Popular reviews

• 

  Review by matthewcutchen ★★★½

  glad somebody watched leon the professional and was like “man i just want a version of this without the pedophillia” and then did something about it…

• 

  Review by The Ron ★★★★★ 21

  This film is a masterpiece in the revenge genre if you ask me. Anytime a film can evoke raw emotion in me I'll probably love it, and that is surely the case here. It's a revenge film so you get some of the typical elements within that type of film, but the filmmakers do such a great job of getting you invested in the characters you come to care deeply for them. The action sequences which are not as frequent in this film as a lot of other revenge flicks are absolutely brilliant. The acting is all spot on, especially Bin Won and Sae-ron Kim who is amazing considering her young age.

  The thing that sent this film over the…

• 

  Review by CinemaCl🎃wn ★★★★ 5

  An absolute stunner from start to finish, The Man from Nowhere tells the story of an anti-social & reclusive pawn-shop operator Cha Tae-sik whose only connection to the outside world is a little girl living next-door to him. The girl's mother is a drug addict who is later kidnapped along with her daughter by the gang she used to steal drugs from. Tae-sik is unwillingly brought into this but after finding out that the little girl's life is in danger, goes on a killing rampage to save her before it's too late.

  Although the first few minutes takes its time in setting up its characters & atmosphere but once all the groundwork is laid, not a moment is wasted afterwards as the…

• 

  Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★★½ 5

  Each person has their own preferences when it comes to "revenge thrillers.". To make a film within this genre effective for me, it must include some villains I would like to kill with my own hands and a hero (or antihero) with whom I can empathize.

  In this way, this movie succeeds in archiving this and more. Throughout its two-hour runtime, the movie never loses its exhilarating pace. There's blood, violence, and an interesting but horrifying story that hooks you in. In Lee Jeong-beom's film, he manages to maintain our attention by giving us a glimpse into the disgusting underworld and organized crime world, as well as the involvement of the police that are supposed to keep us safe. The…

• 

  Review by DirkH ★★★★ 7

  Recommended to me on my Lend me your Heart list (which can be found here)

  It does not happen often that when I watch a film that follows all the genre tropes diligently and does just about everything I've already seen before, it still manages to reach the level that this film does. This film succeeds in that because of one simple thing that is difficult to achieve in this genre: emotional involvement.

  The idea of the mysterious stranger as a hero has been done to death before and here it is no different. Heck, his backstory is as predictable as it is melodramatic. But I simply could not care less. The way he is portrayed and the way the…

• 

  Review by CinemaJoe ★★★★½ 9

  What John Wick wishes it could be. 

  Also the best knife fight in history of movies.

• 

  Review by Michael James ★★★★ 2

  An intense underworld action extravaganza about a mysterious pawn shop owner, who goes on a revenge rampage to rescue a little girl, his only attachment to outside world, who gets into trouble due to her junkie mom. The first hour of drama establishes its world, protagonists mystery & emotional bond of characters well. But later, it explodes into a fast paced action bonanza.

  Wo Bin offers a terrific & powerful performance as the mysterious grim faced ruthless man. The movie has a gripping screenplay, good cinematography, editing, music and some crazy raw action sequences. It does remind of the movie Leon, but this one is far more violent, bloody with full of Korean crime filmmaking style. A must watch for action lovers.

  ‘The ones that live for tomorrow get fucked by the ones living for today. I ONLY live for today! There’s no fucking tomorrow. Not for you wither’

• 

  Review by Ayo Edebiri ★★★★ 1

  Rewatched because I rec’d it to Gavin and because I felt like I needed a Won Bin healing in my life and I was right. 

  I love when a movie is like 90% vibes. That’s a good movie to me!

• 

  Review by Griffin ★★★★½

  Brutal revenge thriller soaked in blood, sweat, and lots of tears. Left me speechless and wet

• 

  Review by Spooky Fred 🇵🇷 ★★★½ 9

  2020 First Time Watches Ranked

  "I only live for today. I'll show you just how fucked up that can be."

  I'm a sucker for "you messed with the wrong guy" flicks. They tend to pack a lot of vicarious visceral violence and can be a particularly effective remedy for sleepy days. The Man from Nowhere certainly fits that bill. It's Taken put through an anime filter (i.e. steely loner takes on overly emotive villains) with more emotional manipulation for good measure. Fronted by the distractingly winsome Won Bin, this covers the standard redemption arc beats common to these types of films at a steady pace. Given its reputation as a megahit though, I kept waiting for a game-changing moment that…

• 

  Review by Garrett ★★★★½

  I love a well-choreographed knife fight

• 

  Review by Slig001 ★★★★½

  The Man from Nowhere breathes new life into the often told revenge story. What is essentially a small story about a recluse putting himself through hell in order to save his only friend is given depth thanks to interesting characters and a situation that hints at a much greater story of evil greed and corruption. The film focuses very much on pain - physical and emotional and while the former is often conquered, the latter hurts the deeper and really drives the narrative. Director Lee Jeong-beom augments his film with a slick aethetic and downbeat colour palette, which bodes well with the numerous sequences of bloody violence. The film does throw the kitchen sink at the tearjerker moments but somehow it manages to get away with it, and the super charged atmosphere gives it some real zip in the final third. This is a really solid piece of work and comes highly recommended to action fans.