Anarchy!

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2009)

The intrinsic nature of the Woo Jin Lee & his erratic revenge is pure & utterly brilliant in it's form. This movie is about revenge, pure. And it's furiously paced with a very twisted plot. But only when it needs to slow down & focus on the basis of Woo Jin Lee's revenge, it takes it's time & gives us a brief, but excellent narrative of what his revenge consists of.
It's a rare movie, very few to come by. Imagine art-house action fantasy (The exceptional fight-off sequences), blended with a very dark & gripping synopsis, stylishly blended and served on a well dressed celluloid platter. The gore is in loads & the sinister plot demands some good moments of it, where patches of blood draining from faces & bodies is justified, because Oh Dae Su's ruthless rampage to reason his enduring punishment of 15 years is utterly relentless, only to find out that his struggle is worthless, for Woo Jin Lee, has a very dark hidden secret for him, a plan which he brilliantly executes, & is worth admiring while it unfolds in front of you.
There is no hero in the movie. It reflects strongly on human nature & the way we all perceive things. One man's strong revenge for something does not make him a villain, when you realize what the basis of his revenge his. We all wish we could avenge for something & bring someone to justice. If we do, would that make us evil?
Watch it for the excitement, in korean with Subs. This is unique cinema, wanting to be watched & absorbed at least thrice or a couple of times over. The plot is just so twisted, i doubt the director's conditioning when he crafted this bizarre, yet superb cinematic experience.