This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Uneven pacing and ultimately quite hit-and-miss.Gu-nam (played by Jung-woo Ha) is a taxi driver in Yanji City, in China, near North Korea. Through a gambling habit, he has run up a large amount of debt. Wis wife has gone to South Korea to find a job and he hasn't seen her in six months. A local gangster then offers him a large sum of money to kill someone in South Korea. He accepts and heads to South Korea, but things don't go according to plan.So-so. The second quarter was interesting, the rest was meh. Starts slowly, then suddenly ratchets up the action, then basically becomes one long chase and ultimately fizzles out. A tighter plot, especially in the latter half, would have made it far more compelling.Decent performances all round though.

It's time to fete our Director Na Hong-jin for making a masterpiece like this. This is about his noir thriller "The Yellow Sea". His second film after a bang like The Chaser. The main success of this movie is for it's fast screenplay and some nail biting chasing scenes. Inspite of its long running time the movie tightly grips us during most of its running time.Coming to story, The protagonist Goo-nam(Ha Jeong-woo) is a Joseon(Chinese of North Korean descent)is a taxi driver living in Yenji, China. Goo-nam's wife went to South Korea for work to lift their family. She promised that she would send money to him, but there has been no money sent by her, let alone any news from her. Goo-nam really loved her and meanwhile tortured by the possibility of her infidelity in his dream, but that is not his only problem. He has lot of debts including his wife's travel fare. He tries to solve his problem with gambling, but that makes his situation worse.The debt collector often visits and questions his pride.After his fierce attitude in the gambling bar, Goo-nam is noticed by a local Korean mob boss/dog seller Mr. Myeon(Kim Yoon-seok). Myeon has a plan to solve his problem. If he goes to Seoul and kills somebody, his debt problem will be solved. Giving his daughter in the safe hands(his mother)he agrees to work. Under the instructions from Myeon, he illegally entered South Korea with other Korean Chinese.He arrives at some coastal area without much problem. He goes into Seoul while not being noticed by the law enforcement. He stays in a lousy motel room. He checks out the place where his target lives. He is clever enough to devise a good plan while spying on the daily pattern of the target during the night. He also goes around Seoul for getting any clues about the whereabouts of his wife. There is not much time left, but he still cannot find her. The time is short, and he must do the job as demanded. It's a now or never situation,the night at the freezing cold Goo-nam anxiously waits for his target to arrive at the building. And then, something unexpected happens in front of his eyes. With an unexpected twist ,He is now chased by both the police and the mobs for what he does not commits. The chasing starts, even we feel sorry for the unfortunate things happening to this inglorious bastard in the merciless world.The plot shines lightly and it turns out a mob boss in Seoul, Tae- won(Cho Seong-ha), is involved with the incident. After the involvement of police and the media far more than he has ever thought, he becomes panic. He attempts to solve his problem even before knowing what's exactly going on. This is a real critical situation, especially when Myeon comes to South Korea after the problem between him and Tae-won. Now both want Goo-nam in their hand. Reminding the chaser the good guy plays a very bad guy role here. Can't see the rage of fight with the bones. That's really a new route of violence. Thanks to the director the car chasing scene is really a nail biting high tension scene, he makes very impressive actions sequences. The camera is a little too running. And the plot changes in to unexpected twists. Overall it is really a worth watching experience. Can't wait for another movie from Na Hong Jin.

"Start your life over."Na Hong-jin, the director of the successful thriller, The Chaser, made another film two years later containing similar themes of crime, desperation, and gore. Both films have the same lead actors as well, instead this time, Kim Yun-seok and Ha Jung-woo switch places as protagonist and villain. And it works out pretty well for them. Ha Jung- woo plays Gu-nam, a poor taxi driver in the Yanbian Province (a Chinese region bordering North Korea and Russia). His wife left him and their daughter to go work in South Korea and send over money. The lack of communication from his wife for over six months has him worried and his debt only increases. In comes Kim Yun-seok's character, Myun-ga, a hit-man boss who offers Gu-nam a chance to pay off his debt and see his wife if he carries out just one hit in Korea. Gu-nam tucks away what little values he has left and hesitantly accepts, resulting in him being shipped off to Korea over the Yellow Sea. A complicated murder and chase story then begins.Just like other Korean thrillers, The Yellow Sea is gruesomely violent and puts its protagonist through many harrowing situations. The film starts off strong, with a clear idea of where the plot will lead: Gu-nam goes to Korea, kills the man he's been sent to murder, and returns. However, things don't go as planned, resulting in Gu-nam being chased down not only by the police and Myun-ga, but by another hit gang as well. At this point, the movie becomes lost in its initial story of a man trying to commit murder for money and branches off as an hour long chase film. There are literally scenes up to 15 minutes of poor Gu-nam running from a fight he's been caught in the middle of. The chase sequences consist of a lot of action, including multiple cars crashing and flying into the air, without flashy CGI. Because of these chases, the film distances itself away from the characters, or more likely, the characters run away from the film. What starts as a film focusing on the characters' lives and internal struggles, ends up having less and less to offer about the protagonist's dark mentality, and more to offer in terms of physical fights and blood gushing from a hapless victim.The Yellow Sea starts with drama and ends with mindless action. On the other hand, The Chaser is a continuous spectacle of psychological entertainment. Even so, The Yellow Sea proves that lovers of suspense and thrillers should continue to keep an eye out for Na Hong-jin's future works.

If you enjoy The Chaser or The man from nowhere, You will absolutely love this film. In fact, if you love thrillers...this is for you. The villain, is probably one of the worst villains ever, is also very funny. The main character who has questionable orals is still very likable and found myself rooting for him. The basic plot in one sentence is pretty much an assassination of a professor gone wrong. The main character find himself being chased by the police, the villain, and someone else (which I won't reveal or else it will be a spoiler.) The action scenes are so brutal but realistic. The scenes are fast and real tense. There twists are so good and fitting for this thriller. The action will keep you on the edge of your seat but your mind will be asking a few questions which will be all answered if you pay attention close enough. All the actors were excellent. The guy who played the villain was the "good" guy in the The Chaser. He played his character so well, I didn't even recognize him. His speech, mannerisms, and expressions had me believe his character. I also loved the ending which could be debated.