City of Violence (2006)

"A roaring rampage or revenge.  Jonathan Trout, BBC
"Four stars. Brilliant.  Maxim
"...eye-popping...  Variety

Editor's Note A police detective returns home for a friend's funeral only to find himself--and his butt-kicking buddy--investigating the true nature of his death. Chock-full of invigorating battles, this homage-heavy martial arts film features intricate fight sequences with sword-wielding baddies, opponents decked out in baseball garb, and many more.

	Beomsu Lee
	Doo-Hong Jung
	Seo-Hyung Kim
	Seung-wan Ryoo
	Jeong-min Kim - Producer
	Jeong-min Kim, et. al. - Writer
	Jun-Seok Bang - Original Music By
	Na-yeong Nam - Editor
	Seung-wan Ryoo - Producer
	Seung-wan Ryoo - Director
	Yeong-cheol Kim - Cinematographer

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "Ryoo Seung-wan's South Korean actioner is certainly varied....[With] outrageous, face-pulping set-pieces." 11/01/2007 p.131

Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "[P]layed with good humour, hyperactive set-pieces and considerable style." 11/01/2007 p.188

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "It's really funny and exciting, the characters are interesting, the editing is creative...[and the] choreography is phenomenal..." 10/01/2007 p.125

Evil Dread 10 of 10
The City of Violence is a very stylish new Korean kind of action movie dealing with two old friends who believes that there's something fishy behind their newly departed friends death. The title of the movie pretty much sums things up and if you like watching violence and fights on screen, then this movie is a definite must see. But obviously it has a lot more to it than just violence, even though it has more than plenty of that to offer. It also deals with old friends coming together after a long time away from each other, including flashbacks to when they were young, something that made the story telling work really well. The action elements were great in the movie, but it also had a drama part that felt genuine and did a lot for the movie as well...The City of Violence is an adrenaline kick and a real roller coaster ride to watch, filled with explosive action scenes. It's truly entertaining, violent as hell, but still offers some good drama with the story telling and pacing being really good. It's a slick movie that has a great feel to it with some cool characters and a story that is interesting as well as it's intense. Sounds good? It is, so go for it.

Variety 8 of 10
Less ambitious than the recent "Arahan" and "Crying Fist," but with a more compact visceral power, "The City of Violence" harks back to the earlier slugfests of South Korea's poet of pugilism, Ryoo Seung-wan. Story of former friends who find themselves pitted against each other when a colleague is killed is basically one long lead-up to an eye-popping final battle, but gains depth and flavor from perfs by its three leads, in particular popular comic Lee Beom-su in his first villainous role...Though the plot's trajectory is simple, opening reels unnecessarily complicate things with too many subsidiary characters and detail, including a wacky flashback montage (complete with a song) showing the protags in their younger, punky days. But as Lee gradually comes to the fore in a terrific perf as the slimy Jang, the various elements coalesce, with Jeong providing some whiplash martial arts smarts and Ryoo solid as his shorter-fused sidekick...Tech elements are pro with no special gloss, and the atmosphere of the medium-sized hometown is well caught. Korean title roughly means "A Pair of Cards," referring to the Jeong/Ryoo duo. - Derek Elley