Asura: The City of Madness

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Asura: The City of Madness

Released Oct 14, 2016

2h 16m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Action

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Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

A shady cop becomes caught between internal affairs and the city's corrupt mayor.

Ben Kenigsberg

New York Times

As the suspense slackens and blood starts spilling nearly to the point of self-parody, it almost seems designed as a test of mettle - for both the filmmakers and the audience.

Oct 13, 2016

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Simon Abrams

Village Voice

Winningly over-the-top Korean gangster drama Asura: The City of Madness is what you'd get if you combined The Wire with a really good soap opera.

Oct 12, 2016

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Maggie Lee

Variety

Splattered with Korean aesthetics of troglodytic violence and blighted by irredeemable characters, Kim Sung-soo's Asura: The City of Madness is a stygian crime thriller that casts a jaundiced eye at South Korean regional politics.

Oct 10, 2016

Full Review

William Schwartz

HanCinema

Former cop Do-kyeong lays out the basic theme of "Asura: The City of Madness" pretty clearly in the opening narration panorama above his local wasteland. People are terrible. And we should hate them all. Every last one.

Jun 14, 2024

Full Review

Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

The power struggles between all the above characters, along with the constant shifting of both loyalties and the upper hand, are the backbone of an intricate script, which is concluded, in the most spectacular fashion

Apr 11, 2021

Full Review

James Mudge

easternKicks.com

Great performances, a sharp script and thrilling violence make the film a triumph for Kim Sung-soo, and a must-see for genre fans, even those who think they've had their fill

Rated: 5/5

Oct 25, 2020

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Nehan S

Amazing film. Asura way to go!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/10/24

Full Review

Audience Member

The best Korean movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

If only this movie had a likable character. From the opening sequence to the bloody and predictable end, I could not get behind a single character or their motivation, which made the entire 2 hour running time frustrating to sit through.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Excellent film, but not for the light-hearted.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/21/21

Full Review

Audience Member

ASURA already has a clear theme in the title of the film. Asura connotes that it is a quarrelsome ghost. So all the characters in the movie are really bad. The movie depicts the gruesome battle of the wicked. ASURA is a film aimed at pure violence. In one word, everybody in this movie is wielding meaningless violence. And it is a very violent film unlike most Korean films. It was impressive to see the characters run towards the end of the violence without any purpose. Also, the car chasing scenes are comparable to those of any previous Korean movie. Since the shooting technique featured in this scene was very unique and attractive, I couldn't take my eyes off it. Anyway if you crave innocent violence or murder, please watch ASURA. You won't regret it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

this movie is so terrible and the worst film in this autumn.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

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Kim Sung-su

Director

Jung Woo-sung

Han Dogyeong

Hwang Jung-min

Park Seongbae

Ju Ji-hoon

Moon Seonmo

Kwak Do-won

Gwak Byeonggyu

Jung Man-sik

Do Changhak

The Accountant Yields a Modest Return on Investment

Asura: The City of Madness: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A shady cop becomes caught between internal affairs and the city's corrupt mayor.

Director: Kim Sung-su
Producer: Han Jae-deok
Screenwriter: Kim Sung-su
Distributor: CJ Entertainment
Production Co: Sanai Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Action
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 18, 2017
Runtime: 2h 16m

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