The City of Violence is an action packed movie that runs high octane throughout. Much of the action is so over-the-top that it’s exciting and effectively entertaining. This is due to the carefully orchestrated and choreographed martial-arts / fighting sequences. Think of martial-arts pro Jung Du-hong in The City of Violence as similar to Donnie Yen‘s abilities in his wushu movies. Think of this movie as “grand” like Kill Bill.
Aside from overpopulated and outnumbered combats that set the stage for pockets of violence and blood-shed, there is some other substance in the movie. Its essentially an action-crime-drama shebang that takes a pick at the gang / friendship genre. The themes of friendship and righteousness parallel to movies like Friend and Fate. The ultimate showdown delivers as expected as per the climactic nature of the story.
Directed by: Ryoo Seung-Wan
Starring: Ryoo Seung-Wan // Jung Doo-Hong // Lee Beom-Soo //Ahn Kil-Kang
Reviews: Rotten Tomatoes // Twitch Film // Few Random Rantings // Another Plot Device
aparoo’s words: action, drama, crime, thriller, martial-arts, violence, friendship, loyalty
aparoo says 4/5
Stream: YouTube
photo credit: asianmediawiki.com // Google image search
