Slick Korean caper/action film is a huge box office hit across Asia. It is the biggest film in Korean history. It's ability to grab a US audience is going to be hampered by a release schedule that has it playing in only a handful of films across the country. That's kind of a sin since the film is a kick ass joy ride that upends your expectations as it goes.
The plot of the film has a group of Korean thieves brought together with a band of Chinese thieves in order to rob a casino of super valuable jewel. The man that has brought them all together is someone none of them wholly trusts, but they all see it as an easy score with a shot at potentially getting revenge on their leader when it's all done.
The film starts off in the style of the recent Ocean's 11 films. While keeping the caper plot line the film changes and rechanges tone as we learn more about the various characters and their pasts. Everything in the film becomes complicated and there is a point at which you'll begin to wonder which way is up and who you can root for... and oh yea it has one hell of a shoot out near the end that will leave you squirming in your seat.
This being the full disclosure moment, I need to warn you that the film is not perfect, plot threads are left hanging all over the place and I had the real sense that this film should have been longer than its 136 minutes. The threads don't seem to have come from nowhere, as in many movies, just from a world off screen we don't get to see.
At this point I should probably just let things go because this really is a film that is best seen knowing as little as possible. And yes I really think that you should go see this film because simply put this film is a blast.
The film is in an extremely limited run around the country. Check your local listings if you're in a big city or one with a large Korean population since that appears to be where they have targeted the release.
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