The Movie: The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil
The Director: Lee Won-tae
The Cast: Ma Dong-seok, Kim Moo-yul, Kim Sung-kyu
The Story: Remake of the South Korean film 'The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil' about a crime boss who teams up with a cop to track down a serial killer.
The Review:
Ma Dong-seok aka Don Lee is a bad ass. There's no doubt about that. Ever since seeing him in Train to Busan, one of my favorite films of all time, I look forward to whenever he makes an appearance in a movie. For this movie, he was pretty much tailor made to play the gang boss and doesn't disappoint in any way. Also, pairing him up with Kim Moo-yul who plays the cop was a brilliant move as they play off of each other very well and do a great job of showing the differences between the two characters.
One of the things I really like about this movie is how it is a totally different spin on the cops versus gangsters genre as the two are forced to team up, reluctantly and still holding on to their own agendas of course, to stop a serial killer who is causing a major disruption in the city. Also, the stakes become personal when Lee's character survives an attack from the serial killer, played by Kim Sung-kyu, and wants revenge but knows he needs to join forces with the cops to make it happen.
The action in this movie is pretty standard fare for Korean gangster movies, there are lots of fights with punches and knives all over the place and a bare minimum of guns coming in to play which allows for more close combat style action. Lee of course mows through opponents like the proverbial hot knife through butter although he's certainly not invincible, especially when his character is being stabbed or run over with a car.
The Verdict:
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is an intriguing, action packed, and entertaining crime thriller that delivered exactly what I was looking for and is a great vehicle for Don Lee to further his career as a viable action star.
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is an official selection of the 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival.
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