Spoilers might get beat up.
You can have an asian-themed genre film festival without Dong-seok Ma, also known as Don Lee. You can, but it will not be as fun. So, if your festival have only one movie with Don Lee, I think we can still make it worth your while. All this to say, this movie was a given to be in my watch list the moment it was announced. This time, Don Lee will be taking up the role of the bad guy. Crime never looked so good.
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil was written and directed by Lee Won-tae. A young, headstrong detective Tae-suk (Kim Moon-yul) is after the trail of a serial killer that kills indiscriminately. One night, he picks the wrong victim: crime boss Jang Dong-soo (Don Lee). After managing to survive the attack, the crime boss wants nothing more than to catch his assailant. Although gangster and cop hate each other, they’ll have to work together if they want to stop K (Kim Sung-kyu).
All genre films are by the numbers. The trick is in the execution. You have to make it look good. You have to make it bloody. You have to make it fun. Holy crap, does this movie manage to do all the above. Don Lee’s Jang Dong-soo is a crime boss that makes you want to join in. Make no mistake, he can play a ruthless no-nonsense criminal. He’s not holding his punches here. He can dispatch his rivals without mercy. He’s not looking for your approval, and yet he has it.
Highly recommended for fans of crime thrillers, fans of Don Lee and fans of action in general. The mix of violence, action and fun is potent and well-balanced. Although you could claim this is a predictable film, I would argue it carries the maximum allowed potential for entertaining you. This was a lot of fun to watch and nowhere like Fantasia to have an audience to watch it with. Don Lee is the boss.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 