The Outlaws

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Matthew D Ma Dong-seok charges forward into the fray as a brutal cop! Director Kang Yun-sung’s South Korean crime action thriller The Outlaws (2017) is very cool. Kang Yun-sung’s stylish neo-noir direction looks awesome with a real gritty atmosphere. I’m amazed The Outlaws was his directorial debut as it’s so hyper stylized and refined already. I was surprised at how gory and violent The Outlaws gets with the villainous Chinese-Korean gangs dismembering people who cross them or don’t pay off their debts. Seeing how violent they are, they clearly cannot just be deported back to China, so these Korean police have to do an entire sting to mass arrest the entire gang of 26 guys all at once in a clever ruse. Writers Yang Yun-sung and Lee Seok-geun demonstrate why the police have to be strict with these ruthless international crooks, who start trouble within other gangs. It’s wild that any part of this movie was a true story. I was thinking about the Hong Kong film trilogy of Infernal Affairs and the Indonesian movie series The Raid. The Outlaws is simply fabulous and I’ll happily watch the rest of the Roundup franchise. The final arrest sequence and major martial arts duel are incredible. Editor Kim Sun-min’s slick cutting makes The Outlaws’ 121 minutes feel like 30 to me. We effortlessly go from the Chinese-Korean gangs’ crimes then back to the police trying to solve all these stabbings and dismemberment. Cinematographer Ju Sung-lim’s wide and medium shots cleanly pan around each close quarters fight, so the audience can see all the violence clearly. I was struck by the killer close-up shots not just of faces, but also the torso and arms when someone is getting stabbed, for dramatic emphasis. The dark and shadowy lighting by Choi Jong-ha looks outstanding. Ma Dong-seok is awesome as the massive and muscular Detective Lieutenant Ma Seok-do in Seoul’s Serious Crime Unit as Ma Seok-do. He effortlessly looks and acts tough. He just takes punches and stab wounds like they are nothing. I enjoyed him eating, bribing, tricking, and punching guys with ease. When he grabs a person’s entire neck or head with one hand is insane every time it happens. He’s easily charming, cool, relentless, clever, likable, and gripping as an actor. Yoon Kye-sang’s crime lord Jang Chen from Harbin, China is terrifying. His vicious knief and axe stabbings are horrifying and he’s really engaging. I was actually scared watching his heartless attacks. Jin Seon-kyu is fearsome as Jang Chen’s right-hand man, who stabs without mercy. Kim Sung-kyu is ferocious as Jang Chen’s left-hand man Yang Tae. Oh Min-ae is incredibly moving and powerful as the Garibong-dong female merchant in her lovely cameo. Ye Jung-hwa gets a cute cameo as the Airport head, who asks for the bill for the damaged bathroom. She’s Ma Dong-seok’s real wife! Jo Jae-yoon is excellent and highly entertaining as the hostess bar Boss Hwang Choon-sik, who is also buddies with Ma Seok-do. Choi Gwi-hwa’s angry police Captain Jeon Il-man is super funny. Heo Sung-tae is stoic as the calmer gang boss Ahn Sung-tae, who is called Viper or Venom. Hong Ki Joon’s Sergeant Park Byeong-sik, Heo Dong-won’s Detective Oh Dong-gyoon, and Ha Jun’s Detective Kang Hong-seok are all very funny and charming as the other police officers. Yoon Joo gets a cute cameo as Kang Hong-seok's concerned fiancée. Composer Mowg’s exciting score is really cool. Costume designer Kim Kyeong-mi opts for all leather for everyone. Nam Ji-soo does cool hairstyles for the entire cast. In all, The Outlaws is stellar with killer action and captivating acting. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/25 Full Review g j A tad overrated. This is a solid buddy cop-style action thriller film in the vein of Lethal Weapon. There's plenty to recommend if that's your thing, but it does have its issues... On the one hand the plot and sheer number of characters make it quite dense in places, and on the other it's slightly too cheesy for its subject matter and the faux Chinese accents are a bit cringey. It's in that awkward space between a serious police procedural and a Steven Seagal action film. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/01/24 Full Review Akhand T This is awesome to see .. what a great performance by actors Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/19/24 Full Review JJJJJJ J Basic. Nothing complex here. Your average action film. Nothing wrong nothing to really set it apart from its competition. Ma dong-seok always has good humor. Probably above average in that department but really did not do enough to seperate its self from the competition. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/01/23 Full Review Andy B A gritty and brutal crime thriller which drags on occasion but is kept afloat by the charisma of it's lead actor. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/25/23 Full Review Tyler G A lot of action, people going through tables, knifings, etc. as a police unit tries to round up an entire gang in a single day. Yoon Kye-sang was a great villain. Nothing groundbreaking or mind-blowing, but this is a good action crime thriller. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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