This is a beautifully shot, brutal, revenge flick that has garnered a slew of awards. One of its fight scenes even got an A+ in accuracy from Scenic Fights (which is how I found out about this film).
I can’t add much more to this pile of acclaim. I enjoyed watching its raw depiction of the seedy underbelly of Korean society, a nice contrast to the glitzy world of K-pop soap operas. However, this is a Korean film, so there are some gratuitously gruesome moments so I’m interested in rewatching it.
As I usually do with enjoyable films, I followed up by watching some few YouTube reviews about this movie. Two facts caught my attention.
- There’s a campy Indian remake called Rocky Handsome. The lead actor in that movie is really swoll and those action scenes are super stiff.
- Won Bin, the main actor of this movie, has not acted in a film since this one.
In other words, he has spent the past decade not practicing his craft, outside of the occasional commercial.
What a shame.
I’d respect this choice if he was forsaking the work to avoid from the limelight. Even if it was as crass as saying he’s earned enough to retire early. However his publicists continue to claim that he’s an artist waiting for the right project.
So he is hiding his art from the world. I sound like an over-entitled audience member, but I’m judging him on his terms. If he still wants to be part of the action, then he needs to do something. If he isn’t being handed projects of the proper quality, then he needs to go out and make one.
There is a line between being selective and being cowardly. That line must have been crossed at some point over the past ten years. There is no shame in quitting one’s profession when it isn’t serving one’s needs.
Admittedly, sometimes we need to lay low and let things play out. We shouldn’t always just jump at the first opportunity. Patience is a virtue, but not for ten years.
Then we’ve just wasted a decade.