The Villainess

La Femme Nikita + John Woo + a bit of Quentin Tarantino + a lot of The Raid. A nice combination on the surface, but it's undermined by the fact that it's all rather simple and unnecessarily overdirected. But for the opening and the motorcycle action set piece, I'll give that fourth star without much hesitation. (18.04.2020)

My second most anticipated Korean film from the director of Confession of Murder. I liked it, but this time it lacked something for a 5-star rating (Battleship Island remains unsurpassed). Villainess picks up a strong pace from the opening and wreaks bloody havoc, alternating elements of POV and normal camera, which makes the film both more interesting and more appealing, though the normal camera suited me better. The protagonist is properly uncompromising and she’s certainly skilled, especially with the katana. There's not much room for proper fighting (they either shoot or slash). The strongest and best moment for me was the scene on the motorbikes in the tunnel where they cut each other with katanas while driving, I've never seen anything like that in my life and it's quite possibly one of the best action scenes I've seen this year. Too bad that in the middle there’s less action hence the pace, but otherwise a decently dynamic ride that I will never despise. 80% (17.10.2017)

A South Korean Nikita. Asian emotional escalation meets spectacular bloody action. Although the initial bloodbath and frenetic motorbike chase set the bar so high that the climax in the bus can’t surpass then, Byung-gil Jung convinced me that Mr. Wick still has a lot to learn. It's a shame about the overwrought narration, which is a bit confusing at first. (02.08.2020)