Jae-ho has established his own rules and put all of his fellow inmates under his control in a penitentiary facility. After he meets a newly imprisoned inmate, Hyeon-soo who won't give in to anyone under any circumstances, Jae-ho pursues his new ambition to become the boss of his organized crime group once he is released from the prison. A young cop finds his loyalties divided after befriending a notorious criminal while undercover in prison. THE MERCILESS always excited me from the beginning; the moment I found out that it had Sol Kyung-gu in it, and that it was an action movie which was officially selected for Cannes Film Festival, I waited for a proper digital release. I watched it last month and had got up from my seat with a feeling of pure satisfaction which only exceptional movies give me.<br/><br/>THE MERCILESS or BULHANDANG is a highly entertaining action movie. It is an exceptional film which combines action, drama and unpredictable plot twists in an unprecedented manner. <br/><br/>The director for sure has done a great job in extracting the best out of his cast as well as crew. The film really delivers on every front: be it the technical aspects or some other, the film rarely lets one down. It's not a boring film, as right after a decent setup in the early minutes, the film starts delivering knockout action sequences and plot twists very well. <br/><br/>Im Si-wan is the star to watch out for in this film. I watched him only in THE ATTORNEY which was a powerful social drama. In this particular film, he does a lot of action and delivers a solid performance. Sol Kyung-gu: don't know why I always run out of words when it comes to praising him! His act is straightaway an award-worthy one. His crazy laughter adds a lot of fun to the proceedings. Other actors like Kim Hee-won are also very impressive; he adds a great comic flavor to this somewhat dark film. <br/><br/>The film impresses with its well choreographed, violent action sequences which stand out as a major highlight of the film. For sure, there is a lot of bad language used in the film which is enough to put off a lot of viewers, but as it progresses, this no longer remains an issue. The atmosphere built by the director and writers pulls the viewer in it and makes him feel like a part of the narrative. The ways the feel gets darker in the second half without getting melodramatic or boring is perhaps one of the best things about the film.<br/><br/>THE MERCILESS is a masterfully crafted action film from South Korea which effectively entertains the viewer with the best stuff it has got. Also with an outstanding climax, the film makes sure viewers don't soon forget it. THE MERCILESS is another dark, gritty, and incredibly brutal slice of crime drama from South Korea. I'm surprised that nobody else has reviewed it yet because it's very well made and tells a great little story, similar to the quality of something like ASURA: CITY OF MADNESS. The main character is a young thug and gangster who is imprisoned with some old-timers and forced to fight to make his name known, but he's hiding a dark secret: he's actually an undercover cop. With a two-hour running time this weaves through a complex storyline with ease and directorial slickness, bolstered by a string of reliably astonishing action sequences inspired by the likes of OLD BOY. The violence is incredibly brutal and nihilistic and the story is dark and downbeat as a whole, but that's realism for you. As with most Korean films I've watched, the acgting and technical qualities are exemplary. A minor addition to the Korean action cinema canon, The Merciless offers thin pleasures in a glossy package.
Flowepadu replied
344 weeks ago