Review of The Man from Nowhere (2010) by Josh S — 20 Jul 2011

I watched this movie expecting a martial arts revenge film for some reason. Although revenge factored into the plot, it was not the extent of it. In regard to fighting, this movie does have a bit of martial arts, but not nearly enough to categorize it as such. It certainly wasn't the kind of movie you would see Donnie Yen or Jet Li in. The parts of the fight scenes which included hand-to-hand combat certainly added to the movie but were in no way the focus. There were even shootouts. In other words they weren't the sole reason for the film and the movie's success did not depend on the fight choreography. Actually the fighting style felt a bit like a Bourne movie.

Now that I've discussed what the movie is not, what is it? It is much closer to a crime drama. It is thoughtful with a good plot. The police are after gangs who are dealing drugs and organs and who are abducting children. Bin Won's character gets stuck in the middle when he goes after the baddies and the police are unsure of how he fits in to the big picture. I love one of the characters who is in the gang and is certainly bad but seems to still have a sense or morals or honor or something. He was very interesting to me. Bin Won does an amazing job. His moves aren't the level of Donnie Yen or Jet Li but they don't need to be. They are still enough to make me think 'wow' and his acting is spot on. This is most easily seen at one point when he has become so depressed that he is going to kill himself. As he puts the gun to his head and the camera zooms in on his face you can really see in his eyes that he has given up on life.

The Man From Nowhere is easily one of my favorite foreign films and a must-see for anyone who likes crime dramas.