“The Roundup” Theatrical Poster
Director: Lee Sang-yong
Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Son Suk-Ku, Choi Gwi-Hwa, Park Ji-Hwan, Heo Dong-Won, Ha-Joon, Jeong Jae-Kwang, Eum Moon-Suk, Nam Moon-Chul, Park Ji-Young
Running Time: 106 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Burly Korean actor Ma Dong-seok’s popularity skyrocketed after his supporting turn as a zombie bashing protective husband in 2016’s Train to Busan, leading to him featuring in a whopping 13 productions from 2017 – 2019, over half of which he was the star. While many hoped (myself included) to see a combination of Korea’s love for violent and gritty gangster flicks combined with Dong-seok’s powerful physical presence, it turned out not to be a given, with Dong-seok’s own admittance that he’s not really a fan of overly violent cinema. So while movies like Unstoppable, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, and Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos may have all been perfectly serviceable, there was always the nagging thought of how much more entertaining they’d be if Dong-seok really got to let loose.
Thankfully in 2017 director Kang Yoon-sung got the balance just right with The Outlaws, casting Dong-seok as a roguish detective in a story based on the real life Heuksapa Incident from 2007 (although The Outlaws is notably set in 2004), in which axe wielding Chinese-Korean gangsters went on the rampage throughout the Garibong area of Seoul. Dong-seok’s character played to all of his strengths – his obvious physical power, a gift for comic timing, and a quietly affecting charm underneath all of the machismo. In a period that arguably risked Dong-seok becoming overexposed, The Outlaws easily stands out as his best movie, and after a couple of years out of the spotlight (save of course, for his Hollywood debut in Marvel’s The Eternals) it’s appropriate that his return to the big screen is in the sequel – The Roundup.
Director duties have been handed over to Lee Sang-yong, here marking his solo directorial debut having worked as an assistant director since 2007, including on the likes of A Single Rider and the original. Sang-yong seems keenly aware of what made The Outlaws so appealing, so in the spirit of if it’s not broken, then don’t fix it, the template of The Roundup essentially follows the same format. Set in 2008, just like in the original Dong-seok is pitted against a murdering psychopathic criminal, this time played by Son Sukku (Nothing Serious, Hit-and-Run Squad). Initially sent to Vietnam with his captain (a returning Choi Gwi-hwa – The Drug King, One on One) to extradite a Korean criminal who’s handed himself into the consulate, it’s soon revealed that the criminal’s motives are more to do with staying alive (extracted in an amusingly improvised version of the truth room, a nod to the original) than a decision to repent.
It turns out that he was in league with Sukku on a job that didn’t go as planned, and now fears for his life. Specialising in targeting well off Korean tourists for kidnapping and ransom, Sukku’s appetite to get rich is only matched by his ruthless streak, willing to break out a machete seemingly at the drop of a hat. Despite having no jurisdiction, the headstrong Dong-seok decides to stick around in Ho Chi Minh and attempt to track down Sukku. Naturally, a trail of havoc ensues. The Roundup may not break any new ground in terms of originality, however instead it chooses to do what it does exceptionally well. Sang-yong decides to take all of the best elements that made The Outlaws so entertaining, and proceeds to crank them all up to 11.
The violence and witty one liners come thick and fast, and even Dong-seok himself is the bulkiest we’ve seen him, literally looking like he could punch though a building. While the Dirty Harry style character has been extinct in Hollywood for a number of years, marred by real life police controversies, The Roundup unashamedly places its entertainment value on watching the good guys (the cops) beat the living daylights out of the bad guys (murderers, extortionists, kidnappers etc.). There’s a fundamental understanding at work that what we’re watching is a piece of cinema, and that it’s ok to feel catharsis by watching those who have done unspeakable acts of evil get pummelled on the receiving end of Dong-seok’s anvil like fists.
I’ve frequently made the point over the years that Korean cinema struggles to find the tonal balance between gratuitous violence and comedy in its productions that attempt to balance the two. The fact that The Roundup manages to be both ridiculously violent and laugh out loud funny so frequently is a testament to Sang-yong’s handling of the material, often pulling off both in the same scene. Wisely taking inspiration from the approach to Yoon Kye-sang’s Chinese-Korean gangster in the original, the scenes with Son Sukku are kept devoid of any humor, effectively establishing a real sense of danger whenever he’s onscreen, and arguably playing one of the most memorable villains in recent years.
