RolandCPhillips Chul-joong is a cop on the edge: under suspicion of corruption, continually reprimanded for under-hand and over-zealous tactics and frankly very difficult to get on with, he's also saddled with a young family to which he is the sole parent (his wife died), and his partner has just blown his brains out when I.A. move in to investigate some of their dodgy cases. Chul-joong is a wild-card: a former boxer, he likes to beat up, slap and humiliate all those who are unlucky enough to cross him, or just cross his path. AND he's just got a new superior who won't take any nonsense or dirty-dealing from his troop, and also likes to punch those who deviate from his view of policemen. Oh, and he's having difficulty moving a cache of drugs he's pilfered, but he badly needs to because his finances are screwed. His life's a bit of a mess...Just when you think things couldn't get any worse, he has a nasty, night-time confrontation with a madman. When Chul-joong jumps out of a police van in the pouring rain, desperately searching for a place to take a dump, he bumps into dark assassin who slashes his face. Miffed, Chul-joong resolves to catch the SOB and make him pay. But that's easier said than done. I don't think this is really a spoiler, but if you want to approach the movie with much knowledge of the plot, stop reading here. It's made clear very early on who the assailant was: Cho Gyoo-hwan, an ostensibly sensible, affluent and domesticated businessman with a family and steady job - plus a big bank-balance and cushy life. And when Gyoo-hwan sliced Chul-joong, he did so just after having murdered his parents, in a rage after they threatened to withdraw some funding. Gyoo-hwan may look straight, but in reality he's a shifty degenerate, jerking off in the shower as he fantasises over kinky sex, and re-visiting the site of his monstrous parricide to gloat over his mum and dad's rotting corpses. Imagine Patrick Batemen from American Psycho, but with a family.And thus Chul-joong and Gyoo-hwan, two unstable, violent men, go tête-à-tête, the former quickly convinced of the latter's guilt when the investigation gets going, yet lacking any hard evidence.This Korean blockbuster was shipped abroad with great credo: a big money haul, some top stars, an established director, exciting, gory material and a great, in-you-face trailer. All of which should fit it quite nicely in the Asia Extreme category. But for all the beating, running, fighting and shouty dialogue, it's actually quite dull.There are some strong elements. For one, it has several cohesive, continuous themes, such as a blackly-comic meditation on the class divide that pits slovenly cop against suited-businessman, and a gruesomely compelling odour: the film has stench. The film-makers continually emphasise smell: Chul-joong sweats a great deal, there's a gag when a murder weapon is tainted with excrement, the rotting bodies; all thrown into the cauldron that is Seoul in summer. This is a policier with foul BO - an original idea. There's also a tough view on the Korean economy, and thought-provoking contemplations on the role of police, and the nature of the thin blue line: when can you cross it ensure that justice is meted out? Throw in some knock-about comedy, a great rogue's gallery of cops and robbers, some frenetic, brutal fights and much head-banging, and you'd reckon you've got a great, noirish entertainment. Sadly, not quite so.Director Woo-sook Kang's film all suffer from excessive length and at 140 minutes, Public Enemy just outstays its welcome; there's too much yelling and debate that cuts up the main story arch. Thus the climactic duel, when it comes, is overdue and even though brutal and stupidly bloody, not enough to compensate for the previous tracts of boredom. Equally disappointing is the lack of visual flair. The film has some great, textured 'scope photography, and a compelling use of ordinary locations that root the story in some kind of reality, but one the whole its too restricted to rather boringly lit offices and homes.That said, the lead performances have a manic integrity. Kyung-gu Sol is the lead and stand-out: piling on the pounds, moustached and sweating like a pig, he's virtually unrecognisable. It's his performance and the antagonism with his rich rival that is the real motor of the movie - it's just a shame there's so much material to distract and detract from that.It's still a sometimes amazing, brutish ride, and far more aggressive and dynamic than your regular Hollywood crime films. It's also worth seeing for the line: "No one should kill somebody for no reason." You said it!

Richard Brunton The trailer makes this movie seem like a slick visually rich thriller about a cop chasing down a cold killer, unfortunately the film doesn't live up to that premise.Movie There's certainly some strong character moments but they are left under developed and under explored, they're treated all too lightly and often too comically. The visually slick scenes are also too underused and separated by weak character follow through, so one strong moment on screen isn't built upon with the characters.The film is very much a merging of two styles, taught thriller and often slapstick comedy. For me this just doesn't work, these two styles belong far apart.The story focuses on the rise of a killer pitched against the fall of a cop, a cop who has given up on his career and any morale boundaries, believing only in himself and obtaining cash any way he can.As the killer rises in his chosen path the cop stumbles upon him, realises and then finds a purpose to his job. Yet this is not is salvation, it comes as he reaches his lowest point and all there is left is the single, all consuming cause of catching the killer.It's really interesting to read the plot like that as it does read as a good movie, but intersperse the comedy and the unexplored avenues of the characters and story, and it really does bring the movie down. It's not just a case of realising these lost opportunities after the fact, as they pop up I actually caught myself audibly questioning why they'd just walked away from a scene. At times it was a frustrating movie.You'll see this in some of the decisions the cop makes and the investigations. They're all too convenient and almost too much of a leap not only to believe but also to understand. This and the weak, unexplored characters don't bring any affinity to the audience.That's the failing part of the movie. As it could have been such a great film combining American Psycho and Heat, but it just never gets that far and just gets distracted.Audio Presented: Dolby Digital 2.0 / 5.1, DTS The audio is solid here with a good DTS soundtrack, but nothing special that takes advantage of the speakers available. The music sometimes overpowered the story at key points, and at others was quite effective, but overall quite forgettable.Picture Presented: 16:9 Anamorphic Good picture overall with some difficult scenes combining night and rain together, they look dark and dreary yet retaining a bold contrast.Extras Presented: Behind the Scenes, Deleted Scenes, Music Video, Outtakes, Asia Extreme Trailers The Behind the Scenes were interesting, showing such things as the recreation of full upper body sculptures from the actors for the dead characters. There's also a lot more insight into the characters and how the actors played them.The Deleted Scenes and Outtakes were simply that, although some proved quite amusing at repeating the slapstick moments. The music video is quite good, as are the Extreme Trailers, but an overall poorer offering in terms of extras.Overall A very interesting plot that just gets glossed over far too quickly, and with the concentration seeming to be on the comedy rather than character and story progression, it doesn't really attract too well. It's an interesting DVD to watch, but an unfulfilling story.

bohan27 OK for a starters my girlfriend hates subtitled films. One week i spent my paycheck buying all the tartan extreme collection. The best decision i have ever made. talk about value for money. From versus, to the bride with white hair, to the ramones and public enemy. The film has everything black hunour, comic scenes, a psycho killer, and one of the most unusual cops since briggs in lethal weapon, a pure loner who develops a conscience while the movie progresses. The movie trailer really made me want to watch this. As i said my girlfriend hates subtitles film but she loved this a must for all thriller and black humour fans. A little long at two hours but highly enjoyable.

puscus The good thing is about the bad guy in the movie... the text on the DVD box told about a corrupt cop vs. a psychopath... Well, I feared the psychopath was a serial killer with all the nauseating, fetishist rituals stuff "a la" Seven or other movies alike. But the killer is almost a normal guy (as much as a killer can be a "normal guy"!), killing with a purpose... Well, the guy is seriously crazy anyway, killing for very trivial motives, such as a man spilling his drink on him. The bad thing in the movie is a kind of a scatological scene. It may seem trivial for some people, but for me, it wasted my enjoyment. Apart from that and 2 or 3 bloody sequences this is a very good movies.