The Man From Nowhere

This film is a little scorcher, what it lacks in originality it more than makes up for in pace, tempo, tension and buckets of action. The plot without spoiling it is fairly simple. A former Special Forces operative has gone into semi hiding, taking up a job as a downtown pawn broker. He deliberately cuts himself off from the outside world, except his young neighbour So-mi.

Then a drug deal goes very bad and So-mis's mother is involved leading the drug bosses and police to come calling. Then it all kicks off. We are told the story of Tae-shik in flash back and how he came to be as isolated as he now chooses, and how he is actually an excellent if not ruthless killing machine.

This then is a full throttle re take on the `Leon;' formula with a Korean twist. It is superbly acted and even if some of the `baddies' are a bit two dimensional it works as they are surrounded by so many more fully developed characters. The cinematography is brilliant as I have come to expect from South Korea and the action is first rate. The plot may be simple but you do not feel that whilst you are watching as it just carries you along with the momentum. This is in Korean with English sub titles that are very easy to read. With a running time of 114 minutes, this is not a short film, but it felt more like half an hour. This really is a great action film, with a bit of heart, it does have an 18 cert, so if you are on the squeamish side you may be put off. I found it just top rate entertainment and thoroughly recommend.

The movie chugs along at a steady pace and there is a decent amount of action but for the most part it is forgettable. There was one scene where he is using a knife to take out a crew of dudes that had some great fight choreography and a cool camera angle where he runs down a hallway and tackles a guy through a window and then the camera follows them down a few stories right to the ground that i thought looked real cool. Unfortunatly the movie doesnt really take on its own unique identity and for this i can only award 3 stars.

Amazing movie, one of the best I have seen in the past year. gritty and well paced for me. The action scenes are fast and to the point in a way that makes them shine, true that the build-up can be a bit long for some but for me was fine. The little girl's performance is amazing too. Even if the story is nothing new it is a masterpiece of intensity. The editing and cinematography deserve notice too even if some screenshots are taken from other classic movie (you will know if have seen the other one). The closing scene was a bit too much though but it is the director's vision. Nevertheless Great stuff and I had a really good time watching this one.