Despite initially looking like it’ll take a leaf out of fellow actioner Deliver Us from Evil’s playbook and have the entire narrative playout in Southeast Asia, proceedings do eventually end up back on Korean shores, which allows for the welcome return of some familiar faces from the original. Amongst them is Park Ji-hwan’s (Spiritwalker, Beasts Clawing at Straws) Chinese-Korean gangster, who’s now looking to go straight by running an immigration agency giving advice to illegal residents. Ji-hwan gets some of The Roundup’s biggest laughs, as well as getting to play a key role in the finale, which sees Sukku arrive in Seoul to seek out the father of one his victims. Played by Nam Moon-chul (who sadly passed away before its release), his decision to send hired mercenaries to take out Sukku rather then pay the ransom only ends up incurring Sukku’s wrath, but also offers an opportunity to makes an arrest on home soil.
The scene when the mercenaries attempt to make the hit on Sukku in Vietnam is one of the many action highlights interspersed throughout the runtime, with Sukku and his righthand man taking on attackers from all corners in the confines of a small apartment. It’s desperate and energetic, with machetes and knives used liberally, and blood splattered practically everywhere. Dong-seok gets to go against Sukku twice, the first time briefly in the same apartment shortly after the assassination attempt, which sees a joyous amount of collateral damage as the pair go crashing through just about anything that’s breakable (and probably some things that you didn’t think where).
The second is saved for the finale, which swaps out the men’s bathroom of the original for a stationery bus (is it just me or has the humble bus seen a resurgence in popularity lately as a location for fight scenes – I’m thinking Nobody, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and of course Korea’s own Villainess). It feels like it’d be going into spoiler territory to go into the face off in any detail, but needless to say it delivers on all fronts, with Dong-seok’s hulking frame utilised to damaging effect. I’m not ashamed to say I let out an involuntary gasp at the force behind one of the kicks. To go back to my earlier comment, Dong-seok looks like he could punch through a building, and at the end of the confrontation with Sukku, that point still stands.
While The Outlaws always felt like the perfect vehicle for Dong-seok’s talents, The Roundup excels by doing the same, only bigger and bolder in almost every aspect. Naysayers may complain it’s just a re-tread of the original, a promotional piece for police brutality, or a one-sided beatdown of bad guys, but I’ll say it’s a riotously entertaining 105 minutes that balances its action and comedy beats pretty much to perfection. At the centre of it all is Dong-seok, here feeling like a legitimate leading man more than ever, and with a presence which fills the screen (both figuratively and literally) whenever he’s on it. If you thought in 2022 the only action cinema worth seeing is the latest superhero flick, do yourself a favour and check out The Roundup as soon as possible, it’s a reminder of just how much fun action cinema can be.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 9/10
Biggest success in 2022 (and in years) in South Korea. I thought it’s cinema was dead (Covid,…), I was wrong. Cool!
Come back when you’ve seen Jang Hyuk’s The Killer Paul, THAT is the real Korean action movie of the year, lol jk The Roundup was awesome, great review sir !
I took a train to Virginia to see The Roundup at the only theatre it was playing at. (Ironically the same theatre where Unstoppable was a few years ago.) The movie is definitely a satisfying romp!
As much as I liked The Outlaws, I felt like this movie is what it should have been. I felt like Ma Dong-Seok was put through the ringer more often and had greater challenges. It’s interesting to think about how this movie wouldn’t be made in today’s America as it most certainly would be accused of glorifying police violence. (It doesn’t. Just like the Lethal Weapon films don’t. It’s just entertainment.) It’s important to just look at it as the bad guys getting what they deserve like Paul says.
It was also great to see Ma Dong-Seok use more techniques. His judo and jujitsu moments were very nice and his side thrust kick at the end was golden. It was very much worth a trip from Maryland!
I’ll come back when I want.