Both on the small and big screen mass hysteria tales are often a game-changer. Remember The “Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” episode of The Twilight Zone or Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd? And now, Magnolia Pictures’ latest release from South Korea is based on a true story where folks are again pointing fingers at one another — and it escalates to a fatal degree from there.
He has been a star for years but America’s obsession with Lee Jung Jae has been overwhelming since his Netflix hit, Squid Game. Lee’s new film Hunt, which he also directs, will come out in the U.S. on December 2nd. It takes place after a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum, when KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho (Lee) and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do (Jung Woo Sung) are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy — known as “Donglim,” a name you won’t forget after seeing this film — who is deeply embedded within their agency. When the spy starts leaking top-secret intel that could imperil national security; the two units have to investigate each other.
Pyong-ho and Jung-do begins to discover the truth slowly in this tense situation where they may be accused themselves if they fail to find the mole. In the end, they must deal with the unthinkable — a plot to assassinate the South Korean president. Lee really stands out and we can’t wait to see what’s next for this global superstar. Below is an analysis of his gripping thriller which hits many notes while echoing some Hollywood classics’ thrilling pacing.
“With all the information overload in this world today, fake news included, some people wonder if certain organizations or even governments are trying to incite us by their ideologies or whether we are made to fit into tyranny by harsh laws,” Lee said in a statement about his new film. “All over the world, endless wars exist for protecting an ideology or system or profits. Which kind of profits allow these acts of violence? False instigations have grown up until now that we accept them without questioning. Must we stand for an ideology that allows violence as a result of difference or competition? This is a movie against the bad elements of our period. Our correctly aligned conscience and a justice conscious self ought to assist in ending conflicts and violence so that these ill legacies shall not be left behind to the next generation.”
Set in the 1980s during a cold war between North and South Korea, Hunt is an intriguing story about intelligence agency conducting smoke out operation to find mole. It’s important to note however that while The circumstances around which this film is based on real events from history itself is fictionalized .The two high-ranking agents engage themselves in finding out who will source out the mole first hence leaving one with huge psychological tension as they try tracking each other down. Going through it at once with all its juicy details; such as this high-octane film can be quite difficult especially when one has got nature calling him/her.God speed!
But Park’s crucial mission of bringing in a defector goes wrong after he is given away by the mole, making him put everything else aside just to search for that defector only. Moreover, Kim has been given instructions assignment of investigating each person working within that organization without any form discrimination whatsoever.His main suspect happens to be Park and his unit. Both agents suspect themselves but there are lots more suspenseful moments as they face off against each other. And worse still their secrets come out one after the other revealing a much broader plot to assassinate the president of South Korea in incidents that are not predictable at all. I won’t tell you who this particular defector is but it’s an amazing twist that happens at the end of Act 3. Don’t miss it!
The pacing of this film echoes that of Bourne movie series. Just like most Hollywood spy thrillers, Hunt throws alot of supporting actors into the mix. It may be hard to keep track of them all, but it’s worth the effort – especially since we get a cool supporting turn from Heo Sung-tae, known to Squid Game fans as Jang Deok-su thanks to his evil, scenery-chewing performance on the show. But back to Hunt which also does not shy away from blood and gore due to its frequent action-packed sequences involving numerous explosions and gun fights happening in quick succession. Some parts are difficult to watch because of violence; all this hand-held camera work makes you feel like you’re there amidst chaos though.
Hunt has many other humane and tender moments. On the other hand, Park becomes a fatherly figure to his previously-helped younger coworker called Go Youn-jung (who plays this role superbly). However, she too is caught up in the mass psychosis of hunting for Donglin. The climax includes an amazing scene where South Korea’s president faces off.
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