EYE FOR AN EYE (2008)

Subtitles: Malay/EnglishRunning Time: 128 min. Region: AllAnamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1

Capt. Baek Sung-chan (Suk-kyu Han) is all set to retire from the police force to go in business with his friend exterminating bugs. The bugs don’t get out once you catch them and once you kill them they stay dead. An armored car heist brings him back in. The armored car company was owned by the captain’s nemesis who he has been trying to bust for years but never had enough evidence. A cat and mouse game begins with the person behind the robbery, Anh (Seung-won Cha). Anh isn’t as straightforward as the Captain. His motives are somewhat mysterious until the Baek Sung chan puts the pieces of the puzzle together. Anh has created a very intricate plan to exact revenge against the captain’s nemesis and has purposely put him in the middle.

The video is well mastered and while not a particularly colorful movie, it does purvey a gritty, realistic tone. The night scenes hold up very well without any noise in the picture.

Sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo but it’s more than serviceable. This isn’t a loud action movie but more of a crime drama so there’s no explosions and few gun shots.

Subtitles are spelled correctly and are easily read. No problems with the grammar. Sometimes the dialogue is quick and the subtitles disappear before you get a chance to read them but over all this only happens a couple of times.

No extras on the disc.

EYE FOR AN EYE is an above average thriller but leaves the viewer a little unsatisfied at the end. Han Suk-kyu plays the part of the captain great and much of the film time is spent on him. The viewer doesn’t get to know Ang (Seung-won Cga) the same way. Much time is spent on Ang’s crew without really seeing too much of him. By the end of the film you know what Ang is all about but you wind up wishing the movie was from his point of view. With all the twists and turns, Ang is exactly what he looks like.

The title makes the movie sound like an action film but this is really a crime drama. “EYE FOR AN EYE” may also be referencing a character who has an eye transplant. Without giving away any spoilers, it does add a little something thinking of it this way.

On a scale of 1-10 I would give this a 7. The acting is very good and the characters are portrayed very realistically.