NIGHT OF THE ASSASSIN Review
In recent years, South Korea has exported a lot of high-octane action movies. They tend to emphasize strong stunts and hard-hitting action choreography while avoiding the enhancements (or shortcomings) of CGI and creative work. This has always been so in contemporary historical dramas and crimes. This title, "THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER", had me hoping for another dose of slam bang. The reality show was more contemplative for most of its airtime before hitting viewers with inevitable climactic battles.
In this drama set in the pre-war era, Shin-Hyun Joon plays Inan, the best assassin in the camp: all business, efficiency, no ideology or emotion. The movie opens with her collapsing after another quick stroke and discovering that she has a life-threatening heart defect that can only be cured by an extremely rare herb. Heart disease makes him so fragile that he not only has to give up his career, but also avoid strong relationships. He wanders around the remote village, trying to hide his identity and lead a quiet life. He takes a menial job at a restaurant, working for a widow (Lee Jong Min) and an orphaned son she adopts. Unfortunately, the area is shamelessly ruled by a large savage gang, empowered by the police and local authorities, who give them the freedom to rule out corruption and/or fear.
As it must be in these movies, though Inani tries to remain anonymous, he is forced by circumstances to respond to an imminent threat with his old abilities. But it comes at a price, as his heart keeps failing at key moments. The start is slower, lighter than expected before the rest of the story levels up a bit, with a host of villains posing different types of threats for an exciting build to an epic final act. The fights are masterfully designed and executed in a way that is more athletic than bloody.
Inan's flat love serves well to portray an emotional outsider with a developing noble concern for the downtrodden villagers around him. He has an honor code that means everything, including completing everything he promises to start. In every sense. The rest of the cast expertly fills in the standard character slots on both sides of the law and the economy. Writer-director Jung-Duk Kwak only teases the action for far too long before filming a series of genre-satisfying sequences, mostly featuring deft use of swords and knives. Not the thrill from start to finish like so many others, but a fine example of top-notch talented cameramen and stuntmen finding permanent jobs in Korea.
NIGHT OF THE ASSASSIN (also known as THE ASSASSIN) in Korean with English subtitles is available to stream from Friday, July 21 on Hi-YAH! and will be available on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray formats starting August 8.
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
