What a fantastic movie! I was expecting a typical buddycop comedy, but it is so much more than this. This seemingly generic story brings attention to important social issues in such a masterful way that I cannot praise it enough. I hope that my review will give it at least some of the justice that it deserves.

Park Ki Joon and Kang Hee Yeol are two students of the Seoul Police Academy that could not be more different than they are. Ki Joon, Mr. Action, is hotheaded and way better at sports than at studying. Raised by his single mother, he comes from poverty and has decided to become a policeman because he cannot afford going elsewhere. Hee Yeol, Mr. Bookworm, is calm and excels at his studies. Unlike Ki Joon, he is well-off and has entered the Police Academy to stand out from his classmates, who have all gone to study science at prestigious universities.
Against all odds, the two become best friends and team up to solve a kidnapping case, overcoming obstacles such as indifferent policemen, bureaucracy, and their own lack of experience along the way.

Aside from entertaining the viewers with Ki Joon and Hee Yeol's bickering and mishaps, this story is a serious one. It reminds that the main objective of the police is to protect people and that excessive sticking to protocol clouds rational judgement and causes more suffering. Most importantly, it draws attention to human trafficking, one of the most difficult issues that our society faces today. Every minute one person gets trafficked, but few people talk about that. Please, check out the organization A21, whose goal is to abolish slavery everywhere. This a link to their website: https://www.a21.org/ You can educate yourself, donate, and even volunteer.

Park Seo Joon and Kang Ha Neul deliver brilliant performances. They have great comedic timing and are a really funny duo. Notably, their fighting scenes are realistic. The two main characters do not take ten men with one blow. The bad guys are actually stronger or at least as strong as them. It is their genuine desire to save the victims that gives the students the strength to prevail over the criminals.

Overall, Midnight Runners is a gem. It is hilarious and feel-good and makes a strong statement about the duty of policemen and the meaning of being a good person. I think that everyone should give it a try. The final scene, the one after the credits, alone makes it a beautiful story.