The Suspect (2014)

Wow. In short, Stunning action sequences. One of the flashbacks of one of the characters escaping death would be a 'I wanna watch it repeatedly on a loop' scene. The acting, the story, the screenplay (Very pacy, very well written action screenplay), the background music during action scenes, the brilliantly written and executed action scenes are all this film's highlights. Kudos to the action and stunt directors/ coordinators and stuntmen. Just that, it reminds me of the Bourne series a lot - the style of action of the lead character and the background music. Still worth another watch for me, at least for some of those action sequences.

THE SUSPECT follows the modern Korean style of throwing you into the middle of the action, and only then bothering to explain what is happening. Really it's two plots in one as the former Nork defector in Seoul seeks vengeance on those who murdered his family after he fled to the South, whilst he is pursued by the SK security services who want the McGuffin his boss gave him before he too was murdered. For two hours twenty this basically means an endless stream of adrenaline- fuelled chases and fights by car and on foot. They're brilliantly done, although the use of Bourne-style hyper-edited shaky-cam is sometimes annoying, but eventually exhausting and it's a relief when the film ends with a bang.

If you're a fan of over-the-top action movies of the 80s à la Arnie, with tons of fistfights, endless car chases, truly evil villains and implausible plot twists, then the past decade has been pretty boring for you. Hollywood has substituted fights with CGI and silly but funny spy flicks with interchangeable boring superheroes, Hongkong martial arts legends have aged beyond being able to convincingly deliver hard-hitting blows, and Bollywood action movies aren't for everyone because of the singing. Korea however still delivers pretty solid and technically brilliant action entertainment which keeps the CGI on a level with the acting. 'The Suspect' is probably the best recent example. If there was an international award for most insane car chase, it deserves it - twice, in fact, for a game of chicken where nobody chickens out, and the creative use of a pedestrian stairway. I haven't seen this many demolished cop cars since 'Gator'. It would also deserve the international award for the vilest villain, complete with satanic snickering, and the bad-assest agent, who is introduced pulling a beyond-belief stunt straight out of James Bond. Star Gong Yoo performed most of the stunts himself and studied Systema for the fight scenes, making them far better than anything coming out of Hongkong lately. 'The Suspect' is also likely to be the most heavily edited film I've ever seen, feeling like a non-stop two-hour roller-coaster ride - keep a good distance from the screen or you'll feel dizzy. The hero is of almost superhuman abilities, survives a thousand gunshots and stab wounds, and is of course motivated by revenge - so better don't expect much of a story. But for sheer action romp fun, 'The Suspect' can't be topped by anything Hollywood turned out of late.

THE SUSPECT is another in a long line of Bourne-influenced spy thrillers from South Korea, films that predictably mine North/South tension for their thrills. This one has much in common with THE BERLIN FILE in its tale of a North Korean defector who finds himself pursued by both the bad guys and authorities in his quest for vengeance.The worst thing about this film is the slightly confusing, complicated nature of the narrative - at least, when you watch it for the first time. It actually tells a simple, two-fold tale: there's a straightforward revenge narrative here mixed in with a mystery involving a conspiracy so that the viewer spends his or her time trying to work out who the bad guy is. The first half of the film is particularly muddled but it does all become clear towards the end, although it's probably a film you'll need to watch twice to get full enjoyment from. In fact, I did just that, and found myself enjoying it much more the second time around once I knew what was going on.THE SUSPECT is a very well made movie and it's absolutely action packed. There are car chases, fights and shoot-outs galore here, all dealt with with maximum intensity and captured in loving detail by the director. The cast are also strong in their roles, and as with a lot of these movies, there's a strong emotional core which gives it heart as well as muscle. However, be warned: this is a film that employs extreme shaky-cam throughout, so if you're not a fan of that particular style then this probably isn't the movie for you.