Solider Cop-Thriller der leider einiges an Potenzial liegen lässt.

Südkorea - Ranked

Incheon, Südkorea. Ein totes Mädchen, zwei rivalisierende Cops und eine Beförderung. Ein Fall der die Zwei über den Rand der Legalität blicken lässt. Beste Voraussetzungen für einen weiteren meisterhaften und spannungsgeladenen Thriller aus Südkorea. Doch so hochwertig THE BEAST inszeniert und gespielt ist, so überladen ist dieser. Handlungsstrang um Handlungsstrang öffnet sich und füllt die 130 Minuten Spielzeit mit jeder Menge Inhalt. Dennoch kommt reichlich Langeweile auf, denn stets scheint der Film dem Zuschauer mit weiteren Enthüllungen, Handlungen und Figuren zu enteilen. So laufen die Spannungsmomente größtenteils ins Leere, da die unzähligen Schrauben nicht ineinandergreifen wollen. Da wollte Lee Jung-Ho zu viel. Weniger ist manchmal einfach doch mehr.

Überladener Thriller, der stets den Fokus aus den Augen verliert und damit auch den Zuschauer.

Dark, humorless and bleak, The Beast tosses the viewer into a world where the bad guys are very, very bad, and the good guys aren't much better. It's not a bad formula, but here it needed some extra spice to dispell some of the well-worn clichès.

It's certainly not a bad film, doing a workmanlike job setting up the characters for their respective fates. I could have used some more action, gritty violence and maybe an original idea or two. But, that said, I was never tempted to turn it off. If nothing else, it certainly manages to keep it's grim tone consistent throughout.

Decent genre thriller that whilst being thoroughly unremarkable,and predictable, in every single way, manages to tick along on a couple of decent performances (mainly Lee Sung-min) and by being solidly made all around.

Whilst it may be 100% cliche driven, this scratches an itch that only Korea can scratch. It's a shame to see it dumped unceremoniously on Prime at a bargain price with no marketing whatsoever, films like this are an easy sell when handled right.

Solid South Korean cop thriller that feels a little overstuffed and longish. A dark film with no happy end, such is clear early on. I did like the acting a lot, though the plot itself was too much by the book of genre film making. But still, this one is definitely worth a watch.

Dark cop movie with some flaws. Entertaining but there are better ones.

60/100

At the most basic it was pleasant and entertaining.
The lack of humor and the gloomy tone are appreciated, but I admit that a more dynamic rhythm could've served it more, at least in terms of action.

But a recurring drawback is that South Korean crime thrillers are too similar to each other.

The style and atmosphere of this film, I've already seen it in others that deal with detectives and murders.
Even detectives tend to dress the same and some even act in a similar way, which makes them difficult to differentiate.

I mean, the differences are evident from their stories, but the genre beyond, its respectable quality and beyond its respective qualities, needs an urgent renovation, and not to survive, because these films do very well in their country of origin, but to avoid becoming redundant.

8/10

Solider Cop-Thriller der leider einiges an Potenzial liegen lässt.

Südkorea - Ranked

A criminal action movie about two detectives in conflict who solve a murder that shakes up the Korean peninsula.

Probably not quite a 4 star film but I really enjoyed it. Of course with it being Korean it's a bit too long, however everything is a a high standard and you never know quite where it's going.

Ho-hum.
Seen it all before , made better.
If you're bored it'll pass a few hours but you'd better be really bored.

It's dark, it's moody, pretty much everyone is doing something wrong, even if it's for the right reasons, but it stays compelling.

Not quite the film the synopsis makes it out to be, but actually the better for it.

Slickly underwhelming. [C]

A pretty tepid, paint-by-numbers attempt to join the impressive ranks of excellent Korean thrillers. Fairly slick, but lacks the spark or personality. Not a lot to enjoy here.

Watched on: Sky Cinema

60/100

At the most basic it was pleasant and entertaining.
The lack of humor and the gloomy tone are appreciated, but I admit that a more dynamic rhythm could've served it more, at least in terms of action.

But a recurring drawback is that South Korean crime thrillers are too similar to each other.

The style and atmosphere of this film, I've already seen it in others that deal with detectives and murders.
Even detectives tend to dress the same and some even act in a similar way, which makes them difficult to differentiate.

I mean, the differences are evident from their stories, but the genre beyond, its respectable quality and beyond its respective qualities, needs an urgent renovation, and not to survive, because these films do very well in their country of origin, but to avoid becoming redundant.

There’s 3-4 films in this runtime with so many plot lines. Not all these plot threads actually compliment the main storyline and at times irritatingly distract from it. Its pretty unfortunate because with a stronger focus this could have been a really solid thriller rather than the muddled mess as it stands now.

#Seoultember 2020 Nr. 5

The Beast folgt den polizeilichen Ermittlungen zweier konkurrierender Polizisten, die alle Mittel einsetzen, um einen bestialischen Serienmord aufzuklären und eine Beförderung zu erhalten.

Auf dieser Grundlage entwickelt sich ein düsterer, brutaler, aber auch spannender Thriller, bei dem die Grenzen zwischen Gut und Böse immer stärker zu verschwimmen drohen.

8.0/10

Dos policias veteranos, uno que cumple las normas y el otro que se las salta constantemente, competiran para encontrar a un asesino en serie mientras uno de los dos trata de detener al otro... Thriller criminal policiaco intenso, oscuro y muy bien rodado que, sin salirse de los canones y lugares comunes del genero, funciona y entretiene.

Dark, bleak and cruel more often that not, this film suffers from two main issues. The first is the run time, it's way, way too long (at least half an hour) dealing with internal squabbling and methodology and the other is that other than perhaps one character almost everyone is irredeemible. The bad guys are outright dreadful and the good guys are also pretty damn awful.

This film is pretty much the definition of ACAB.