The Point Men Movie Review: Hyun Bin, Hwang Jungmin Take On The Taliban In Korean Retelling Of 2007 Hostage Crisis In Afghanistan
- Hwang Jong Bin plays a diplomat, while Hyun Bin plays an intelligence agent seeking the release of a group of Christian missionaries kidnapped by the Taliban.
- Shot in Jordan, the film builds on the inconsistencies between its protagonists rather than exploring broader themes such as how women are treated by the Taliban.
2/5 stars
Korean superstars Hyun Bin and Hwang Jung-min join forces to fight the Taliban in The Point Men , a dramatic retelling of the 2007 Afghanistan hostage crisis.
The action takes place in the Middle East and presents Jordan as the voice of a war-torn country. Hwang plays a diplomat tasked with negotiating the safe release of 23 Christian missionaries who have been kidnapped and held hostage by a radical Islamic group.
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He joins forces with National Intelligence Service agent Hyun, who insists on a more aggressive response to what is fast becoming an international incident.
Directed by Yim Sun-ri ( "Little Forest "), one of South Korea's leading directors, Point Man is the latest in a series of global political thrillers designed to elevate the country's image as a global player.
For years, South Korean cinema has focused on internal conflicts or conflicts involving the country's communist neighbors, traveling abroad only for exotic romantic encounters.
© Courtesy of the South China Morning Post Hwang Jung Min in a still from The Point Men.More recently, perhaps due to growing international interest in the country and its pop culture, action films like The Berlin File and Escape from Mogadishu , directed by Ryu Seung-wan, have placed local heroes on international assignments to compete with Jason Bourne. . Or Ethan Hunt.
The Point Men looks very different, with the director using exotic desert locations and tales of political instability to raise the stakes for his bewildered and displaced protagonists.
Jung Jae Ho (Hwang) must face more familiar pressure from his superiors at home, including the country's president, unpredictable hostility from hot weather, an insurmountable language barrier (which the actor is forced to name), and elusive fundamentalist opposition.
© South China Morning Post Hwang Jong Min (left) and Hyun Bin in photos from The Point Men.A playful counterpoint to Jung's flighty bureaucrat, Park Dae-shik (Hyun) exudes stoic composure as a seasoned field agent flaunting designer keffis and tailored trousers.
Always ready to throw himself straight into danger, Park also brings in-house actor Kang Ki Yong with him, dissipating tension and providing cool comic relief.
Aside from an explosive start and a terrific central car chase, the action sequences in The Point Men are surprisingly sparse, focusing more on trying (even weary) inappropriate central partnerships than tackling more compelling proposals.
It was hoped that with a woman at the helm it would be possible to explore the Taliban's attitudes towards women, but the female characters here are reduced to a bargaining chip that ultimately turns out to be nothing more than a testosterone-fuelled scream.
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This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news outlet in China and Asia.
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