Improved screenplay over previous installment

The major box office success of The Roundup series has brought us here to the fourth installment of the franchise, Punishment. Similar structure to the previous one, it had lesser action scenes and more towards story focus, but somehow this one is twice as much better than the lukewarm effort in No Way Out. All thanks to its improved screenplay and smoother flow of plot, it is much more cohesive than before, and the digital gambling case is interesting enough to provide a great hook for audiences. The cast is also much more favorable here, we have the return of Park Ji Hwan and his performance is simply too magnificent, till a point he almost carried the whole second half of the movie. Then we have new villains, Hyun Bong Sik is surprisingly underrated and his presence is massive even though he's just the villain sidekick, and finally needless to say, Kim Moo Yeol as the main villain is the ultimate right choice, he's freaking intimidating and quick at stunts too. Meanwhile the choice of ending is a little too weak because they've made the villain look thoughtless given how he ended up at the final fight location, but nonetheless they've regained their reputation this time around as the most prominent movie franchise in Korean action cinema.

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Superb duo and superb action

Extremely brilliant storytelling and highly intense action sequences, the director who got his fame with Kingdom series surely never disappoints with this diplomat ransom storyline. The chemistry between Ha Jung Woo and Ju Ji Hoon is impeccable as their characters went through an oddball collab to rescue the kidnapping of a Korean diplomat in a war torn country. The humor within it is subtle but cleverly implemented, and the action is packed with strong impact as they've made one of the best car fight scenes ever in the Korean cinematic history. The ending is especially tear jerking, mixing with complicated diplomatic relations while stressing the importance of media freedom and democratic society, what a meaningful action movie this is.

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So little has been done to its storyline

So much potential on the premise yet so little has been done to its storyline, let alone the style of shooting and overall structure of the drama. There's a mutant, a serial killer, bunch of thugs, and that's pretty much it, the story didn't really progress a lot despite having shorter runtime. The gore content also does look somewhat cartoonish where of course they're taking reference from that famous comicbook superhero production you know it. At least Jung Hae In and Go Kyung Pyo still did their best in their acting skills, which is the only thing appreciable in this drama.

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It's tough to even live a simple life that we've all dreamed about

Great plot arrangements and good use of every character in this clash of political ideology not particularly suited only for korea but a phenomenon happening globally. The underlying problem of this society is straightforward, it's tough to even live a simple life that we've all dreamed about under such discriminatory economic distribution. A team of distressed people trying to form a new ideology by reaching extreme means because nothing really matters anyway, and in its course, it's apparent that "bad persons" are not always too bad, and "good persons" who rule the society with wealth and power are not too good either. To relate the tragic situation, the drama is beautifully shot in dystopian fashion, battle strategies and action scenes are cinematically crafted, can't wait for part 2 to release soon!

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A whole premium ballad music video

The concept is actually nothing new but it does have the ability to uphold a high production value, despite it being quite a typical kdrama for most of the time. The cinematography is amazing, which looks like some really premium ballad music video, the calm and soothing feel is the whole highlight of the drama. The storyline has good direction but basically the logical sense can be ignored for good, fortunately it was able to capture the essence of how a public figure has to sacrifice their private lives in order to maintain their image for business. The ending is so heartfelt and realistic for both of the leads, which is intensely intriguing and delicate.

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Promising premise but less impact

Extremely mundane style of storytelling, most of the scenes were done using silent suspense but sometimes it's really a little too much for such a simple story to be stretched this long. Visuals is the stronger aspect of this movie, that seemingly permanent grease and greyish hue smudges the small suburb which doesn't look like having much of a future, it really sparks the underlying pressure for the poor to abandon their morale just to survive the unjust in this corrupted society. It's a promising premise in gritty and stylish low tone, but can't really say the same for its lukewarm impact towards the ending.

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More complex storyline, but weaker fight sequences

Guy is back again after a year, whether it is an upgrade this time around, the answer is both yes and also no. The story building is more intensive in this third installment as they go for a more complex structure of a three way conflict that involves a lot more thought process, and the implementation of the characters are great along with the flow of the story. Now onto the weakness that this movie had, which sadly should be its main selling point, the action choreography. The franchise that was known for having masterclass martial arts sequences, somehow turns out not as powerful as the first and the second movie, fight scenes here were a little plain and dull, punches get simpler and battles get shorter, which feels like a rushed production. The previous two villains also fare so much better in terms of fighting skills and the pure charisma on screen, whereas the villain here is just not that intimidating and thrilling. It also has a weird tone that relies on too much humor to push the plot forward which almost becomes a full blown comedy. Well i guess sequels are just not that easy to preserve its excellence but I hope the next installment could really do better than this.

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The meaning of meaningless life

Huge appreciation for the writer to be able to speak for every lonely person out there, providing a little meaning for the meaningless life. It may not be a lot but it's already enough for that little happiness and understanding to happen through its literal storytelling along with its heartfelt characters. Every dialogue and choice of word fits perfectly into our harsh reality, the acting is so deep down it calms every wandering soul like a true companionship. Even though it's densely packed in 16 hours of runtime, it's able to contain almost every modern societal problems out there that you could think of, and also tackling life progression at different kinds of stages. It may be tedious and tragic, but the sad and melancholic instinct within us will always ponder questions on why we exist, why am i here, while working hard to adapt into this familiar yet uncertain world. After completing this drama feels like covering in a warm blanket and having a great listener beside us, that little comfort is exactly everything we need.

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Well-chilled suspense

A really well-chilled horror film with quite a straightforward setting but the suspense buildup is extremely well refined and the pacing is highly engaging. The gore and scares are so refreshing as they have plenty of new tactics that were never seen before on screen, most of them rely on naturally occurring objects such as stones and trees. The shooting style is also pretty complex and the panning of the scenes are so good in inducing fear for shocking visuals. The most astonishing highlight is the bloody red tone that was gushing sharply with a shattering blast, those scenes were so well blended it almost tasted like some fine aged wine. This movie will definitely let you leave the theater feeling eerie at the end of the path.

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