Backstabbers & Schemers

What's the common denominator for Hollywood blockbusters like The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises? They are both beaten by a Korean film (in Korea) titled The Thieves (도둑들). This heist film is currently the 2nd most successful Korean film to date behind the 2006 The Host. Since I have no knowledge whatsoever about Korean films, I was going to give this film a three-sentence review. But unexpectedly this film does go beyond some Hollywood productions and I was awed. This film is also star-studded and features stars from Korea and also China/HK/Taiwan (I can't differentiate them). Many people are already comparing this with Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven. This film is also making its American debut in Toronto International Film Festival. Secret: unlike my other post, this post is heavily sponsored by wikipedia and imdb.com, just to get those K-names right.

The story is a bit complicated but I'll try my best. So, there's Macao Park (Kim Seon-Yok), who's assembling a team from Korea and HongKong, to steal a diamond named Tear of the Sun. The diamond itself has been gone for a long time and the person who owns it, Wei Hong (Ki Gook-Seo), is a notorious gangster who's face isn't known by the public. In the Korean crew, Popie (Lee Jung-Jae) was once Macao Park's friend along with Pepsee (Kim Hye-soo) and they have a past that was quite unforgettable. In each team, the members have their own plans which actually jeopardizes the outcome of the heist itself.

It's a great year for Asian films, I guess. Earlier this year we have The Raid from Indonesia (fyi, as I'm writing this, the heavily-censored version of The Raid is playing in my local channel), a Hollywood-caliber action film. And now we have The Thieves. To be honest, my experience in the early parts of the film was a bit boring. However, later I realized that those talky parts are essential to the plot, which kinda pay off the yawn parts of the film. The actors are playing their roles superbly. I like the characters and conflict between Macao Park, Popie and Pepsee. I think that was the best subplot. And the second best was the characters Chewing Gum (Kim Hae Sok) and Chen (Simon Yam). Their characters spoke in Japanese and has a bittersweet yet satisfying end to their characters (I guess that's a spoiler). But for me the scene stealer is Gianna Jun as Yenicall. Gianna Jun--is--awesomely and insanely--sexy. She played the role nicely and cool. Gotta love her badly. The plot twist was superb and I think that was one of the great times I had in the movies where I got to hold my breath (quite literally) in order to see things unfold or happening. There's also a great action scene involving ropes and balconies (I try not to give much here). The film is greatly shot and staged, you could get lost and think that this is a Hollywood film. The film's greatest influence is definitely Ocean's trilogy with all those heists and plot twists and in some scenes, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, but I think this film has its own magnetic feeling and clever storytelling that makes this film an original film, not a rip-off. The film also maintains its light tone and doesn't get too serious because it has some great humor too. This is money well-spent. If I have to compare this to a recent Hollywood film (yes, The Bourne Legacy), I'd pick this one over that. The Thieves: rated 3.5 out of 4.

Just to make you sure, here's the trailer