- Actors: Kim Ok-Vin, Shin Ha-Kyun, Bang Sung-Jun
- Director: Jung Byoung-Gil
- Disc Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Korean (Dolby Digital 5.1), Korean (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
- Subtitles: English
- Dubbed: English
- Region: Region A/1
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Rated: Not Rated
- Studio: Well Go USA
- Release Date: November 21, 2017
- Run Time: 124 minutes
The Villainess is a South Korean film
that takes place partially in China,
with action scenes shot with the hyperkinetic movement of many modern cult
Japanese films. Although these various elements often give the style of the
film a bit of cultural ambiguity, the revenge-laden plot is distinctly South
Korean. The story about a trained female assassin out for revenge against those
who made her also often resembles the Kill
Bill films, but the non-chronological storytelling in this film is often a
chore and it lacks a crucial element that made Quentin Tarantino’s films fun.
Even with an impressive number of action sequences, The Villainess is often more torturously bleak than feels
necessary.
The Villainess opens with a rush of
adrenaline through a first-person shot slaughter of dozens of men, even though
this sequence lacks any context until the third act of the film. And this is
how much of the film proceeds, providing the audiences with thrilling sequences
that rarely make sense until long after they have concluded. In all reality,
the narrative is simple despite its contrivances, and it is merely the way that
the story is presented that is complicated. At the center of the story is
Sook-hee (Ok-bin Kim), the assassin from the opening sequence. We soon discover
that she was trained to be a killer from a young age, and puts these skills to
use on the men she believes responsible for the death of her husband (Ha-kyun
Shun).
In the biggest
gap of believability, the story takes a turn when Sook-hee is not arrested for
her act of revenge. Instead she is offered a deal; work as a sleeper agent for
ten years for the chance to win back her freedom and a future with the unborn
child of her deceased husband. Unbeknownst to her, Sook-hee is assigned a
handler named Hyun-soo (Jun Sung) to watch over her. After a lengthy training
process, Sook-hee is moved to an apartment with her daughter, conveniently next
door to an amiably over-eager Hyun-soo. As they build a bond together, Sook-hee
becomes one of the top assassins, until she is ordered to kill someone from her
past.
I kept waiting
for The Villainess to take off as a
full-blown action-revenge film, but it doesn’t have the same dedication to the
cool factor of exploitation. Even with impressive sequences throughout the
film, such as a sword-fight motorcycle chase and an opening that resembles the
hallway scene of Oldboy amplified by
excessive violence and first-person camera work, the psychological weight of
the narrative prevents the spectacle from truly shining. Despite the
excessively violent revenge, it still feels off balance considering what the
narrative puts Sook-hee through.
The Blu-ray
release of The Villainess comes with
both the high definition disc and a DVD copy. The special features include a
making-of featurette and a trailer gallery.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 3.5/10
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