It feels strange that cop films these days are coming out of Korea rather than dear old Hollywood.
Perhaps it has something to do with the image of cops in the US being tainted by their legacy of power abuse and racial discrimination.
Either way, it’s not a great loss, since Korean cop films are fun in their own right, as evidenced by the latest flick “The Roundup: No Way Out”.
It is the third film of the Korean Crime City series, and the chronological successor of the 2022 flick, “The Roundup”.
Once more, the film follows the exploits of gentle giant and brutal bruiser, Ma Seok-do (Ma Dong-seok) who is tasked with busting an illegal drug operation in Korea.
Set several years after the previous film’s events in Vietnam, Ma and his team remain highly respected and capable lawmen.
Something’s rotten in the state of South Korea though, as a new potent drug called Hiper starts showing up on the streets and Ma has to figure out what’s up.
As it turns out, a renegade yakuza stole the valuable drugs from his crime boss in Japan, wishing to sell them to corrupt Korean cop, Joo Seong-cheol (Lee Joon-hyuk).
The aforementioned crime boss isn’t happy, of course; so, he sends his best enforcer, Riki (Munetaka Aoki) to retrieve the drugs and kill anyone in his way.
Thus, the race is on for the drugs, with both Joo and Riki ruthlessly leaving a bloody trail behind them, and Ma looking to bring the duo to justice.
Once again, the star of the show is Ma, whom you may recognise as the burly guy from “Train to Busan” and Gilgamesh in “Eternals”.
Just as with the previous films, Ma makes a convincing policeman, with intimidating beefiness that would make most cower at his approach.
Who knows why the baddies attacking him don’t think twice about running for their lives instead of battling a walking wall of muscle!
And indeed, that wall packs quite the punch. The audience is likely to feel every powerful blow that Ma throws, and he throws many.
Korean cop films have a noticeable lack of firearms, unlike their American counterparts. Seems like batons and knives are more commonplace there.
It doesn’t affect the quality of the action though, since hand-to-hand brawls are generally more exciting and visceral than gunfights anyway.
In fact, just like the previous film, only one gun makes an appearance, and even that is somewhat inconsequential.
But there’s more to this cop flick than just fistfights and car chases. Comedy is an integral part of the Crime City series and it remains true here.
Most of the comedy comes from Ma, who generally prefers not to let his fists do the talking.
For a guy who packs a lot of muscle, he also has a lot of wit. At several points of the movie, his intelligence moves the case forward more than his fists do.
Mind you, he’s no Sherlock Holmes, but Ma knows his bulky build is a psychological weapon in itself and he uses it to his full potential.
You’ll likely chuckle as he tricks criminals into spilling their secrets just by implying he’s going to deliver a beatdown on them.
But what is a hero without his villain? And in this film, there are two, though one is arguably worse than the other.
Riki is a murderous gangster just doing his job. Joo, on the other hand, is betraying his oath as a policeman for his own greed.
The film thankfully doesn’t take the cliched route of having a surprise twist villain. The audience learns early on that Joo is a murderer in uniform willing to kill fellow cops to keep his secrets.
Hence, when Ma shows up at Joo’s police station to discuss the case, you can’t help but feel anxious about what Joo could possibly do to mislead or even harm Ma.
Of course, having two villains means two separate confrontations for Ma and they are cathartic fights indeed.
If there’s any complaint about this film, it would be the lack of an actual fight between Joo and Riki, who were both pursuing the same drugs.
It’s one thing to have the hero face off with the villain, it’s quite another to see two baddies brawling with each other instead!
“The Roundup: No Way Out” is currently playing in theatres nationwide.