Rent A Bittersweet Life (2005)

A superb Korean revenge thriller. - A Bittersweet Life review by CP Customer

This is an excellent tale of an up and coming gangster who due to a minor act of mercy has a dramatic fall from grace. It's also a neat twist on the revenge movie genre in which the lead character is not the one seeking revenge, but the victim of a revenge vendetta. If you liked Chan-wook Park's 'Oldboy' then this is well worth a rental.

Well-shot Action Thriller - A Bittersweet Life review by Alphaville

This Kim Ji-Woon film from 2005 was one of his early actioners and all the elements are in place. Beautiful cinematography and an engaging score that is part epic and part ironic keeps the viewer glued to the screen even between the set-pieces. Lead Lee Byung-Hun makes a charismatic Alain Delon lookalike who carries the movie. Just to wallow in the image as he drives around Seoul to a mesmerising score makes you realise the magic that only cinema can produce.

The film is let down by an uneven pace and a climax that stretches incredulity, but the set pieces are explosive. This is not Kim’s best, but it’s still better than most so-called action thrillers.

Entertaining Korean Crime Thriller - A Bittersweet Life review by GI

This is an entertaining Korean crime drama, violent and narratively engaging especially as the plot isn't always predictable. It has definitely been influenced by Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003) in its tale of bloody revenge. The plot is somewhat clichéd in that variations of it litter this genre and it has those dark, neon cityscape visuals that make it very contemporary. A fixer for a big crime boss is tasked with checking up on the boss's young girlfriend to make sure she's not seeing anyone else and to kill both if it proves she is. When he shows mercy the boss has him tortured but before being killed he escapes and vows revenge. There's some gory torture scenes and the anti hero doesn't get it all his way making for a moody, bloody and interesting thriller that is well worth checking out.