Ajeossi (The Man From Nowhere) (2010)

There's been a dearth of Korean cinema in my life lately, but thankfully that's been rectified this week with two awesome new features from that fantastic film industry. The first was The Man From Nowhere, which combines a host of characters and events into a gripping revenge thriller centered around Cha Tae-sik (Bin Won), a reserved and mysterious pawn shop owner. When Tae-sik's exotic dancer neighbor steals drugs from her club's gang leaders, her young daughter is kidnapped and it's up to him to get her back. As a one-man-army he takes out gang lackeys, drug dealers, organ thieves, and cops in equal measure, all with the single goal of rescuing a little girl in mind.

I know I use this word a lot, but this movie is the epitome of badass. It's confusing at the start, with a number of characters introduced in rapid succession and little indication of their relation to one another. As the story unfolds, however, it becomes more and more focused, with certain relationships fleshed out and more attention paid to Tae-sik as the driving force of events. Bin Won is totally cool as your typical taciturn, dressed-in-black assassin with a secret past, a trope I will never tire of. He's got an anime hairdo and a wide-eyed, quiet guilt that each make him instantly likable. In the beginning, much of the intense action is offscreen or not clearly seen, creating an almost mythical figure out of Tae-sik, but as it progresses the violence is more and more upfront and fairly visceral (mostly watchable, though).

The Man From Nowhere is primarily a very well-made action/revenge movie, with excellent camerawork, a fast pace, and great performances from all involved. I was pleasantly surprised by the level of emotional drama, though, incorporated through So-mi, the little girl played exceptionally by Kim Sae-ron. She is a neglected, unloved child with no friends and no desire to make them until she meets Tae-sik, the only person she likes. He initially ignores her when she needs help in the beginning, but his guilt and affection take over the instant she's in real trouble and his dedication to her is quite touching, all connecting to some things we eventually learn about his background. And it's always nice when a movie has a child who doesn't annoy me to no end.

Ok. Great movie. Great job, Korea. Again.

4.5/5

Pair This Movie With: I imagine this as part of a triple feature with The Professional and Taken, since it has elements of both, and all three are totally awesome movies.