Wild Card (2003)

Director: Kim Yu-Jin

Writer: Lee Man-Hee

Producer: Jang Yun-Hyeon

Cast: Jeong Jin-Yeong, Yang Dong-Geun, Han Chae-Yeong, Gi Ju-Bong, Kim Myeong-Guk, Hwang Jun-Yeong, Yu Ha-Bok

Running Time: 117 min.

Plot: Cops pursue four vicious young killers.

MGHTY PEKING MAN'S REVIEW: Four psychotic hoods are going around murdering, as well as raping, innocent people. Sometimes for money, and other times for pure pleasure. A group of policemen are assigned to the case, but the film centers primarily on Detectives Je-su (Dong-kun Yang of "Bet On My Disco") and Yeong-dal (Jin-yeong Jeong of "Guns and Talks"). One is a loose-cannon, the other is one that plays by the rules. Using whatever it takes to catch the criminals, including hints in the streets from gangsters and pimps, the cops turn the city upside down. What ensues is a downward spiral as the good guys get more desperate and crazy; the bad guys become more clever and threatening.

"Wild Card" has nothing new to offer. We've seen it all before with much more style in "Nowhere to Hide", and with more wit and perfection in "Memories of Murder" (which was release around the same time). So what's good about it? Well, it's pretty entertaining for one thing. Using mixed genres to it's advantage, which is common for a Korean film, it takes it's cliched theme and tops it off with clever comedy and romance (thanks to the drop-dead beautiful Han Chae-Yeong); but still manages to maintain a nice level of brutal action. "Wild Card", though not original, is a nicely paced crime film that's worth checking out.

MGHTY PEKING MAN'S RATING: 7.5/10