jung, his boss, and others are all eccentrics in their own right. There aren't many jokes or slapstick, but the characters themselves make you laugh.

Unlike other murder mysteries where the investigator solves the case with clues and evidence, Kang Cheol-Jung (the main cop) pursues this case because of his instinct. He has no doubt the suspect is guilty (somehow), despite the lack of evidence.

As for being quirky - there are a few scenes in this film which make you wonder "why did they include this"? One such scene involves the main villain/suspect in the movie. His character is played so well you actually start to hate the guy as the film progresses. "What a jerk!" you think. At that point you understand (perhaps) why the first scene portrays him as it does. ;-) You'll understand once you've seen the film.

This film is quite unique, unlike any others I've seen. Highly recommended.

There is no denying that it is good to see this film released in the uk around the summer blockbuster season (i saw this film in a ugc multiplex which was playing as part of a season of asian films released across the summer), but this film in particular suffers from flaws, mainly a plot that is unoriginal and scenes and situations that dont seem to stick together, the change in mood for instance, from almost slapstick comic to dark murder thriller, but that is not to say that the film is not good, there are many scenes and themes that work well, such as the contrast between the tough maverick cop and the arrogant and psychotic fund manager who has shades of AMERICAN PSYCHO'S Patrick Bateman, and the use of dark humour which seems to be present in many of the recent asian cinema releases. Overall a film worth checking out but not one to keep your hopes up high for.