QUICK (Kwik) (2011)

Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Jo Beom-goo
Cast: Lee Min-ki, Kang Ye-won, Kim In-kwon, Ko Chang-seok, Joo Jin-mo, Kim Byeong-cheol
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: PG (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Encore Films & Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.encorefilms.com/quick/

Opening Day: 2 February 2012

Synopsis: Speed maniac messenger Gi-su receives a mysterious call while shuttling a member of a girl group to a live broadcast. The mysterious voice on the phone warns that there’s a bomb wired to the helmet and that a package must be delivered to a designated address within 30 minutes. Remove the helmet or fail to complete the mission and the bomb goes off. Caught up in a terrorist attack on the grandest scale smack in the middle of the city, the messenger and his passenger begin a race against time that their lives depend on.

Movie Review:

QUICK is an ambitious project conceived by the team behind Haeundae (a disaster film released in 2009) that has a Hollywood-styled action and locally flavoured comedic elements. It has a relatively generous budget of KRW 10 billion (approximately 1.12 mil SGD), explaining the many extravagant explosive scenes and high speed action along the high way et cetera.

The plot revolves around bike messenger Han Gi Su (Lee Min Ki) and popular idol from OK-girls A-rom (Kang Ye Won) who got involved with the delivering of parcels following a death threat to blow up the helmet if they were to defy the orders. Shortly, after the several ‘coincidences’ of the buildings and places being blown up after the delivery of the parcels, they quickly realized that they were actually delivering bombs and unknowingly became the suspects in crime and terrorism.

Both Lee and Kang are truly aesthetically pleasing, the usual flawless Korean idols these days. Their interactions, exaggerated emotions and jokes that pop up along the way crack you up in one way or another. Coupled with one of the more recognizable Korean comedians, Kim In Kwon who plays the role of a troublemaker police, it keeps you entertained for most parts of the movie. It not only delivers nonsensical jokes, it also combines the Korean culture and pokes fun at the sheer devotion of people towards Hallyu idols.

Keeping the relatively generous budget in mind, the action sequences are very intense and as the title suggests, quick. Most of the action takes on the form of the road chase or explosive scenes. One of the more memorable action sequences occurred along the high-way when Gi Su aids A-rom’s escape from the rest of the group on a moving vehicle. The combination of the comedic elements as well as the action is simply brilliant.

However, not all action sequences in the movie were as capable. Many of the explosive scenes were just a sheer display of the explosive power of the bomb, and pretty much nothing else. The high speed action on the movie train and along the train track is also done a million times in many other movies. In this respect, it is not particularly unique. It is simply an Asian version of ‘Fast and Furious’. Much of the action sequences are very high risk and dangerous, highly adrenaline fuelled which makes it pretty thrilling to watch (on this note, stay on a little more to catch a glimpse of the behind the scenes that feature many stunt actors/actresses). Then again, sad to say, it could be pretty bland and without flavour at times.

Eventually, the story leads on to a devastating realization of the repercussions of Gi Su’s past folly and unveils the mystery behind the bombings. It is an attempt to hit the second climax of the movie but it ends up a pretty patronizing conclusion. Well, at least all’s good and it’s funny till its finish.

Movie Rating:

(If you like your steak rare, perhaps this undercooked movie would be able to satisfy you)

Review by Tho Shu Ling