The Suspect (2014)

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Movie: The Suspect (15)Rating: 4/5Gong Yoo is a skilled and matured actor, and I witnessed this in TRAIN TO BUSAN, SILENCED and THE AGE OF SHADOWS. I was so impressed with him that I ended up being a fan of him. I searched for more of his action films, and came across THE SUSPECT. A film with a decent screenplay, visuals and action scenes, this one definitely guarantees a watch.THE SUSPECT comes with bunch loads of surprises. These are quite effective as well. The story being a fine one and the screenplay being a decent one holds you, along with the action sequences being the best thing about the film. One thing that is disappointing for sure is that the film doesn't have a proper execution in certain portions. The film's pace could've been better in the between when it begins to slow down. Certain sequences are deftly handled, while many are just executed in an unimpressive way. I can understand that the director would've tried his best, but he has not been successful in gripping the viewer completely. Some scenes look similar to many popular South Korean action films.But these flaws flaws don't trouble you for long as the film lets go of the grip only occasionally. Once it regains, particularly in the second hour, it entertains fully with its terrific action scenes, cinematography and performances, heading towards a clapworthy climax. I was so overjoyed that I rewinded and replayed the ending scene. Here the director succeeds to a great extent.Gong Yoo is excellent, and that needs not to be told. He looks even better and manly here. Park Hee-soon is terrific, and his character is quite likable to a certain extent, just like that of Gong Yoo. Yoo Da-in is just fine, and even though she overdoes her part in a few scenes, her act is a decent one.THE SUSPECT may not be the best South Korean film, but with its stunning action, visuals and of course, its leading man, deserves to be seen at least once. I liked the action a lot, and I'll be watching it again.

Ji Dong-Cheol is a South Korean agent working undercover in North Korea. He is now suspected of being a double agent and the South Korean government want him eliminated. They send in their top counter-spy, an old adversary of Ji Dong-Cheol's. He now has to stay alive and prove his innocence.Had the potential to be an intriguing John Le Carre-style spy thriller. However, the plot is overwrought and ultimately uses style to cover up its lack of substance. Some of the acting is pretty woeful too. The Colonel was massively over-acted, to the point that even John Wayne would have found the performance over the top. Lead performance by Yoo Gong is fine though.On the plus side, some great action sequences, but that is pretty much what the director was aiming for all along - the style-over- substance approach.

THE SUSPECT follows the modern Korean style of throwing you into the middle of the action, and only then bothering to explain what is happening. Really it's two plots in one as the former Nork defector in Seoul seeks vengeance on those who murdered his family after he fled to the South, whilst he is pursued by the SK security services who want the McGuffin his boss gave him before he too was murdered. For two hours twenty this basically means an endless stream of adrenaline- fuelled chases and fights by car and on foot. They're brilliantly done, although the use of Bourne-style hyper-edited shaky-cam is sometimes annoying, but eventually exhausting and it's a relief when the film ends with a bang.

Pretty much a Korean "Bourne movie". Spies, secrets, double agents, betrayal, vengeance, action, you get it all. Solid performances from all the main cast. The writing is a bit of a B-grade but overall production values are top notch.I got two main problems with it. First one is the runtime. For such a fast paced action thriller, it's at least half an hour too long.But the main problem is the camera. It's not the usual slightly shaky style to underline the action. Remember the second Bourne movie? Yeah, well, this is worse. Much worse. In most shots, you won't know what's happening at all. They probably fixed a non-stabilized camera on a kangaroo and let him run amok through the city. My head actually started to hurt while trying to decipher what's going on on the screen all the time. Avoid if you're sensitive to these kind of things. It ruined it for me.