The Drug King (2018)

I was so hyped for this movie when I first discovered its production. Song Kang-ho, Bae Doo-na, directed by Woo Min-ho. All of this combined with 70's crime? I was immediately sold. When the first reviews started coming in when subs where nowhere to be found, I got scared. Oh god, most people give it 5/10? Will this movie really disappoint? How can it be. Then it suddenly got a Netflix release. Turns out it's a "Netflix original", a title smacked on movies that are never any better than mediocre. Oh well, at least I'll have subs now. Let's watch.

I definitely understand why the reviews of this movie bombed. Did I hate the movie? No. Did I regret watching it? Not really. Was I disappointed? Quite. Most people complain about the story being all over the place. I disagree. It wasn't all over the place because it was clear at all times what was going on. The issue was that you understand what's going on, you just don't understand WHY it's going on. Such a big part of this 140 minute drag isn't necessary nor fun to watch. Reduce the running time to 100 minutes and you might end up with a lot better of a product.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone with a huge backlog. There are many movies with this cast that are a lot better. Woo Min-ho's Inside Men, Song Kang-ho's Memories of Murder or A Taxi Driver, and so on.

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Is Drug King a bad movie? Absolutely not. I like it. But there was so much potential with the cast, the backing and the subject matter that's just not fulfilled. It's mostly just a bunch of cliches and messy sub-plots that aren't fully explored. I couldn't help but just see Scarface for the shootout towards the end either. Bae Doo Na working as a more darker, villinanous (although she's not really) character which is unique and something that the movie has going for it. Song Kang Ho is as solid and predicably entertaining as the lead as always. But Jo Jung Suk as the moral character is utterly forgettable. You'd have to read the casting list to remeber that he is in the movie.

The story is entertaining and easy to watch but that's not what you want from a movie of this calibre. Just give us more with the great actors casted.

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