duridodo The plot is ridiculously long, violence for the sake of violence, no drive or reason, i felt exhausted after watching it. But the most bothersome thing was that with such a good rating, it's nothing more than another movie about a man preying on young girls. Moderation is good, the only aspect of the movie I would attribute it to was the acting. The plot is unrealistic even for a glorified slasher. If you want entertainment ...skip this movie.

masoperez I had heard this was a film to rival Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy"-and to some it might, as I'm aware many did not enjoy Oldboy as much as I did-but in all honesty I found it wanting in substance and gruelling in pace. It's a superficial and unsubstantial horror film that mainly sticks in the mind due to disturbing content, not disturbing themes.SPOILERS WILL BE INCLUDED BEYOND THIS POINTLet's handle each aspect of film itself to break down what I feel didn't work about the film:First, our Protagonist, Agent Soo-hyeon. What can be said about him other than his occupation and relationship with the victim? Well, very little. He is given a bit of extra characterization with a more vulnerable side at the beginning phone call, but after that point he becomes singular in his goals and shows next-to-no personality besides hesitance and blood lust. This would be fine if his plan made any sense. Don't get me wrong, I understand the concept of catch-and-release torture and why he might pick it, but not only does it immediately make him into an unlikable character, subjecting multiple women to horrifying conditions because he was continuously sloppy with his surveillance of his target. But also a lot of his choices are not only medically impossible to sustain (like constant knock-outs actually leading to brain damage) but also he makes ridiculous action-movie level choices that make the movie seem like a cartoon. The final death scene for the villain also seems hilariously out of theme, with him inflicting horror on the villain's family...a family the villain doesn't even care about.Speaking of Kyung-chul, he was mostly fine. See, in the movies there's always an ongoing attempt to explain a serial killer's reasoning or to make them refined/attractive to make them more horrifying. However, reading the real cases of killers reveals the vast majority of them are brutal simpletons who commit horrible crimes for no reason besides they can. I respected the decision to make Kyung-chul more in line with this type of thinking, but he's ruined in the final scene by trying to make him care about a family he outright abandoned to become a serial killer. It's very confusing.When it comes to the plot itself, it's structured well but is bogged down by ridiculously unbelievable set pieces and repetitive actions. The only thing to keep up continuous engagement is the shock value of the gore, which doesn't affect me personally all that much. The structure is mostly good but the choices of some characters (mainly our inconsistent protagonist) are too stupid to feel justifiable. All-in-all I was thoroughly disappointed.

firedawg29445 This movie is good from start to finish..Acting is excellent and plot keeps you on your seat.

marklechmancem "I Saw The Devil" was a return to the Asian revenge niche for me after being disappointed by my last few incursions into the genre. To be honest I was thrilled the first times I saw classics like Ichi, Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr Vengeance but got bored after seeing too much of the same stuff all the time.This feature by Jee-woon Kim inserts itself into the heritage of previous films of the Revenge niche all the while making a place of its own with a different take on the whole classic dynamic of guy gets wronged, guy vows to avenge lost one, guy finds villain henchmen and beats them up one by one until he gets bloody fight with big bad guy in the end.Without spoiling anyone let's just say the sadistic psychopath in this movie really did mess with the wrong guy when he chose young Kim Soo-hyeon's girlfriend to quench his violent fantasies.I gotta admit the whole premise felt a little dreamy faky but things pick up after half an hour. Be advised that this movies isn't for the faint of heart as it contains scenes of violence and several rape segments.It's obvious Jee-woon Kim is a true fan of Takashi Miike cinema and in some manner, the student really does outdo the master at the end of this 140 minutes viciously joyful revenge flick.Give it a try!