The protagonist is great as the untrained Cabbie Hitman that'll come correct, jutting a knife in your neck, if you ever disrespect. He also seeks his estranged wife, wanting to find out why she didn't do the dishes before she fled the delights of Joseonjok-Ville, China for South Korea? Our man eats like a pig and fights like a toughened up, slimmed down Nacho Libre. Great! Although his Bond like escapes from death and The 5-0 become irritatingly unrealistic after a while. At points this slow starting human drama cum violence-orama is so tense your butt hole might twitch like someone wanted to play Bananarama. If you can forgive the Bondisms, it's brilliant.

First The Chaser and now this, The Yellow Sea. Director Na Hong-jin is definitely a 'force to be reckoned with.' The Yellow Sea blew me away. My extremely high expectations were more than met. Heart-pounding stuff!

Na Hong-jin's follow up to The Chaser tries hard but never reaches the heights of its predecessor. I was really looking forward to it because I absolutely loved The Chaser and luckily there are many similarities. The Yellow Sea is equally grounded in a Korean way and actually turns up the level of violence and blood quite a bit. Maybe even a little too much in fact.

The performances are of course fantastic. Ha Jung-woo is unrecognizable. Had to check before I could be sure he was the same guy who played a serial killer in The Chaser. What is missing though, is emotional connection. That would've lifted the film up to a top score.

Running around stabbin' men, all wacked off on noodle snacks.

The story of a man desperate for money so he can reunite with his wife. Riddled with mounting debt, he's given the chance to wipe all that away if he does a 'hit'.

I am a fan of a lot of these Korean thrillers, even the director's own THE CHASER. The trouble here though is its all pretty generic and done before, so much so that the film is more than a little boring. It actually took me two attempts to sit through. It just feels a little cold and harsh, which I'm sure is the intention. I've perhaps just had my fill.

There's some solid action and it's predictably brutal but I was wanting more. A hint of depth.

Korean films are wowing me again and again.

Running around stabbin' men, all wacked off on noodle snacks.

If it weren't for the over the top violence, and creative fight scenes (a meat bone?! AWESOME!), I would've been more harsh on this film, because it was all over the map.

The ending was a little stale, unresolved and unclear.

It would've been a stronger film if they cut the time down and made the story more concise.

A good movie, I think my score might be hampered by the fact that I was exhausted from working on my car all day, so I was falling asleep near the end. There are some absolutely crazy chases in here, and roughly 4 SPM (stabs per minute). That's averaged over the course of a 2 1/2 hour movie too.

The story of a man desperate for money so he can reunite with his wife. Riddled with mounting debt, he's given the chance to wipe all that away if he does a 'hit'.

I am a fan of a lot of these Korean thrillers, even the director's own THE CHASER. The trouble here though is its all pretty generic and done before, so much so that the film is more than a little boring. It actually took me two attempts to sit through. It just feels a little cold and harsh, which I'm sure is the intention. I've perhaps just had my fill.

There's some solid action and it's predictably brutal but I was wanting more. A hint of depth.

For the most part an exciting thriller. Especially the chase sequences were sweet! A bit to long though.

Very solid entry into the violent, bloody South Korean revenge genre, but not as cohesive or immediate as the best from Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, et al.

Jamás lo adivinaría uno por cómo empieza, pero es una suma de Collateral, Transporter, El Fugitivo, Taken y Old Boy con algo más de acción. De manera muy coreana tiene ocasionales arranques de... ¡intimismo! ¡Bien metidos! No entiendo nada.

¿A qué nos dedicamos en occidente? Estamos perdiendo terreno con las pelis de acción, os lo digo. Esto es otro nivel.

Imprescindible y sin duda mi peli favorita en lo que va de año.

An epic crime film from Korean Director Na Hong-jin (The Chaser) that in it's almost 2.5 hour length launchs the viewer into a complex and at times head-scratching plot that only demands that you keep up with it. The tone and look is gritty and grimy not unlike David Fincher's 'Seven' whilst it's display of carnage with knives and axes (there is barley a gun in sight) is extremely visceral and at times confrontingly gruesome. 'The Yellow Sea' also sports some of the most intense foot and car chases that I have ever witnessed. Performances are uniformly engaging across the board whilst the kinetic cinematography and editing keep everything rolling along at a cracking pace. This is a damn fine thriller that comes with my rock solid recommendation.