InsidePulse DVD Review – Another Public Enemy

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(Credit:Amazon.com)

Directed by
Woo-Suk Kang

Cast:
Kyung-gu Sol …. Chul-jung Kang
Jun-ho Jeong …. Sang-woo Han
Shin-il Kang …. Shin-il Kim

The Movie:

For the longest time, it seemed as if South Korea was the “red headed stepchild” of Asian Cinema. Hong Kong ruled the scene for most of the 90’s with their incredible Action films and Kung Fu epics. Then Japan seemed to steal the spotlight with its own Action entries and distinct brand of Horror films that took the world by storm. In the last few years though, South Korea has stolen the limelight to become the premiere Asian outlet for creative pictures.

Chan-wook Park, whose Vengeance Trilogy and Joint Security Area, has made him perhaps the most talked about Asian film maker since John Woo. Director Je-gyu Kang’s Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War is the best War film since Saving Private Ryan, and his Shiri is a creative Action entry that could match up with any Hollywood Summer flick for intensity. Finally, those that have seen Sung-su Kim’s Musa: The Warrior have sung it’s praises as the Korean Braveheart.

I would love to put Director Woo-Suk Kang’s Another Public Enemy in this wonderful group. The film has a great intensity, good performances, and great action. Unfortunately, the film is also marred by an inconsistent tone and a running time that outstays its welcome. Woo-Suk Kang is obviously a director with talent, but what he needs is an equally talented editor to help him tighten a film.

Another Public Enemy starts out like gangbusters beginning in a prep school, where we’re introduced to characters Chul-jung Kang, the film’s “everyman” and Sang-woo Han, a rich aristocrat. The sequence is told mostly without words as Han starts a fight with another prep school that looks like something out of Walter Hill’s Cult Classic The Warriors. Baseball bats and bodies fly as all the students seemingly know Kung fu. While Kang and his other classmates are punished for the incident, Sang-woo Han is given only a slap on the wrist.

We then flash forward to present day and Chul-jung Kang (Kyung-gu Sol) is now a public prosecutor. The man is driven and a maverick in his office, stretching the law to its limit to get his man. We’re given another amazing sequence as a police raid on a night club feels as if it’s a John Woo sequence without any gunfire. Again, bodies fly and Kung fu is heavily on display while cops and crooks bash each others’ heads in. To elevate the enjoyment, the tone of the film is similar to that of Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon where there is a lot of “tongue in cheek” humor to go along with all the kicks and punches.

This is also where the film, to its detriment, switches gears. We’re introduced to the now grown Sang-woo Han (Jun-ho Jeong), who is financing a deal that will make him a billionaire. Unfortunately, to put his plan into action, he has to kill his own brother and run off with billions of dollars taken from a public educational fund.

At this point Another Public Enemy goes from over the top Action film to a Police Procedural movie where Chul-jung Kang makes it his mission to arrest the corrupt Sang-woo Han. This is still handled with the same tongue in cheek type tone for most of the film, and then gets very solemn and serious, losing a lot of its energy towards the closing credits. Kyung-gu Sol has a great performance for the most part, but unfortunately is saddled with too many speeches towards what should be the film’s climax. He is given a good fight scene toward the film’s conclusion, but it’s too little, too late. The promises made by the film’s opening moments are not cashed in, replaced by too many scenes of virtuous monologues.

At 2 hours and 30 minutes, Another Public Enemy is too long by a third, with virtually no action to anticipate for the film’s final half. The film’s tone keeps it lively for the most part, but can’t keep up the momentum film makers would have liked. Another Public Enemy is always watchable, but goes on too long to be memorable.

STORY: 5/10
ACTING: 7.5/10
ORIGINALITY: 5/10
LOOK/FEEL: 8/10
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 6/10
TOTAL POINTS: 31.5/50
FINAL MOVIE SCORE: 6.0

The DVD:

The Video

The transfer here is a little off, but still passable. The contrast seems a little too bright, but not too distracting. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

The Audio

No glaring problems here either. The film’s soundtrack never really calls attention to itself, but never seems outstanding either. The track is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Featurettes, Audio Commentary, Trailers

Commentary with Director and Cast – This commentary is in Korean, so you have to turn an additional set of subtitles to understand it. It’s entertaining and not too self indulgent.

The Making of Another Public Enemy – This is a pretty standard “Making of” Featurette that really doesn’t give you enough inside info to keep you riveted.

Behind-the-Scenes: Car Crash – This is the coolest of the features, breaking down a pretty impressive car stunt. The car has to go over the side of an overpass and then get hit by an oncoming truck as it hits the road below. The moment is pretty brutal and it’s nice to see it get its own little mini doc.

Trailers for other Tartan Asian Extreme Releases – Decent selection of trailers here with the highlights being the previews for Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Other trailers featured include Heroic Duo, H, and R Point.

Score: 4.0/10

Robert Sutton feels the most at home when he's watching some movie scumbag getting blown up, punched in the face, or kung fu'd to death, especially in that order. He's a founding writer for the movies section of Insidepulse.com, featured in his weekly column R0BTRAIN's Badass Cinema as well as a frequent reviewer of DVDs and Blu-rays. Also, he's a proud Sony fanboy, loves everything Star Wars and Superman related and hopes to someday be taken seriously by his friends and family.