Coolestmovies Superb production values aside—and really, what Korean movies AREN'T well made these days?—NO MERCY FOR THE RUDE has a lot of the elements that, when viewed in too many consecutive movies (which can happen in this country's films), tend to shift people away from Korean cinema for short periods of time, and help to explain the terrible financial slump that is plaguing the K-film industry right now. You'd think they could avoid it by mixing genres, but there's often a streak of emotional violence in many (but obviously not all) Korean movies —including comedies—that takes a toll after awhile, and this film has some of that, in addition to some rather cringe-inducing physical violence at odds with it's self-consciously (on the part of the writer) quirky characters.It's the story of a mute, loner assassin (Shin Ha-kyun, essaying yet another oddball like he did in SAVE THE GREEN PLANET) who lives by his own code of "cool" and dreams of becoming a bullfighter despite being a bit of a bumbler in his profession. His best friend is also an assassin and former ballet dancer who is saving up to buy a warehouse to make into his own studio. Isn't that just quirky and cool? He picks up and beds a sexy bar girl (Yoon Ji-hye) from a favourite post-kill gin joint, and she comes and goes from his life as she pleases, at least until a little street-urchin attaches himself to Shin, at which point a weirdly dysfunctional family is created. Oh, how inventive! The killer's motto is summed up in the title, as he only kills those who deserve it (of course, the victims are so one-dimensionally sketched that we have to take the filmmakers' word for it that they're really deserving of the grisly deaths they receive). When a hit results in the death of the intended victim's twin brother, the usual volleyballs of revenge start getting served, leading this wannabe black comedy to a typically melodramatic and tragic ending that is almost a foregone conclusion in these kinds of films. Especially the ones from Korea.Watching this as a double bill with CITY OF VIOLENCE makes for an interesting contrast in styles of on screen physical carnage. Where CITY is rather cartoonish and winkingly overblown, MERCY marks each kill with the juicy pop of an exit wound or the nauseating (and repeated) "chukks" of knives thrusting into chests and stomachs—all lovingly and realistically recreated in crispy DTS and effected as realistically as possible. A flashback scene involving a paid hit on an unsuspecting fisherman is a queasy highlight only because the filmmakers cleverly place the audience in the shoes of the first-time assassin, who (initially) has difficulty with the job because he knows nothing about his scared, misunderstanding victim, and neither do we, which makes it all the more difficult to watch. After that, blood flows with an abject realism but in the end there's no point to anything these self-consciously eccentric characters do, and their fates are made predictable by the very genre! Some films in the "oddball assassins" genre take at least some pains to show the pointless and unrewarding nature and inevitable consequences of killing, and I guess this one MIGHT be trying to get that across, but I find some of the more effective ones have at least a believable hero worth rooting for: MERCY'S hero is practically a byproduct of his own imagination, but he's not even a remotely likable character once you see how viciously he can dispatch targets that usually don't get much opportunity to fight back. Nor is anyone he comes into contact with particularly likable beyond their wardrobes. By the time the festivities climaxed with the by-now de-rigeur Korean blend of melodrama and spitting blood, I found I couldn't have cared less.

kazan-bandi Why is this movie so underrated, I can't understand. It is a superb film: it is very cool, but ironic on itself at the same time, letting every people enjoy it (the ones who are not keen on the coolness itself only, too). It has a good sense of humor, sometimes nice, sometimes dark, sometimes grotesque humor. It has excellent action scenes, but not much enough to be boring. It is dramatic, but just as much as necessary. Of course, there are lots of similarities to movies like Bittersweet Life or A Dirty Carnival or Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. But it doesn't matter, because inside the texture of the movie - or should I say the "world of the movie" - everything fits perfectly: I daresay that No Mercy is maybe even more coherent and "harmonic" than Lady Vengeace (which is also an excellent movie) and because of this - better. Maybe if this is among the first Asian movies you see you'll find it weird how they change between the funny and light and bloody and dramatic (and so on) scenes, but if you're into Asian movies (Korean in the first place, because they have a distinctive aura), watch this by all means!

secrective No Mercy for the Rude is a smart jog into the hired killer genre. About a man who wants to pay for an operation to fix his inability to talk. He makes a rule that he will only kill the rude, only the scumbags, until he makes $100,000.Narrated from the perspective of a mute, we follow him as he deals with his work and non-work life. This movie can be enjoyed in any language, as the violence is universal. The main character is mute almost all of the entire movie, but his inter-monologue is better than everyone else's dialog. 'Ballet' and the other killers are very likable and work well within the story.Overall it was well directed, good editing, some great bits of comedy and a nice touch of drama. Other reviewers have said its like a Quentin Tarantino movie, and i would agree that it is of similar style and substance.7.5/10

edberry This South Korean character driven assassin movie has more to offer than most. The main character is a mute who is driven by his need to speak, and the characters around him are more quirky than that. The true impact of this director is the way he takes basic human foibles and create realistic and interesting characters who engage and enthrall you. From the broken down ballet dancer to the down and out karate instructor, you instantly get a feel for who they are and like them. The fact that they are assassins is irrelevant. If you had wished that Kill Bill actually brought you characters worth being the least bit interested in, then this movie is for you.