"Oldboy", "I saw the devil" and other samples of the genre convince us of this.
No exception and
"Without mercy". This is again a picture of revenge elevated to the rank of art.
A prominent forensic pathologist is involved in the investigation of the brutal murder of a girl. Thanks to his research, the criminal manages to detain, but then someone kidnaps the daughter of an expert and puts forward a demand. There will be no more spoilers, there will be spoilers.
Everything according to the laws of the genre – unexpected plot twists, “skeletons in the closet” of the characters, and, most importantly, the Cunning Plan of Monstrously Cruel Revenge. Wherever without it, the specificity obliges. There is a dismemberment (the main character is a pathologist, I remind you, and his work is devoted a lot of screen time), so, we can say, the picture is balancing on the verge of horror.
What the film lacks is some personality, some style. Here he loses to the aforementioned pillars of the genre. Although there is some decadent aesthetic in the final scenes, the film is mostly rather artless. However, in comparison with "Oldboy" looks unsophisticated 99% of the world cinema, so do not overstate the bar and find fault.
Result: a good, tough criminal thriller with a twisted plot. "High Art" is not expected, but it is "what is written on the packaging" - a spherical Korean thriller in a vacuum. Spending the evening to a fan of the genre is the very same. And yet, don't hurt the Koreans. They are good at making movies.
8 out of 10
Original