As a teenager, Kang Chul-joong took the bullying and abuse dished out by arrogant rich kids, but he never let himself forget it. Today he’s a prosecutor for the Seoul district attorney’s office, and that lingering resentment towards those whose financial privilege is matched only by their moral bankruptcy is the fire that drives him. For Kang, justice isn’t a day job, or even a career—it’s a calling, a purpose in existence. He’ll get his hands dirty if he has to, he’ll take the bruises that come his way, and if his gut instinct tells him, against all contrary information, that he’s got a lock on a wrongdoer, he’ll stay on them with the tenacity of a pitbull. That very instinct kicks in when Kang’s attention is drawn to Myung-sun Foundation. A board director tips him off that something isn’t right about the Foundation’s head, Han Sang-woo. Han is the son of the late Executive Director, and younger brother to the immediate heir—who is now in a coma after a mysterious car crash. More to the point, the brilliant, manipulative Han is a former schoolmate of Kang’s—the very same who subjected him to so much degradation. Like the proverbial immovable object and unstoppable force, the two must, and will, violently collide.

This is—and isn’t—a sequel to the 2002 film Public Enemy, a huge hit in Korea and an item of note internationally. It has the same director, and the same star playing a character with the same name—but this time, Kang Chul-joong isn’t a tough-as-nails cop, he’s a tough-as-nail prosecutor. The back-alley grit of the first film gives way to the immaculate, yet far more vile and sleazy, world of corporate boardrooms and high-class hotel suites. Sol Kyung-gu is again remarkable as the steadfast Kang, equal parts Charles Bronson and Mr. Spock—until the anger boils up and drives him over the edge. Jung Joon-ho is likewise outstanding as Han, delivering a performance so intense that the cinematographer swore on record that he made the cameras shake. Furthermore, veteran director Kang Woo-suk (responsible for the smash hit Silmido, at fantasia this year) took an interesting turn in handing off responsibility for two key segments to younger directors. Kim Sang-jin (Attack the Gas Station! and Ghost House, the latter at Fantasia this year) took care of the high-school flashback scenes, with Chang Youn-hyun (Some, likewise screening at the festival) was appropriately assigned the furious car-chase sequence—William Friedkin, eat your heart out.

—Rupert Bottenberg

Director: Kang Woo-suk
Screenplay: Kang Woo-suk
Cast: Sol Kyung-gu, Jung Joon-ho, Kang Shin-il, Park Sang-wook
Producers: Jung Sun-young
Distributor: Cinema Service