Review of I Saw the Devil (2010) by Alex P — 16 Jul 2011

Another blood and pain filled revenge thriller from South Korea.

Quite over the top in its plot and it's done for the wrong reason: To make sure everyone (including the dummies in the audience) understands who all the characters stand for or what the action is supposed be teaching us. Essentially, the movie's a fable - it actually tells us what we're supposed to be learning from the movie. It actually has characters saying things like "don't become a monster while hunting a monster" (paraphrased).

The good news is that the action is gripping. Min-sik Choi is fantastic - his face has the ability to look a bit tired and (perhaps) weak and then in the next instant fill with potency and menace. Perfect bad guy. The chase is amusing and the twists run from fun to cute to hilarious.

If the movie didn't talk down to the audience it would have earned another star.