The Suspect

"The Suspect" is an action movie that seems as if it were made by a team of folks with a super-severe case of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It never slows down, never lets up and is just about all action and fighting. For some, this will be an enjoyable adventure--but for someone who doesn't want this much intensity, the film will most likely produce sensory overload well before the film is complete.

When the film begins, you learn that Dong-chul (Gong Yoo) was once one of the best super-spied working for the North Koreans. However, several years ago, he defected to the South and is now working for a powerful CEO. However, out of the blue, an assassin shows up and kills the employer. Dong-chul happens to come into the room about this time and witnesses the assassin in the act. While he is not able to stop the murder, he is able to stop the man from making him the next victim. After all, he is a super-spy--the sort of high-energy super-killer that makes James Bond look like a wimp! What follows is a long search by the South Korean government for Dong-chul, as they think HE is the killer. However, as the film progresses it becomes obvious not only to Dong-chul but to the man assigned to bring him to justice that there is a third party involved in the case--some secret organization with an agenda of their own and which is behind the killing.

During the course of this movie, there are tons of martial arts fights which appear to be very lethal and ultra-violent, TONS of car crashes with some of the best driving sequences in film history as well as lots of blood and death. There is very, very little let-up and the only pauses seem to occur in order for the good guys to follow the leads concerning who is really pulling all the strings and why. Heck, the film seems to be almost nothing but action with a few tiny glimpses into what's going on as well as the identity of folks responsible for Dong- chul's family's death years ago. Whether you like all this really depends on you. If you are a super-hyper person who doesn't want a lot of plot and thinks that the average action film is way too slow-paced and the body count too low, you'll love "The Suspect". If you are looking for some action but more story and less intensity, then you might just want to skip this one. As for me, I found myself losing some interest towards the end. Sure, it was good but it just wore me out and went on too long.

By the way, if you do watch this one, you shouldn't be surprised that it's ultra-violent. A few of the scenes really made me wince and it's NOT a film to show children or your mother.

Impressive.. Mr.Won and Mr.Yoo...

I feel like the director is a big fan of the Bourne trilogy. The dry fight scenes without music, focusing on the raw sounds of a close quarter fight. The rattling camera angles, the zoom ins and outs. The car chase scenes and a pounding drum music. The earlier chase scenes with the monitors reminded me of the Subway chase in Ultimatum. I feel like some of the more heart-pounding scenes they could have added more ambient sounds and one shots of the civilians. (i would be either cursing or screaming if a car just drove by me in a tight alley)

Don't get me wrong I loved this film and Bourne, it was just something I didn't expect from Korean cinema and I was pleasantly surprised. The director took the best things from it and well integrated it into his own flavor.

Gong-Yoo really shined with the cold look of a trained specialist. He also showed signs of vulnerability and really sold the performance. I never thought he would do a film like this because of the 'pretty guy' impression I got from him in dramas such as '1st shop of coffee prince' however I did notice his talent for a more serious toned role such as in 'Silenced'.

Overall I am very satisfied after watching this film. It kept the very 'Korean' feel of the action film while taking bits from the template of Doug Liman's work.

Pretty much a Korean "Bourne movie". Spies, secrets, double agents, betrayal, vengeance, action, you get it all. Solid performances from all the main cast. The writing is a bit of a B-grade but overall production values are top notch.

I got two main problems with it. First one is the runtime. For such a fast paced action thriller, it's at least half an hour too long.

But the main problem is the camera. It's not the usual slightly shaky style to underline the action. Remember the second Bourne movie? Yeah, well, this is worse. Much worse. In most shots, you won't know what's happening at all. They probably fixed a non-stabilized camera on a kangaroo and let him run amok through the city. My head actually started to hurt while trying to decipher what's going on on the screen all the time. Avoid if you're sensitive to these kind of things. It ruined it for me.

This one is an improvement over similarly themed "The Commitment" and "Secretly Greatly". I'll not spoil anything. For those, who are looking for a non-stop "spy thriller action ride", this one is a must watch. The movie never stops anywhere.

Overall rating of 6.9 is really low for this cleverly written and directed movie. Also, the performances of the actors are really good, specially "Gong Yoo".

Like other top South Korean movies, screenplay was top-notch, also the direction is great in 'conversation between characters' as well as in car chase and other action scenes.

For me this is a really underrated South Korean flick.

The Suspect is the type of espionage thriller that starts very good but as usually happens with Asian movies, loses a lot of time with personal dramas and love / hate relations among enemies. The first half of the movie is so fast that it is almost impossible to follow (specially with subtitles). A dissident North Korean highly trained spy called Ji Dong-cheol; working as a chauffeur for an important industrial and political person, witness his boss assassination by a people of the South Korean Secret Service.

Ji Dong-cheol is able to fight the killers, so before dying, his boss gives him a pair of lenses with some secret information (the Mc Guffin).

Of course, Secret Service blames Ji Dong-cheol for the assassination and and start chasing him all over Seoul unsuccessfully. A retired Special Forces, is summoned to capture Ji Dong-cheol; but there is some old history between them.

The first half of the movie, the action is NON-STOP; however during the second half, personal past issues of the main characters are explained via flash backs or dialog; slowing down the action (and the main story line too much). There is still plenty of action and violence filmed in a way only Hong Kong or Korean movies can; but the interest decays.

It is common for Asian movies to include some over-dramatic moments but in this case, the pace changes too much and the events depicted are not that believable or properly developed.

In brief; a decent Korean action thriller with could have benefited for a 20 or 30 minutes trimming or with better written script and a director capable of handling drama without boring.