Review V
I Saw The Devil (2010)
Lee Byung-hun is one of my favourite actors. He's appeared in such classics as Joint Security Area, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, and A Bittersweet Life, demonstrating a great acting ability. This month, on the 23rd, he and Ahn Sung-ki will become part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, being the second Asians (they are going together so they are considered both second) to become part of the Walk of Fame after John Woo, and the first Koreans to become a part of it. Lee Byung-hun is overcoming a barrier that is not often seen, and that is he is starting to become part of Hollywood films. Yes, even though he is Korean, he can speak Korean, French, Mandarin, and English fluently. That is quite a feat for anyone. Because he can speak English fluently, he's starring as actual useful characters in films, though so far he has only been seen in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. However, I'm hoping that with the recognition he'll be getting with his introduction into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he'll start appearing in even better films than G.I. Joe.
Due to his introduction into the Walk of Fame, I'll be reviewing a few of his films this month. I would say all, but we'll see if I can actually get my hands on all of them. In the meantime, let's check out the 2010 I Saw The Devil directed by Kim Jee-woon, and starring, besides Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik.
The film opens up with a young woman, Joo-yun (Oh San-ha), speaking to her lover, Kim Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun), as she waits for a tow truck to come get her as she has a flat tire. The two continue to talk as a random stranger in a students' services van (Choi Min-sik) stops to ask her if she needs help. Soo-hyun warns her to lock the doors and tell the man to leave her alone after he sings her a song. Eventually they hang up as Soo-hyun needs to go to work. Joo-yun thanks the man for his help but tells him she'll be fine. Little does she know he is a serial murderer, and she is his next victim. She is killed shortly after (gruesomely, I may add) even after confessing she is pregnant, and her dismembered carcass is found in a river. Soo-hyun swears revenge for her death, and Joo-yun's father agrees. The film turns into a mouse and cat thriller from here on out.
It's a gruesome movie. If you can't handle blood, rape, and mutilation, stay away. I thought Choi Min-sik did an absolutely amazing job acting as a sociopath. I would say watch the film for his portrayal alone - yes, it was that good. I've only ever seen Choi Min-sik in Oldboy, but he did an amazing job in that film. In this film, he plays the antagonist, the killer, and it's absolutely wonderful. I thought Lee Byung-hun displayed great emotion in the scenes that called for it. I honestly felt the despair he felt in those moments. I already knew his capabilities of emotional scenes because of Addicted, but this revealed it even more.
As much as the acting was good, I found Soo-hyun's story lacked a lot. I would have preferred a bit more of a story when it came to him and his wife, and most of the time, he had no emotion. I suppose that is what they were going for (if you watch the film, you'll understand what I mean), which makes sense, but I still found that we'd get a scene where he cries, and the next, he's displaying nothing. I can't necessarily nitpick about this too much because, again, this could actually be justified due to the predicament, but it still bothered me a bit. I also found that characters were introduced, yet not much was necessarily done with them. They bring up how they're related to the antagonist or protagonist, but they don't really do anything. It's just a mention, and then suddenly later, they're important. I would have preferred a little less of the cat and mouse chase and had them developed further instead.
I also found the story lacked a bit. I really don't want to give anything away so I'll just say that I finished the movie, but I didn't feel one hundred percent satisfied. Had Kim Jee-woon written the script, I have a feeling it would have been amazing. Instead we got an interesting, suspenseful plot that lacked just a little... something.
I'd give the film seven point five stars on ten. As I said, Choi Min-sik did an amazing job in his role, and Lee Byung-hun as well. Nonetheless, the lacking story brings it down, even if the gore effects were amazing, as well as the martial arts bits.
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