The Man From Nowhere

If you ride the world's greatest roller coaster over and over again, do you eventually get bored? This is the dilemma I feel I stumbled upon with The Man from Nowhere. It had all the elements and characteristics of films I love, yet every strong point was similar or identical to action films of the past. More specifically, Korean action films. Nothing new was added, nothing was really improved on, and I believe it's somewhat incredible success up to now may be largely attributed to the fact that the film is foreign. An unfortunate yet likely accurate truth. 

The moments of cliché started quite early on. Cha Tae-sik, another character with a tormented past, sits down with So-mi, a child and his only friend from the apartment upstairs. In an act of kindness in attempt to break his tough outer shell, So-mi offers Tae-sik a bouquet of white flowers. Queue a sudden flashback to darker times, and he quickly overreacts and throws the flowers to the ground. The only thing missing from that scene was the phrase 'not since the accident...'

There were further clear examples of such as the film progressed. When So-mi and her mother are kidnapped by a drug-smuggling gang, Tae-sik begins his vengeance fueled journey to save them both, while at the same time fighting his inner demons. The revenge theme could only scratch the surface of the efforts of Park Chan Wook's trilogy, and the loner turned saviour is one character development that has been used in action movies since forever. In fact, just go watch Man on Fire, the character arc is similar, and the film shares basically the same rhythm. The only difference being that Denzel may have struggled with some of the more brutal scenes here. 

It's in those scenes that do provide the film with merit. Shot very beautifully, there are a few great cinematic moments, including one memorable building jump that used camera techniques that were something special. The fight scenes were also gorgeously choreographed, and Bin Won (who plays Tae-sik) was more than capable with the physical challenge presented with him in this film. He occupied a more Jason Bourne-esque role, more common to action movies, but not Korean cinema. 

Even with skills in hand-to-hand combat, precise shooting accuracy and top notch intelligence, his ability to keep his flowing locks out his eyes during some pretty intense confrontations was what wowed me the most. A clear attempt at reeling in the sex appeal, Bin Won showed off his looks on more than one occasion, modelling in various solemn moments of the film. With such a clear attempt at pulling a female audience, maybe what we have here is one of the first examples of a Korean popcorn movie. 

Despite such marketing ploys, as a stylish action film, The Man From Nowhere is enjoyable and easy on the eyes. Yet, there's always a constant sense that it's trying to be bigger than it is. Of course it's going to harvest the dark and intense approach you get with the Korean crime genre, but with all the clichés spoken of and some out of place melodrama, it seems to be attempting to utilise all the best bits of its predecessors and add a little more. Unfortunately, just like Bin Won's hair product, that little bit more was a little too much.

Director: Lee Jeong-beom

Run Time: 119 Minutes
Released: 2010

Nationality: Korean

IMDB Rating: 7.8

My Grade:

C+

If you like this you may also like: Man On Fire