Actor Oh Ji-ho has a few titles on deck this year, one which includes The Prisoner, releasing locally on July 23. The film’s campaign is ramping up quite nicely with a behind-the-scenes look at Oh in training with the cast, as well as a poster gallery that hits as hard as it looks, and now we have an official trailer to boot, via HanCinema.
This one comes in the wake of a pleatora of lower-budget Korean action titles that have emerged, but this one looks like it’s got some pep in it’s step. For one, it’s directed by Yang Kil-yong, making his debut after years operating on both sides of the lens in stunts and martial arts choreography, with twenty years under his belt and credits like Musa, The Fatal Encounter, Arahan: Urban Martial Arts Action, The City Of Violence, Fighter In The Wind, The Negotiation, and Go Hoon’s period actioner, The King Of Fighters to name a few.
So what’s the skinny on The Prisoner? Oh plays a detective who lands in prison and joins a fight club after hunting his fiancé’s murderer. Sounds familiar, I know, but the trailer actually looks dope and unlike some of the cheaper, low-budget niche flicks of late, and if this one passes muster, I’d rightly recommend this one alongside hits like Revenger, The Prison and even Avengement. And hell, maybe even Kevin Chu’s Island Of Fire (known popularly as The Prisoner), because…why not?
Rounding out the cast are Jo Woon (Hitman: Agent Jun), Lee Jae-yong (Steel Rain), Jung Chan (The Concubine), Jang Young-jin (Angry Painter), and actress Son Sung-yoon (A Place In The Son), along with Seo Bum-sik (Martial Arts Detective: Chinatown), Seo In-gul (The Great Show), Wang Hwi and ‘The Korean Hulk’ Ha Je-yong, television star Julien Kang and actress Oh Seung-eun (Graceful Family).
The trailer is above, and the featurette is just below along with the poster gallery.
