<비공식작전> 'Ransomed' Movie Review

 Comparing Ransomed to Escape from Mogadishu and The Point Men seems inevitable, as the three are considered as something like a "diplomatic rescue trilogy". They have a common theme; rescuing endangered citizens in a foreign country. And a team of two men always sets out on the mission. Escape from Mogadishu was successful despite COVID, whereas The Point Men (which I have reviewed) didn't turn out so well. Since both movies weren't for me I was hesitant to watch Ransomed. After much thought, I eventually went to the movies. It wasn't necessarily lovable, yet definitely better than its counterparts.

 Min-jun, a Korean diplomat, inevitably goes to Lebanon to rescue a fellow diplomat who went missing twenty months ago. Things doesn't go as he planned, but then encounters a mysterious Korean taxi driver there by chance and they start working together.

 The movie differentiated itself from other K-movies by actively making use of foreign actors such as Marcin Dorocinski and Burn Gorman. The fact that they had special and influential chemistry with the Korean characters was quite unprecedented. The camera actually "focused" on the foreign characters' emotions for the first time, enhancing the plot significantly.

 I also can't help but mention the lead actor, Ha Jung-woo. Other than the infrequent chemistry between the characters, nothing about the movie was special. Honestly: there wasn't much of a thrill in action scenes, everything was very much predictable, and the "diplomatic rescue" theme was already so common. But Ha Jung-woo, Korea's national actor, did his thing. There is this thing he does with his eyes that I have previously seen in his other movies; The Berlin File and Assassination. There is this moment that he takes over; it suddenly becomes quiet and in that fleeting moment, his bright, calm eyes tell a million unspoken words. As I sat in the dark theater witnessing the very unexpected encounter with that special part of Ha Jung-woo, it was all that mattered. Indeed it was unexpected, judging from how faintly the movie was progressing... I'm glad to have witnessed him again.

Review: Consists of a dazzling spoonful of Ha Jung-woo, but nothing else.