Midnight Runners (K-Movie) Review
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So I started watching Itaewon Class (because apparently the entire planet watched it at some point?) and upon seeing the male lead, I got reminded of another movie in which he played as a police academy student who got involved with a large crime syndicate, faithfully acompanied by his best buddy. Yupe, a buddy-cop movie – that definitely screams ‘bromance’.
Also, this movie is hilarious AF.
Synopsis:
Park Ki Joon and Kang Hee Yeol are great buddies at the Korean National Police Academy. On the day they got booked out, the two got themselves entangled in a kidnapping case of a young lady. What followed was the discovery of an entire crime network, destroying which would be far beyond their experience. They reported their findings to the academy heads yet all they got was a cold shoulder.
And that definitely did not stop them from trying to take things into their own hands.
Genre: Drama, Action, Crime, Investigation, Comedy
Length: 1 Movie – 110 minutes
Featuring: Park Seo Joon, Kang Haneul
Personal review:
➕ Insanely hilarious. Yes, it was a grave crime and the villains are wicked, but the comedy is wonderfully blended into the pair’s adventure. I saw this at a cinema and I swear the entire crowd laughed until our stomachs split.
➕ Ah, buddy cop. Of course we have to talk about the leads’ dynamic! (else why would you bother making a buddy cop flick?) Very nice chemistry, fantastic partners! They get into trouble together, try to solve it together, then successfully get everything fixed together. No, they don’t bicker – they help each other enthusiastically throughout the whole ordeal (and somehow hilarity always ensues). I really love this. Such a pleasant dynamic to watch.
➕ Great actions, great plot surrounding a crime syndicate. Don’t worry that because this is a comedy, they take everything else carelessly. The crime & investigation were presented in a serious manner and there were some rather bloody scenes even. Oh, I digress, but both leads Park Seo Joon and Kang Haneul have such amazing abs (╯✧∇✧)╯, which we will get to see during their military training and action scenes.
➕ The acting? It’s Korea – ain’t easy to find a movie where the acting is bad, not to mention this is a thriller/crime movie. I might be generalise a tiny bit here, but when we look at Korean thrillers as a whole, the actors hardly ever screw their acting when it comes to this genre. And they keep that momentum in Midnight Runners – so you can rest assured!
➖ Negative? Hm, I can’t think of anything. Really, grab some popcorn and sit back, I can promise you’re gonna have a great time. Oh and be careful with your stomach…
Translator and reviewer at Strictly Bromance blog. In essence, she lives to indulge in plot-driven stories sprinkled with camaraderie and slow-burn drama-free romance, especially more so if they belong to adventure, mystery or supernatural genre. A trope that she always thirsts after: “Comrades who go through life and death together”.