I saw the devil (2010)

After OldBoy, The Chaser, JSA and The Three Extremes I became a fan of Korean movies. Theirs is a different brand of movies which often do not shy away from violence and the protagonist in them often bear the burden of conflict (The pimp cop in The Chaser). They play up conflict really well and subvert the audiences expectation at every turn so much so at the end you would find yourself rooting for someone which usually is a slimeball. This was done especially well in OldBoy and The Chaser. I really liked The Chaser so I was eager to see if I saw the Devil would be like something in the same vein as that movie. Well is it ?

This is a story driven movie with a cop played by Byung-Hun (The Good The Bad the Weird) whose fiancee is murder by psychopathic killer (Oh Dae-Su from OldBoy) and vows revenge wanting the killer to "feel as much pain" as his fiancee did. Director Ji-Woon Kim explores just how far one can extend and bring revenge and also the consequences of doing so. Min-Sik Choi or better known as Oh Dea-Su here plays a totally unredeemable killer which kills anything that moves in a dress. There is totally nothing good about his character and through the movie you will find yourself wishing as much pain as Byung-Hun can inflict on this character and he goes through much pain.

Anyway, back to the story, I enjoyed the first 30 minutes of this movie where it was more of a traditional cat and mouse chase movie as Byung-Hun tracks down and kills the 4 suspects of the murder of his fiancee and does away with them. This is the embodiment of Dirty Harry where he is more interested to kill them rather than bring them in for questioning. I thoroughly enjoyed this chase and was the edge of my seat. The story takes a strange turn though when he finally catches up with Min-Sik and things do not turn out as we expect (I too felt a bit strange looking at the timer for the movie when at the 30 minutes mark Byung-Hun was plummeting Min-Sook with a large rock). "What are they going to show next" I thought .... Byung-Hun lets Min-Sook go with a bit of cash if you can believe it! This is where it got a bit strange for me. I guess the enjoyment you can get from this hinges on the fact if your mind can accept the fact that revenge prolonged by causing pain on you prey is better than just killing him the first time you get the chance .. For me I could see that but it was at this juncture too that I felt the movie sagged a bit and it could have been shortened to greater effect. Let's just say the first 30 minutes was 5 star stuff but the prolonged story line took me out a bit and it became 3 stars there on. Things start picking up on the final act when the prey finally figures out the game and plots a revenge of his own by biting back.

Is this movie good ? Well the general feel of it was not as good as say something like Chaser and I felt that certain plot lines were questionable but as a watch I would say that it still is a good watch especially the 1st and 3rd act. 3 out of 5 stars for this one.