Ryoo Seung-bum is such a fun director. His latest crime thriller reaffirms this fact with gusto in Veteran 2: I, The Executioner, which is finally available in the U.S. from Capelight Pictures and MPI Media Group.
Much of the film’s original cast reunites with Ryoo in this long-awaited follow-up to the inaugural 2015 hit, Veteran. That one chronicles an introductory into leading man Hwang Jung-min’s role as Seo Do-cheol, rough-around-the-edges detective who went toe-to-toe with a corrupt corporate thug.
Fast-forward nine years later and Ryoo’s sequel brings many of the familiar faces back into the fray, this time with a story that finds our protagonist coping with an online environment that starts to pressure-test his family while tracking down the movements of an elusive serial killer. That equation also brings aboard characters like Sun-woo (Jung Hae-in), a police officer with a relatively-known reputation for his strength and fighting abilities aside from his seemingly meek persona.
At nearly two hours, Veteran 2: I, The Executioner handily pulls you in with an energizing tale that explores all the various dimensions of this second chapter, from the case itself and the media hysteria surrounding it, to its adjacent effects on Seo’s own son who already has his own share of issues. Furthermore, the timing of a big reveal comes a little earlier than one might think, but this in no way really spoils the film’s development. Ideas are already in place by then with the story already setting certain aspects in motion, and all that’s left is the big showdown between cop and criminal.
The reinsertion of Veteran co-star Jeong Man-sik back into the story along with the main cast lends some real connectivity that contributes to the film’s freshness next to the first film. There’s a timelessness to the ease and entertainment the film brings, in that despite the film taking as long as it did to make and even amid all the talk of a U.S. remake, Ryoo’s needle on this story hasn’t missed a beat. In my view, it might have even been a good thing that we had to wait for this sequel. It keeps us appreciative for good things when they happen.
The stunt and fight scene action, shepherded by the Seoul Action School along with action choreographer Jang Han-seung (Citizen Of A Kind), is just terrific. I don’t exactly know what Hwang’s own training regimen for these films are, but he keeps in great shape enough to keep up with his co-stars. The finale is a blast to watch, but the best scene is a rooftop fight that occurs just as Seo and his team are hunting down who they suspect is the serial killer. The way the actors throw themselves into the mix, topped off with the cinematography and editing makes Ryoo’s work here another crowdpleaser, and certainly with an edge-of-your-seat third act that thrills.
If you watch enough movies, then you certainly get the hat-tip Ryoo throws in with the film’s title to late Japanese director Tai Kato. It speaks to his appreciation for the classics which has certainly helped elevate Ryoo into the director he’s become. I’ll watch just about anything this man makes whether it’s wall-to-wall action with martial arts gusto like Arahan or City Of Violence, or the kind of grounded and compelling suspenseful espionage flicks like The Berlin File or The Unjust. Hell, I did a whole piece on this man’s work back when Netflix was streaming a whole handful of his movies, and I wouldn’t mind if they kept doing it.
I’ll have plenty more to say about Ryoo in my ongoing coverage here, and that’s beyond his next adventure with espionage thriller, Humint, and his most recent award-winning high-seas crime romp, Smugglers, which I still have to catch, along with his freshman flick, Die Bad. And, obviously, you better believe I’m waiting with baited breath for Veteran 3 when that drops. In the meantime, my only other wish is that I can own this one on disc somehow, and I hope some kind boutique label out there makes that happen.