The City of Violence (2006)

I love this movie so much

Load of rubbish!!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Tae-Su (Jung), Wang-Jae (Ahn), Pil-Ho (Lee), Dong-Hwan (Jeong) and Seok-Hwan (Director Ryoo) were close-knit high school buddies in the late 80's. They loved scrapping and fighting, but it was a much more innocent time. After the mysterious death of Wang-Jae, Tae-Su returns to his small South Korean hometown to attend the funeral. But suspicions arise, and Tae-Su, who is now a hard-nosed cop, stays in town to conduct his own personal investigation into the death of his friend. He teams up with Seok-Hwan and together they tear up the town and even revert back to their old pugilistic ways. When it turns out the aggressor in all this is their old pal Pil-Ho, who grew up to be a remorseless psychopath, and who has become a successful land developer because of his corrupt and ruthless ways, it sets the stage for an epic battle for the ages. Will the hometown of these old friends become the ultimate CITY OF VIOLENCE? Find out today! The City of Violence is a highly entertaining movie, overflowing with dynamism, energy, color and visual appeal. The cinematic flourishes on a the visual level are the icing on the cake to a story about loyalty, brotherhood, betrayal and nostalgia. Not to mention remembrance and tragedy. And of course fighting. It is extremely well-shot, well-lit, and well-directed, and director Ryoo employs all manner of tactics to delight the eye of the viewer and keep them invested. What with its fast pace, you don't really get a chance to become un-invested. Thanks to indicators like this movie, South Korea has become a hotbed of film talent in recent years. The City of Violence is a great example of what Korean filmmakers have to offer, and we definitely recommend it.There are plenty of memorable moments, but from an action standpoint, the scene in the shopping district with its references to The Warriors (1979), as well as the Shaw Brothers-inspired climax, will more than satisfy action cravings. The scenes set in the 80's also stand out, with expertly-done hair and clothes, as well as music - note the song by Namee, "Eternal Friendship". Could there be some irony there? Whoever did the wardrobe for the movie should also be very proud, as characters wear very interesting clothing, which definitely matches the movie's overall colorful nature. Top the movie off with some nice humorous bits, and you have a winner.Definitely try to get a hold of the Dragon Dynasty 2-DVD set of this movie. They always do good work and they've chosen another gem for their roster of releases. We think it's definitely worth adding to your collection.

Amusingly violent and funny action story done in a style best described as film noir (plot) meets spaghetti western (music) meet Asian action film. Its the story of an organized crime detective who goes home for the funeral of a boyhood friend. Sensing something was wrong about the case he and another friend begin to investigate and find that the city they grew up in has changed and that somethings are better left undiscovered.This is a neat little film. Its not the be all and end all, but it fires along in its own bloody way for 90 entertaining minutes. The dialog is witty and is the sort of thing you wish you and your friends would come up with. The characters are also the sort of people you know and that familiarity helps make it easy for you to ride along as the plot unfolds, largely as you expect it will. The action is quite good but it is often bloody, so you may not want to watch those parts if you don't like the red stuff. This movie is a great deal of fun in the right frame of mind. Worth a look.(The film reminds me of what Quentin Tarantino might produce were he not insistent on making references and paying homage to obscure little films. Its a thought that I had prior to the end fight which reminded me, in away, of the House of Blue Leaves segment from the first Kill Bill. For the record I like the sequence here better since it plays more real and doesn't go on and on and on)

Two films for the price of one, THE CITY OF VIOLENCE: STAND BY ME by way of DUEL OF THE IRON FIST. The director's cinemanship (my term for "cinematic craftsmanship") is topnotch: he does the "gutwork" (laying the emotional groundwork that any movie worth its salt must evince) and delivers, in the end, a side-by-side/back-to-back toe-to-toe throwdown the likes of which we've rarely seen (and, like a John Woo "gun fu" classic at its best, THE CITY OF VIOLENCE does indeed deliver). The matter-of-fact murderer delivers the best line: "Your sense of right... was all wrong." If you like all-out action when it comes to on screen fight scenes, you'll love THE CITY OF VIOLENCE.

The film was decent I guess. The action sequences were okay but at times it felt like I was watching a bunch of guys who had been trained to be ninjas from early infancy. The film has almost the same set-up, roles, themes and outcome as one of Korea's great hits "Friend" (2001). The movie Friend had serious undertones and was filled with nostalgia and great action. The movie City of Violence seemed to just take the coloring and ideas of Friend and then fill in the voids with over the top action.A few minor good points: (spoilers following)The boss (I think he was a boss, the guy with the dyed gray hair) who had travelled to Osung from Seoul was a very competent actor but he was seriously underplayed with little screen time. Also, one of the key characters from the Korean film Oldboy (another great) played as one of the friends. He didn't particularly shine, but he wasn't bad. And lastly, cinematography gets an A for effort.