Stylish action, urgent themes boost ‘I, The Executioner’
Star Hwang Jung-min and writer/director Ryoo Seung-wan wowed Korean audiences in 2015 with their action drama “Veteran,” which went on to become the fifth highest-grossing film in the country’s history.
A little under a decade later, we finally get a sequel in the new “I, The Executioner” (the full title adds the label “A Veteran Story”), which improves upon its predecessor in interesting ways.
A few years after the events of “Veteran,” Seo Do-cheol and his team are still together, still fighting the good fight in the Major Crimes Unit. They have a new boss in Kang Soo-dae (Kwon Hae-hyo), who insists on success in his first case as head of the unit. There is a serial killer nicknamed Haechi, whose murders are predicated upon alleged wrongdoers either getting away with their actions or getting too light a punishment. He then murders them in ways appropriate to their “crime.”
This warped sense of justice has earned Haechi legions of online supporters cheering him on and berating the police for their “inefficacy.” During the protection detail of a likely next target, the team meet a rookie cop named Sun-woo (Jung Hae-in) when he saves them from a nasty predicament; needing help, they get him seconded to the unit. While Seo is dealing with a serial killer, he also has troubles at home: His son has been exhibiting violent tendencies and is sullen.
Street justice
The main reason “Executioner” is better than its progenitor is that it’s got more on its mind. Issues of street justice, the role of law, fake news, online “journalists” sacrificing accuracy for engagement, whether violent behavior can be inherited … all this and more are touched upon.
While the former installment was a pretty standard piece of copaganda with some nice fight choreography, “Executioner,” if anything, seems to actually be dealing with its own success and aftermath, particularly in influencing more films of its ilk.
Two years after “Veteran,” for example, Don Lee’s “The Outlaws” kicked off what would become the “Roundup” franchise, which is now four movies deep. Those are even more threadbare, practically flaunting their disregard for due process and their embrace of torturing suspects (they do have their superficial treats, though).
Even the musical scores of the “Roundup” franchise seems identical to “Veteran,” inspired as it is by David Holmes’ work on the “Ocean’s” franchise. “What hath we wrought?” is explored in Do-cheol’s relationship and guilt toward his son.
Another great thing “Executioner” has going for it is a nice conceit from the beginning, which is letting the audience know immediately that Haechi is Sun-woo, so watching the team of detectives actively recruit the very killer they’re hunting into the fold makes for some interesting tension. And Haechi isn’t posing as a cop, he really is one; he joined the force in earnest but became jaded by what he saw as the failure of the justice system.
Ryoo has a robust budget here, and it’s on display: a ton of extras, a breezy chase through a festival with parkour moves, a vengeful mob during a prisoner transfer, an illegal gambling raid that veers into comedy.
One of the highlights is a brawl on top of a building roof slicked wet with a layer of rainwater. Ryoo doesn’t pull back on adopting stylish additions, utilizing dutch angles, dolly zooms and a fondness for split diopters (sometimes three) that would make Brian De Palma proud.
One of the best features of the “Veteran” films thus far is how grounded Do-cheol feels. He and his teammates take turns risking stab wounds, or explain to perpetrators how low wages are for the force. A nice touch at the end shows how Do-cheol has nowhere to sleep when he gets home. Sometimes it’s a thankless job, but still he perseveres because that’s the kind of person he is. “Murder is murder,” he says, no matter how much he may whine about the paperwork.
That dogged determination comes through in “I, The Executioner.” With this trajectory, a third installment is welcome. Just hoping it doesn’t take another nine years.
