New World (2013)

Though this movie was inspired by a Hong Kong movie "Infernal Affairs", it obviously become even better than its already successful predecessor. 1. Plot. Intense, fluent, surprising. Every scene, every second is not wasted. 2. Actors. Despite the fact that all actors are the best in Korea, they do delivered an elaborate level of acting - every expression, words, action carries their true feelings.

New World is a crime thriller about an undercover cop, Lee Ja-sung (played by Lee Jung-jae) navigating the underworld as those around him conspire to shake things up. Lee is undercover in a super- criminal gang that has gotten a bit too big for the Korean police force. After the death of the organization's leader, those both within and without the organization vie for power, and Lee is stuck in the middle.This film had a very Godfather-esque plot, with similar music to boot. In fact the plot is so similar, that I found the "twist" at the end to be easily determinable, and the plot a bit stale. It was never in poor taste however, and kept me entertained right up to the end.The actors themselves were good enough, with Lee Jung-jae leading the pack. His taught nerves and emotional stress were clear throughout the film. Choi Min-sik, one of my favourite Korean actors, felt a bit wasted in this film however, as the hard-boiled police retainer.This movie was well shot too. The cinematography was interestingly done. The corporate landscape shone and contrasted nicely with the subdued costumes (mostly suits) that the characters wore constantly. However, the costumes seemed to get old, and the lack of variety (everyone always wore suits, all the time, without fail) was baffling. Overall, the film was enjoyable, well acted, and pretty to look at. There was some wasted talent (Choi Min-sik), a weak and clichéd gangster film plot and some stale costume choices, but the film stilled turned out pretty OK.Again, I enjoyed this film, but it did seem a bit stale and had a few directional choices I did not quite enjoy. This is a good fit for the gangster genre, but it is definitely not the best of its kind. 6/10

I have seen damn near every mobster movie ever created and I have to say that this one is by far the best. I know that many will site the Godfather (which is great) as the best ever but I believe that is just due to the nostalgia of it and the Italian American influence over decades (and yes I am of Italian heritage) but New World is the most well written and directed mobster film that I have ever seen, I could not take my eyes away from the screen even during the beginning were it started a little slow. The movie comes together beautifully and makes you feel as if you yourself were a character in the film. The cinematography is great and the script is amazing. Hoon-Jung Park is one of the most directors and screen writes I believe I have ever seen....please watch I Saw the Devil as your next film by him. I have become a big fan of S.Korean cinema over the past several years and believe that they are on the same level with our top film production companies . Also, they have directors that could step into an American blockbuster and cause you to think twice about some of our greats. Finally anyone who believes that this movie is a rip off of an American film, please be sure to site all of the American films that have ripped off foreign movies and simply butchered them into Hollywood garbage.

While I admit the overall idea is great, the execution is not and this is obvious from the very first scenes. The acting is overdone by the main characters, at least for the crime/thriller movie. Maybe it would've been great as a musical :). Anyways, there are serious plot holes: man with a knife kills a person with a gun in a rather naive hand to hand combat although the person with a gun notices the killer slowly approaching from 5+ meters away; ilogical assumptions on the police database, atrocious security setup around the people that are very powerful and have everything to lose, lack of any skills by pretty much anyone (marksmanship and/or combat skills) etc. Fighting scenes are laughably naive, the script feels empty and the timing of events is always too convenient and feels obviously set-up, even for a movie. The final result is that the "New world" is kind of boring.