Hostage (2021)

NEW CONCEPT WITH POTENTIAL ACTOR!

Well, if starting with the cast, Mr. Hwang Jung Min totally nailed his role! It really looked liked he was kidnapped.

The story started normally like he was kidnapped and slowly it unfolded that they were really tough bastards and then like any other kidnapping movie, he tries to run and confuse the assailants but his every move was nerve-wracking and at some points, he mimicked his famous dialogue from his famous movies in the very tense situation, that scenes were totally over the top.

Overall, all the actors did a great job but there was a little bit of problem with the police, first of all, it showed police as really weak and not able to catch them properly while the actor is powerful and gives the tough fight and the second problem was villain character looked little weak....

Otherwise, the suspense-packed movie with a little tense comedy...

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No honor among thieves or kidnappers

Hostage: Missing Celebrity attempted to be an edgy kidnapping story using Hwang Jung Min to play himself as the victim. With uneven casting and an otherwise formulaic story it over relied on its star to create an intriguing film.

Hwang Jung Min played himself in the film which was a rather odd meta-angle. While his actual movies were mentioned, the character was clearly fictional. Hwang is shown as being humble, good to his employee, and shops just like the little people do at a convenience store. Upon leaving the store he finds three hooligans sitting on his expensive car and that is where his troubles begin. When he awakens tied to a chair, Hwang realizes that the kidnappers have not covered their faces which means they likely plan to kill him and another kidnap victim after they receive the ransoms. He puts his movie experience playing characters in precarious situations into action. Before long, the kidnappers come to understand that snatching someone famous puts more pressure on the police to find the missing movie star quickly and the countdown is sped up.

Hwang gave a superb performance as a wealthy actor who lived a comfortable life suddenly being thrust into a dire situation. He portrayed a wide range of emotions as the kidnappers delighted in physically and emotionally tormenting him. He also showed the character’s frustration and resiliency when he tried to escape and when those efforts failed, used the age-old ploy of turning the kidnappers against each other. Ban So Yeon played a young woman whose life was in the balance due to her kidnapped boss being brutally murdered and dismembered after failing to come up with their ransom. She gave Hwang an ally and someone to protect as well. The actress didn’t have much to do but look scared and stick close to Hwang. When using a familiar story formula, a captivating villain is a must. Unfortunately, Kim Jae Beom as the lead villain gave a rather lackluster performance as the murderous psychopath capable of almost anything. Ryu Kyung Soo and Lee Ho Jung weren’t afraid to chew on the scenery in their roles as villainous lovers. The police officers as well as the other villains were largely forgettable.

Though the running time was only 90 minutes it seemed longer as the story became redundant especially near the end. Most of the time those faults were often overcome by Hwang’s onscreen charisma and the rapid pace of the action. The film would have been greatly strengthened had Hwang been given an equally engaging actor to spar with. If the kidnappers had been driven to their cruelty by pertinent and timely social issues it would have added depth to the story, too. They were for the most part thinly drawn psychopaths who worked together in targeting expensive car owners. Hostage: Missing Celebrity for the most part was an entertaining if flawed movie that relied too heavily on its star to conceal the missing thriller aspect of this thriller.

11/23/23

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interesting movie

The movie doesn’t take long for the action to kick in. The intro is fairly quick and the kidnapping takes place within 10 minutes of the movie’s start. Also, there were some humorous scenes to keep the movie from going too serious. There weren’t too much of the comedic elements, but just when it felt like it was needed, they had them.

If you know me, Hwang Jung-Min is one of my favorite actors, and he was great as always. In the production trailer, he stated that it was really hard to play himself, and that a lot of people assumes that it should be easy to play oneself. However, he states that it’s actually really hard, as he’s never actually been kidnapped before.

But then again, I feel like that also doesn’t really make sense either, as you can play the role as if you, yourself were to be kidnapped. Like what would you do if you were in the situation, in real life? Nevertheless, he did great in the role, and who else better to play Hwang Jung-Min, than Hwang Jung-Min himself?

And because he played himself, it brought a new sense of thrill that’s unseen in other movies. It brought a new element to the film, breaking the fourth wall in a new way, or possibly the fifth or sixth? Anyways, it wasn’t just Hwang Jung-Min that was great, but the other roles were casted very well as well.

The main antagonist, Kim Jae-Bum, was a perfect fit for the boss role, and his acting was chillingly good. There’s something really freaky about him and his expressions; it’s hard to put into words, but there weren’t much expressions on his face, but that in itself put a chilling tone to the aura that he put out. A quiet but scary, total psycho character.

There were some very obvious suspense points with the background music and camera angles/movements the movie had, which made it a little cringe and forced. I feel like they could’ve done a little better being less obvious in the emotions they were trying to deliver.

Moreover, the story itself wasn’t anything very special. It had cliches and borrowed from a lot of other similar thrillers. The movie dragged a little near the end, and I think this was the case because it felt like the story resolved, but started back up again a few times. Almost as if it was repetitively showing a resolution, only to open the conflict back up. The duration of the film is only about an hour and a half, and for a movie with that runtime to feel like it dragged, isn’t a good thing. Definitely could’ve been better in terms of the progression.

《Verdict 》:

is a thriller/chase/crime/action film that’s a pretty good watch. The movie had a good balance of suspense and action, and the biggest positive of the film was the acting performances given by the cast members. Although it lacked in the story development and progression departments, the movie was still a decent action thriller. I mean, the movie starred Hwang Jung-Min, so that in itself calls for a watch.

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