A group of spies, the 5446 Corps were trained by North Korean special forces since their youth, with a goal of unifying Korea. They are ambitiously dispatched to South Korea, where each disguises himself as a fool, an aspiring singer, and a high school student. Passing boring time without receiving any orders from the North, they gradually get used to life as ordinary neighbors in a small town. Due to the events of the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, South Korea demands the names, location, and rank of 30 North Korean spies active in South Korea, promising financial aid to the North on the condition that Pyongyang turns in their spies. To prevent the elites from falling into enemy hands, the North Korean government orders dozens of active duty spies to take their own lives. Meanwhile, their North Korean army instructor Kim Tae-won crosses the border to eliminate those who refuse to comply. This movie is based on a famous Korean web-toon, "Secretly, Greatly".<br/><br/>Directing skill is not so impressive.<br/><br/>Storyline is little different from the original web-toon.<br/><br/>But talent of the leading-role actor, Soo-Hyun Kim, supports the whole movie. His eyes are shining.<br/><br/>A north Korean secret spy disguises as a fool in South Korea. Such a plot makes the movie unique from other north Korean spy movies.<br/><br/>Soo-Hyun Kim's acting range from a ridiculous fool to a chic elite spy is wonderful.<br/><br/>Strongly recommended. I read a short review of the film before watching it and so expected it to be a typical Korean comedy. But it surprised me with credible drama and lots of parkour-style action as well.<br/><br/>In short, this is a film about 3 North Korean sleeper spies in the South. The first half of the film shows them in their sleeper lives and how they, especially Won (played by Soo Hyun Kim), live their dual lives. Won as the village idiot has the best role - an intelligent, highly capable spy acting as a dumb grocer's assistant. It's always a treat to see him alternate between his dual identities, though his dumb act consists mostly of falling down or off something.<br/><br/>The other characters warm your heart too. There is the musician-wannabe spy who mocks Won and his loyalty to the North, the young spy who looks up to his idol-mentor Won, the party girl whose deepest secret is her longing for her unplanned child given away for adoption, the son of the grocer who cares for and loves his mother and Won more than he appears to, and the grocer-mother who treats Won as a son despite her crusty exterior, and others.<br/><br/>The humor in the dialogue is sometimes unexpected, which is another plus. The parkour-style action scenes are short but thrilling, and the fight choreography are exciting to watch. Stories involving the different characters are told within the main story, creating subplots which are heartwarming and interesting for the most part. When the final order comes, the internal and external conflicts over it drive the 2nd half of the movie. And I loved and hated the ending for being so good and being so good it hurt that it didn't end any other way.<br/><br/>If you're looking for a comedy with heart and action, I'd definitely recommend this over the common rehashed Hollywood ones. At the very least, it manages to get the story told (and it's a long story) without too many distractions or wishy-washy segues.
Haukycas replied
295 weeks ago