The Man from Nowhere (V)
| release date | March 8 2011 |
| studio | Well Go USA |
| director | Lee Jeong-beom |
| writer | Lee Jeong-beom |
| starring | Won Bin, Kim Sae-Ron |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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Im surprised to see a review of this movie on this website cuz this is not an horror movie at all. Anyway, not as good as The Chaser, A Bittersweet Life, Memory of Murders, Oldboy or I Saw the Devil but still a good movie.
OH look! A Korean revenge movie! Didn’t really bring anything new to the table but still kept me interested until the end.
A solid, thrilling and well made revenge pic; while the twist at the end was somewhat predictable, the amazingly choreographed, badass knife fight sequence more than made up for it.
This is a formula thriller for sure. So the basic story has been done many times, but I gotta say, americans need to take some lessons from korea. I heard this was practically “oldboy meets Taken”. That’s not the case here. Taken’s action scenes are NOTHING compared to the ones that take place in The man from nowhere. This is “oldboy meets The bourne ultimatum”. The action is fluid, brutal and intense, the acting all around is great, especially from the main actor, and the film actually holds emotion. It was shaping to be a solid 4 skull film, but the explosive climax pushed it above that line. For action/thriller fans, this is a must-see.
I wouldn’t consider this a horror film, but still one worth watching if you’re into non-stop action and sadistic characters. I felt that this was a bit flawed in a way that’s hard to describe. I think this film would have been so much more enjoyable had the main character not been already skilled in martial arts.
If he was truly just some guy from a pawn shop trying to protect a young girl, then I’d have been much more impressed with his vendetta. However, I think what’s most engaging is the acting. Won Bin is incredible as usual, and so is Kim Sae-ron. They really do make you feel for their characters, and that’s beyond important in this genre. Anyway, this is definitely one of my favorite South Korean films.
I don’t want to bore you with a long list of Korean films I love, but it’s important for you to know that I love Korean films. My favourite is probably I Saw the Devil, so you can imagine my excitement when I sat down to watch The Man From Nowhere (I’ll call it The Man for short). With Korea’s incredible reputation in films The Man had a lot to live up to and it didn’t disappoint. The Man demonstrates why Korean film’s are so good in its opening half hour or so as it zooms in on a very touching (but not fake) relationship between a pawnshop man and a little girl who’s mother is a heroin addict and altogether bad mother! This relationship is so cockles-warming and cut you can’t help but be sucked in to these not at all annoying characters!
I would guess that the American remake (which will inevitably arrive) will feature a Mum with shelves full of ‘Mom of the Year’ awards and the man (I’ll call him the man as I’m quite bad at Korean names) will probably be a taintless guy who saves orphanages and adores kids. However it’s the character’s flaws that make them interesting, realistic and altogether more likable for it. Because the man isn’t the nicest person in the world, however he has great qualities and its enough to make the audience like him. It turns out that he becomes even more bad-ass than Liam Neeson and Bruce Willis put together!
I’ve heard this film being compared to Taken and Oldboy, but really this film is much, much better than Taken (and I loved Taken!) but not Oldboy, however it’s not that far off Oldboy’s greatness! But this just goes to show that foreign cinema is so much better than American (in the majority of cases) as I believe that Taken was even directed and written by French people! The Man however is superior in every way. Its narrative is more complex, and its characters are much stronger, and although it may not be as action-packed as Taken it certainly carries more of an emotional punch.
I do really want to give The Man a 10/10 but I don’t think it’s right to. The plot did become overly complicated in some parts (especially with all the similar-looking faces) and there were some parts where I was just waiting for some more action to happen, but that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy The Man because I did! At 2 hrs there’s rarely a moment where the film dies down. It’s a fantastic thrill ride which explores some typically dark avenues (it’s Korean!) which you can’t help but appreciate it for having the balls to do so.
There are also some incredible action sequences that a shot almost to perfection. The camera is extremely quick but never does it make you feel disorientated as to what is going on (like the A-Team). These action scenes are more up to Ip Man standards, which if you haven’t seen Ip Man is very high! There’s a hugely entertaining and tense fight scene in the men’s toilets and it just leaves me wishing that there were more. However, The Man is so much more than just an action film. Its got a huge heart and a just a big brain! The directing is terrific and quite mesmerising at times. One stand out moment features a smash through a two-storey window all in one shot! It often gets up to I Saw the Devil standards.
All of this thrilling narrative culminates into a stupendously entertaining climax that almost feels as cool as Kill Bill! It’s an action extraveganzer (hard word to spell) full of incredible directing and superbly choreographed fight sequences with quite a bit of blood too! It’s a rip-roaring revenge rampage which is quite incredible to watch! The ending, however, is even more impressive. It’s quite simply one of the most touching endings I’ve ever seen with a great use of music that really pulls at the heart strings. I had chills, and those chills took a while to leave after the credits had rolled, as it just created such an emotional impact that is quite hard to top.
The Man is quite simply another Korean masterpiece. Its storyline might not be all that original but its characters and intricate plot points shoot it up into matching the greatness of The Chaser. The Man excels in its wonderful characters and huge heart. Yes some parts could’ve been simpler, but its a film I can’t wait to see again, which certaily can’t be a bad thing can it? It rivals most American films and you’ll need the hardest heart in the world, not to be touched by the knock-out ending. A truely mesmerising film!