My Cultural Diet

After serving ten years in prison, Soo-hyeok is determined to turn over a new leaf and lead a normal life, and even more so after he discovers that he has a daughter. But — and I know this will come as a shock — his former gang isn’t quite so ready to let him go. And if he’s not going to work for them, well, I think you can finish that sentence. Like many genre films, you can basically see where A Man of Reason is going within the first five minutes. Director Jung Woo-sung, who also co-wrote the film and stars as Soo-hyeok, does try to inject a little something extra with the inclusion of a pair of unhinged assassins hired to take out Soo-hyeok, but their antics are more annoying than dangerous. Even so, there’s still a thrill in watching Soo-hyeok take down one goon after another, whether he’s using his fists, a nailgun, or even his car. The film’s slick, glossy look, which I’ve come to expect from Korean thrillers (see also 2020’s Night in Paradise), also makes Soo-hyeok’s quest eminently watchable, even if the story doesn’t feel all that original.

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