The City of Violence (2006)

Not even bad in a good way

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

One element to City of Violence in which I'm not hearing many other reviewers talk about is the self-aware sense of humor the movie has towards the typical Asian crime and revenge flicks. There is a comedic undertone present in which both pays tribute and pokes fun at these two staple genres in Asian action cinema. This tongue-in-cheek attitude is expressed appropriately and is shown exclusively in action sequences. If such scenes of comic relief were not shown during the action sequences than the stunts would come across as just being ridiculous. Thankfully the subtle comedy allows the viewer to play along with the two male leads who are highly charismatic and easily capture interest. The other portions of the movie outside the action are taken very seriously and the drama is used well to both set the tone and advance the plot. My point is I believe many viewers are missing the dynamic of the comedy working alongside the drama here, as it is balanced to create the unique style of the film. The plot is solid as well. Many questions arise within the first act which all resolve by the conclusion. The story is simple but there further elements to be discovered along the plot. Best friends, broken bonds, betrayal, and all the usual elements of an Asian revenge movie however the cinematography and direction by Seung-wan Ryoo gives everything it's own special flavor. I find City of Violence massively entertaining and am satisfied by it's strong martial arts presentation and interesting dynamic of the story-line. Definitely give it a watch. -8/10

A cop returns to his old town after the death of a friend and decides to investigate. He realises that this is not the town he left behind, new gangs have arrived and old friends have changed.The storyline is old, about justice and revenge intertwined. However, this movie does promise one thing, a spectacular fight scenes. Doo Hung Jung is someone to watch out for.The film is long and the end is quite predictable, but the fight scenes keep the movie going. Especially when Doo Hung Jung runs across town as gangs chase him. But it is the end fight scene that is the viewers greatest reward, we witness two friends with nothing to lose go to battle with swords as they make their way to the boss by going through his army of thugs. Simply fantastic.

Two films for the price of one, THE CITY OF VIOLENCE: STAND BY ME by way of DUEL OF THE IRON FIST. The director's cinemanship (my term for "cinematic craftsmanship") is topnotch: he does the "gutwork" (laying the emotional groundwork that any movie worth its salt must evince) and delivers, in the end, a side-by-side/back-to-back toe-to-toe throwdown the likes of which we've rarely seen (and, like a John Woo "gun fu" classic at its best, THE CITY OF VIOLENCE does indeed deliver). The matter-of-fact murderer delivers the best line: "Your sense of right... was all wrong." If you like all-out action when it comes to on screen fight scenes, you'll love THE CITY OF VIOLENCE.

We can say it is a Kill Bill kind of movie, but it is more an Asian 70-es kind of movie. Kill Bill is more City of violence kind of movie, although I'm sure everyone will be comparing it with Kill Bill when it reaches America - probably next year.This is not a masterpiece, but still a very good and simple movie. And there are many reasons why i liked it and only a few why i didn't. It was short, but not too short. Fighting in the movie is incredible, realistic and unrealistic in the same time. I mean it is unrealistic that a man defeat so many deadly enemies and stands after receiving so many punches, but kicks alone are very realistic. The fighting is a real thing, without special effects or ropes, and all you gotta do is sit and enjoy the fight.The best fighter in the movie is well known Korean actor Jeong Du-hong who plays a roll of a police officer Tae-su whose friend has been killed. He decides to find the killer and gets help from other friends from the past but he will soon realize that the killer is actually one of his friends - Pil-ho. That fact is obvious from the beginning of the movie but don't spoil the movie. In fact, it is interesting to watch the game of Pil-ho who is now a gangster and wait for his end as we have waited for Bill to die in Kill Bill (now I'm comparing them myself)Five friends are main characters in this movie which tells a story about their showdown in present and friendship in past. Drama part of the movie is not done perfectly but everyone should get the point. The Director Ryoo Seung-wan also did Crying Fist, more dramatic and longer movie but there must be something the same about this two films because i love them both very much. And the next thing to do is to find other Ryoo Seung-wan movies like No Blood no tears, and Die bad and see if this is really another great Korean director as Chan-wook Park and Ki-duk Kim.As for City of Violence, if you like fighting you shouldn't miss this one.