Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
Spoonatects
Am i the only one who thinks........Average?
Aubrey Hackett
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Guy
Plot: After a man is killed his four friends seek to find the perpetrators and punish them in their small town but find themselves dragged into a dodgy property deal run by out of town criminals that implicate one of their own.Expecting plot or dialogue from a martial arts film is usually a losing game. There is a plot here and it's easy enough to follow provided you are good at telling Korean faces apart but it's nothing you haven't seen done before. What you're here for is the fights and City of Violence provides them. Yes it is completely unrealistic. Yes the fights are nothing special in themselves. But they are well edited, feature enough visual flourishes to win you over and are laid to a decent score. The result is a picture that never quite grabs your heartstrings like it should but is a lot of fun anyway. If you've ever wanted to watch a goon and a cop fight break dancing martial artists whilst the town lights explode above them or to see a fight set to cheesy 1980s K-Pop then this is your film.
chrichtonsworld
City of violence is an action movie. And when it comes to action movies the plot isn't that important. At least as long as it never forgets to be in function of the action and not the other way around. But I was surprised to see that, (although not very original) the plot was quite interesting. The actors also did a great job in carrying this plot. They were believable as childhood friends who reunite after the death of one them. Doo-hong Jung (Arahan) who has the lead as the friend who is a cop also is the martial arts director for this movie. And it shows. He choreographed some excellent fighting scenes. Especially at the ending you will be in for a treat. One of the highlights of the movie is one big action scene in he middle of the city where Doo-hong Jung has to fight several gangs of kids on his own. He does gets assistance of a friend, Seok-hwan played Seung-wan Ryoo who is the director of this film. Not to be confused with his brother (actor Seung-beom Ryu from Arahan) who looks very similar to him! When these two get together the fun really begins. I don't know if it was meant as a parody or tribute to The Warriors, but it was sure a spectacular sight to see the Korean hoodlums dressed as the gangs from that movie. They were just as dangerous and menacing. The good mix of comedy, drama and action makes this a movie that has to be seen. It's one big and fun ride!
SLUGFly
The film was decent I guess. The action sequences were okay but at times it felt like I was watching a bunch of guys who had been trained to be ninjas from early infancy. The film has almost the same set-up, roles, themes and outcome as one of Korea's great hits "Friend" (2001). The movie Friend had serious undertones and was filled with nostalgia and great action. The movie City of Violence seemed to just take the coloring and ideas of Friend and then fill in the voids with over the top action.A few minor good points: (spoilers following)The boss (I think he was a boss, the guy with the dyed gray hair) who had travelled to Osung from Seoul was a very competent actor but he was seriously underplayed with little screen time. Also, one of the key characters from the Korean film Oldboy (another great) played as one of the friends. He didn't particularly shine, but he wasn't bad. And lastly, cinematography gets an A for effort.
andjel_ko
We can say it is a Kill Bill kind of movie, but it is more an Asian 70-es kind of movie. Kill Bill is more City of violence kind of movie, although I'm sure everyone will be comparing it with Kill Bill when it reaches America - probably next year.This is not a masterpiece, but still a very good and simple movie. And there are many reasons why i liked it and only a few why i didn't. It was short, but not too short. Fighting in the movie is incredible, realistic and unrealistic in the same time. I mean it is unrealistic that a man defeat so many deadly enemies and stands after receiving so many punches, but kicks alone are very realistic. The fighting is a real thing, without special effects or ropes, and all you gotta do is sit and enjoy the fight.The best fighter in the movie is well known Korean actor Jeong Du-hong who plays a roll of a police officer Tae-su whose friend has been killed. He decides to find the killer and gets help from other friends from the past but he will soon realize that the killer is actually one of his friends - Pil-ho. That fact is obvious from the beginning of the movie but don't spoil the movie. In fact, it is interesting to watch the game of Pil-ho who is now a gangster and wait for his end as we have waited for Bill to die in Kill Bill (now I'm comparing them myself)Five friends are main characters in this movie which tells a story about their showdown in present and friendship in past. Drama part of the movie is not done perfectly but everyone should get the point. The Director Ryoo Seung-wan also did Crying Fist, more dramatic and longer movie but there must be something the same about this two films because i love them both very much. And the next thing to do is to find other Ryoo Seung-wan movies like No Blood no tears, and Die bad and see if this is really another great Korean director as Chan-wook Park and Ki-duk Kim.As for City of Violence, if you like fighting you shouldn't miss this one.
