Veteran (2015) | Movie REVIEW

-Rating 7/10-

This, my darlings is a movie recommendation for those of all ages.

“어이가 없네” pronounced eo-i-ga ob-ne. A famous line from this movie that translates into “it’s ridiculous/nonsense”

(I really do like reenacting that scene…his facial expression is just right)

Starring:

Hwang Jung Min– as Your super cool police detective, Seo Do Cheol

Yoo Ah In– as Hot, arrogant and mega rich Jo Tae Oh (he’s hot because he’s bad haha)

Ultimately, this movie follows the typical Korean style story of a humble and intelligent working class man against a world of corruption in politics and business.
There are just so many stories like this in the Korean entertainment industry that it sort of grows on you. It also makes me wonder just how relatable these fiction movies are in Korea for the general public to accept and enjoy movies based on corrupted officials being exposed by an ordinary hero…every. single. year.

(I suppose looking at South Korean news answers my question)

I mean in the west, there really aren’t many movies with such a political/detective storyline that it hits the box-office and then the hearts of the people. However, Veteran, has done exactly that by gaining a respectable position as one of the highest earning movies in Korea ($70+ million). I have been recommended this movie by several Korean friends but it wasn’t until recently when my boredom finally allowed me to watch it.

Good vs Bad, Big man vs Small man, veteran Detective vs criminal CEO

The rivalry really kicks off when a close friend of detective, Seo DoCheol, is put into ICU after a ‘suicide attempt’ for failing to earn his rightful wages by a large company. Officials and the media leave the case as a suicide attempt without probing further into the reasons why.

Our detective is known for his radical, rather violent (Mr Hwang really likes playing violent, check ‘violent prosecutor’ movie) ways of dealing with criminals which obviously makes him the better investigator (No sarcasm). He likes to break certain rules (of keeping the peace) to attain his ultimate goal, a better, safer Korea.

We then learn about how people in power can abuse the law and get away with it. In particular, RICH and powerful MEN.

The mission to catch CEO TaeOh is accompanied by sneaky tactics and insights into police networking (very dramatic). Even if this theme doesn’t appeal to you, there is no doubt you will be hooked. Although the deeper morals of the movie is serious, Veteran misses no opportunity to add in some humour. If you heart isn’t racing from the action and drama then your heart will be certainly racing from the good looking actors.

One thing to note is the amount of noise in this movie. It is loud and contains the sounds of people shouting and screaming and yelling. If you like anime then the unnecessary exaggeration of expressing ones emotion shouldn’t be a problem. Though, I really am grateful that in real life people don’t scream at every situations thrown at them, good or bad.

Watch the trailer and be enticed into watching the whole movie

The need for justice will be rooted in your heart just as much as our veteran detective.

Have a movie/drama that you enjoyed watching recently? comment down and let me know (can’t keep all the good stuff to yourself now can we haha).

Until next time…BIG SIS out