The Drug King (2018)
The Drug King is familiar and this is both a blessing and a problem. It borrows from other films by the likes of Martin Scorsese, and in doing so shows us an insight into a Korean gangster story; but by borrowing from those films it also just shows us yet again another Martin Scorsese story. Let me elaborate.
The Drug King by Min-ho Woo (Inside Men) is a film about Lee Dom-sam (portrayed excellently by Kang-ho Song, Snowpiercer) a low-life thug who ends up growing an empire distributing crank to Japan in the 70s. It's your typical from rags to riches to paranoia storyline that we've seen so many times before (Martin Scorsese has copied himself so many times its hard to find a good one these days). If you've seen Wolf of Wall Street or Goodfellas then you've probably seen The Drug King.
Story is important (hot take right there). It's the reason, for the most part, we watch a movie, and like watching a murder mystery for the second time, watching the same film over and over again gets tired quickly. So why watch The Drug King. Well for one it's the Korean take on it, so it's full of violence and nuance. Just like those previously mentioned films, the character here is actually pretty interesting, and watching him go from hero to zero (full of these sayings) is really compelling. Lee Dom-sam's performance is amazing (which is saying very little as he's amazing in everything) and he brings this character to life. He makes you want to keep watching because he can balance a nuanced goofiness when it's needed, and a genuine sincerity in other scenes, as well as sometimes just being a straight up naughty boy. He's supported by a pretty great cast as well and they all play their roles really well. It makes it all come together as a pretty interesting and gripping film. To further alleviate the repetition the film's narrative brings, this film is paced really really well. It's fast, which is both a service and disservice (I'll get into that in just a tick). But it's speed genuinely does make the 2hr and 19 minute runtime fly by. Even having to pause the film for a few minutes at a time didn't make the film drag. It still felt a good length and when it was over I was satisfied.
But, in praising it so much, there's issues. For one, the previously praised pacing is a problem. This film flies by which is great, but it also means that there's so many things that lack development. There's almost too many to go into, but let me explain one (very minor spoiler so feel free to skip ahead). At the beginning the main character has to rescue his cousin who's a bumbling fool. When he gets there, the local mob boss makes him drink a concoction of urine and alcohol so that they can go free. As expected, an hour or so later into the film, when our protagonist is the big boss man, this guy is put under his service. But we never get the redemption we need. This guy isn't punished (until really the very end, but that isn't connected) and really just seems to get away with it. This plot point was so expected, but never acted upon. There are many, and worse, cases like this and it kinda sucks. There were so many times where I was thinking "they are yet to talk about this" and sometimes they do, but way to late into the story, and sometimes they never do. It's a shame, but I think it's down to how much story is crammed into this film, and how fast it goes by. A lot does happen, and the story still felt complete regardless, but at the same time some extra development would have gone a long way.
But this film is a good 70s film. The music is awesome (a good mix of Korean and classic American music from the time) and really helps to make the atmosphere believable. The cinematography is also pretty good, fits in well with the theme and times. The editing on the other hand often leaves something to be desired. There's a lot of quick cuts when there shouldn't be, and a lot of just poor editing choices. Otherwise technically this film is pretty decent.
Look, I think ultimately this film is going to be for you if you like these sorts of narratives. This is through and through a period gangster movie like all the ones before it. It's got some slightly more nuanced aspects with it being Korean and partially set in Japan, and it's got some great and compelling acting, but at the end of the day it's pretty standard. It's not amazing, but it's really not bad. It's good. Watch it if it looks and sounds like your kind of thing, and if you avoid it I don't think it'll matter too much. If you've seen Wolf of Wall Street or Goodfellas, you've seen this. If you haven't, then this is good too.
6/10
The Drug King by Min-ho Woo (Inside Men) is a film about Lee Dom-sam (portrayed excellently by Kang-ho Song, Snowpiercer) a low-life thug who ends up growing an empire distributing crank to Japan in the 70s. It's your typical from rags to riches to paranoia storyline that we've seen so many times before (Martin Scorsese has copied himself so many times its hard to find a good one these days). If you've seen Wolf of Wall Street or Goodfellas then you've probably seen The Drug King.
Story is important (hot take right there). It's the reason, for the most part, we watch a movie, and like watching a murder mystery for the second time, watching the same film over and over again gets tired quickly. So why watch The Drug King. Well for one it's the Korean take on it, so it's full of violence and nuance. Just like those previously mentioned films, the character here is actually pretty interesting, and watching him go from hero to zero (full of these sayings) is really compelling. Lee Dom-sam's performance is amazing (which is saying very little as he's amazing in everything) and he brings this character to life. He makes you want to keep watching because he can balance a nuanced goofiness when it's needed, and a genuine sincerity in other scenes, as well as sometimes just being a straight up naughty boy. He's supported by a pretty great cast as well and they all play their roles really well. It makes it all come together as a pretty interesting and gripping film. To further alleviate the repetition the film's narrative brings, this film is paced really really well. It's fast, which is both a service and disservice (I'll get into that in just a tick). But it's speed genuinely does make the 2hr and 19 minute runtime fly by. Even having to pause the film for a few minutes at a time didn't make the film drag. It still felt a good length and when it was over I was satisfied.
But, in praising it so much, there's issues. For one, the previously praised pacing is a problem. This film flies by which is great, but it also means that there's so many things that lack development. There's almost too many to go into, but let me explain one (very minor spoiler so feel free to skip ahead). At the beginning the main character has to rescue his cousin who's a bumbling fool. When he gets there, the local mob boss makes him drink a concoction of urine and alcohol so that they can go free. As expected, an hour or so later into the film, when our protagonist is the big boss man, this guy is put under his service. But we never get the redemption we need. This guy isn't punished (until really the very end, but that isn't connected) and really just seems to get away with it. This plot point was so expected, but never acted upon. There are many, and worse, cases like this and it kinda sucks. There were so many times where I was thinking "they are yet to talk about this" and sometimes they do, but way to late into the story, and sometimes they never do. It's a shame, but I think it's down to how much story is crammed into this film, and how fast it goes by. A lot does happen, and the story still felt complete regardless, but at the same time some extra development would have gone a long way.
But this film is a good 70s film. The music is awesome (a good mix of Korean and classic American music from the time) and really helps to make the atmosphere believable. The cinematography is also pretty good, fits in well with the theme and times. The editing on the other hand often leaves something to be desired. There's a lot of quick cuts when there shouldn't be, and a lot of just poor editing choices. Otherwise technically this film is pretty decent.
Look, I think ultimately this film is going to be for you if you like these sorts of narratives. This is through and through a period gangster movie like all the ones before it. It's got some slightly more nuanced aspects with it being Korean and partially set in Japan, and it's got some great and compelling acting, but at the end of the day it's pretty standard. It's not amazing, but it's really not bad. It's good. Watch it if it looks and sounds like your kind of thing, and if you avoid it I don't think it'll matter too much. If you've seen Wolf of Wall Street or Goodfellas, you've seen this. If you haven't, then this is good too.
6/10
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