(South Korea 2022) 

Original Title: Deo Killeo: Jugeodo Doeneun Ai 더 킬러: 죽어도 되는 아이 (aka) The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves To Die

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Directed by Choi Jae-hoon Produced by Nam Ji-woong, Mark Shaw Action by Jang Hyuk Starring: Jang Hyuk, Lee Seo-young, Bruce Khan, Bang Eun-jung, Shin Seung-hwan, Lee Seung-joon, Lee Chae-young, Choi Ki-sub, Yoo Seo-jin, Hong Seo-joon,Son Hyun-joo, Cha Tae-hyun Reviewing: Private Screening from Cineasia Genres: Action / Thriller / Crime

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Rating - 4 / 5

Synopsis: A retired hitman agrees to take care of a teen girl for his wife's friend, but when she becomes involved with the wrong crowd and finds herself captured by a sex-trafficking ring, he must bring back his killer instincts in order to save her. (95 Mins)

 

Views: Initially called The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves To Die, and adapted from the popular web-comic called The Kid Deserves To Die from writer Bang Jin-ho, this 2022 action-thriller is a lot of fun and definitely worth checking out. In a nutshell, The Killer is a pretty simple tale that tells the story of a retired assassin, Bang Ui-gang, whose wife convinces him to look after her friends teenage stepdaughter, Joon Yi, while they take a short break away. He reluctantly agrees, if only to keep his wife happy, but soon finds himself pulled into a night of action when he learns that the young girl has been taken against her will. After coming to her rescue, the trained killer realises that there's a much bigger problem overall when he finds out that teenage Korean girls are being trafficked for prostitution by the same gang who are determined to get their hands on Joon Yi. Without a minute to spare, Bang sets out to bring down the man behind it all – unravelling many surprises along the way, and some of which are a bit too close to home for comfort!

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I was lucky enough to catch a screening of The Killer in the run-up to its UK release by Trinity Cineasia, and while I had heard some things about it before that – with many people calling it the 'Korean John Wick' and comparing it to other hit films such as Leon or Taken, and even Korea's very own smash hit film, The Man From Nowhere – I still felt that this had enough to offer fans of action cinema, even though it was a case of 'having seen it all before'. Most of this is down to its leading man, Jang Hyuk, who also handles the films action-choreography and shines as the super-cool assassin Bang Ui-gang. I really loved his performance in this film, from the moments of subtle humour sprinkled throughout to the confidence that just oozed out of him when it came to the action sequences and fight scenes. I remember first catching Jang in the super fun Volcano High, and while he has been extremely busy over those past 2 decades, it would be a good 20 years before I would have the chance to catch him in action once again. That film, of course, would be The Swordsman – the wonderful debut feature from director Choi Jae-hoon; the very same man behind this action hit and a director that is fast proving to be one-to-watch considering the entertainment value of these two particular movies and his horror-thriller, The Hypnosis, which was sandwiched in between.

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Jang is joined by a pretty decent cast, with the great Bruce Khan standing out as the most enjoyable one on-screen, next to the star. Although he had previously worked as a bit-player and stuntman on Hong Kong action films Gen-X Cops, Gen-Y Cops, and The Medallion with Jackie Chan, I actually only caught wind of this talented fighter when he lit up the screen in the 2018 film, Revenger, on Netflix. In terms of action, this was a pretty incredible film and allowed Khan to really show what he was made of. Thankfully, in The Killer, we get to see more of that with Khan playing Russian assassin Yuri – bodyguard of the movies main villain. While the majority of the action scenes displayed involve Jang taking down plenty of minions in a host of well-designed, lightning fast, and brutal moves, fight fans will rejoice when it comes to the showdowns between him and Khan – most of which were definitely the highlights of the show and proved to be beautifully executed, with many of them often captured in a slickly designed single-shot. They are joined by popular actor Lee Seung-jun, who is recognisable from a host of K-dramas including Hotel Del Luna, Mr. Sunshine, and Descendants Of The Sun, as well as films such as War Of The Arrows, Heartbeat, and The Admiral: Roaring Currents. Here, Lee plays a cop whose introduction to Jang had me convinced that this was going to be a relationship similar to that of the cop and Frank in The Transporter – but I was very wrong. Son Hyeon-ju, from films such as Guns & Talks, The Devils Game, Signal, and The Hunt, cameos as Jang's weapons provider and owner of the shooting range; while television actor Hong Seo-jun plays the perverted judge that finds himself at the end of Jang's gun.

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If I'm to be honest, the only thing I really didn't like about The Killer was its title. To me, it just wasn't – well, Korean enough considering the type of movie it is. I just felt that a generic title such as The Killer didn't really do it any justice, and can only hope that it doesn't deter anyone from actually checking out this fantastic piece of action-cinema. Although it won't win any awards for originality, it's fair to say that The Killer still offers a lot of positives from its performances and slick action-sequences, to its cheeky humour and tidy cinematography. And while I found that the film started off like a well polished K-drama, things thankfully took a turn for the better by the 30 minute mark – giving its audience members a welcome shake and shifting things into top gear with some well deserved brutal action. Then, by the halfway mark, you already feel that you've sat through a full movie considering the energy you've just witnessed – but there's so much more to come (and I mean that in the most positive way). Released across the UK on DVD, Blu-ray and most Digital Platforms from March 27th by Trinity Cineasia, The Killer is a a highly-entertaining movie with plenty of comic book violence and impressive action to put a smile on any fight-fans face!

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Overall: Slickly designed action-scenes and brutal violence help make The Killer a winning piece of modern action-cinema!