A couple of years ago saw the release of “The Merciless” (“Bulhandang,” original title), a film adaptation of the fictional comic book from Plusmaker Comics, directed by Byun Sung-hyun, who is venturing in the action thriller genre for the first time and surprisingly delivers a solid creation.
The Asian—concretely South Korean—movie production in the pool of action/crime movies has spread rapidly in the last decade, delivering a numerous amount of movies with high-quality storylines along with a vast content of blood and violence.
Here, we’re presented with Jo Hyun-soo as an undercover cop, befriending Han Jae-ho, a criminal and representative of a strong South Korean mafia. The latter accepts Hyun-soo and soon includes him in their criminal activities. Their collaboration becomes powerful and by the end of the movie, as truth unfolds from both sides, we’re witnessing the ultimate confrontation.
“The Merciless” is a gem in the action/crime genre, with the game of unfolding truth, scene-by-scene, makes the viewer nervous, tensed, but wanting more from the plot as the end approaches. It’s mostly a game of balance between truth and lies, lead by (constant) deceit and adaptation due to the unpredictability of human emotions.
As pointed out in the movie, life is just a game, where you should not trust people, but only circumstances.
The performances by Sol Kyung-go and Yim Si-wan are astounding and the movie, at its premiere at 70th Cannes Film Festival received a seven-minute standing ovation.
