Secretly Greatly

There are some great parts to this film, and there is some strong craft at work, but as a whole, the film suffers from imbalance and then struggles to maintain pace.

What starts off as ostensibly a comedy changes its genre completely by the middle. Whereas there are attempts at silly humor for the early going, they are dropped completely in favor of the action/intrigue aspect before too long. It's very strange to be halfway through and remember the early tones of the story, now all but forgotten.

There are strong points: the photography is great; the fight scenes are good (too many cuts, but still good); the philosophical struggle the characters face is well-drawn.

There are also some low points, but overall the film I'd say is worth watching - just be ready for two different halves.

In the first half of the episode, Korean opera is very good in some funny passages. The second half of the episode can only be commented on at most. The plot turns abruptly, and the fighting drama lacks rationality. The last provocative passbook should appear before the fight

This movie is on another level of perfection, and I am not exaggerating. I watched this with no expectation because I only did that for the main actor, Kim Soo-hyun, who is my favorite Korean actor. But it turns out to be one of the best movies I've ever watched.

It first started funnily, with the dumb things they do and such. I think their comic acts are quite entertaining. And then, when something comes up, they begin to reveal their true self, as North Korean spies. And from that the movie begins to change with more of actions involved. And as someone who isn't really fond of action movies aside from Hollywood movies, I find the actions in this movie impressive. The actions are well-made and enthralling, it doesn't look bad at all.

But what makes the movie beautiful is the message implied in the whole movie. We have to watch it from the beginning until the end to understand it, but sometimes the little things in life are those that matter.

Recommending it for everyone. It's worth the watch.

p.s sorry for the bad English, not my first language =)

This movie feels like 2 movies. The first part is a comedy about N Korean spies in S Korea. The second part is a protracted martial arts fighting show. The second part felt over long. The movie would have been better if it was shorter and more focused. A Kim Soo Hyun vehicle and the contrast between the idiot and the spy is quite good. This movie doesn't have the broad appeal to go past Koreans and die hard fans of Korean movies.

This movie is based on a famous Korean web-toon, "Secretly, Greatly".

Directing skill is not so impressive.

Storyline is little different from the original web-toon.

But talent of the leading-role actor, Soo-Hyun Kim, supports the whole movie. His eyes are shining.

A north Korean secret spy disguises as a fool in South Korea. Such a plot makes the movie unique from other north Korean spy movies.

Soo-Hyun Kim's acting range from a ridiculous fool to a chic elite spy is wonderful.

Strongly recommended.