My Wife Is a Gangster 3

When I watched this movie, I expected a continuation from the 2nd movie, not having previously read that Eun-Kyung Shin was either pregnant or replaced. As the other commenter noted, this film was/may have been been bought out by Miramax. This movie was good, but I expected the story to connect to the 2nd at some point, and left me puzzled. After an hour and a half, I realized that something was wrong. No Eun-Kyung Shin, no Zhang Ziyi. This movie could have been named something else entirely. Instead it is a totally different movie loosely based on gangsters, a strong female lead that can kick butt, and a goofy guy. I gave it a 6/10.

Not having seen the MWiaG "1' and "2" earlier versions this was viewed as standalone with no expectations of being part 3 of a trilogy. Story begins in Hong Kong, a gangster turf war between high style pros, a daughter is sent away for safety and chooses.....Korea. Switch to Seoul and the local mob are somewhat less slick and professional. Chinese gal and Korean gang live for a time in small house, throw in a Korean/Chinese translator who puts her own spin on the conversations, a Korean gang turf war, a hit squad, chase scenes, martial arts, swordplay, a budding relationship...A definite homage with Kill Bill and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon type action (G rated). So far so good. The downside is some highly cringe-inducing romance, why does Aryoung fall for Ki-chul anyways? And the over-the-top buffoonery.

The title of this movie is a bit misleading! I haven't seen the first two parts but what I gather that this third part is different from the earlier movies! Overall the movie is a comedy with some action in it! This is not a gangster movie! There is no real plot concerning gangs and their politics! It is about the daughter of a Chinese gangster who is accused of murdering another gangster! She has to hide in Korea under the protection of a business partner of the father! Other than this fact it has nothing to do with gangsters! Shu Qi is excellent as the main character! She is beautiful and one bad ass chick! So is Lee Beom-su as Ku Chil (from "City of violence)! He is quite the opposite from Shu Qi! The usual jokes about not understanding each other or wrong translation really gets tiresome! The subtle love story is nice and not annoying! There is just enough action to show that Shu Qi is not a girl to mess with! But satisfying it isn't! With the lack of real danger and tension the story is quite boring! In my opinion they should have put in more threatening action to compensate! Thanks to the performances of the actors this movie is quite amusing!

While not a particularly great movie, it is a watchable mix of romance (some), action (some), and humor (some).

I do have to admit, however, the translation jokes did get old after a while.

What do you get when you have the best Hong Kong movie elements mixed with the best Korean movies ? You get My Wife Is A Gangster 3.

Aryoung (Shu Qi) is in hiding in Korea because she's been marked for a hit in Hong Kong. She's under custody of Korean gang Ki Chul who's been ordered by his boss to protect her. He has enough trouble of his own as he needs to keep rival gangs from encroaching into his territory. It turns out that he's the one who's getting protection from Aryoung as she beats the rival gangs at every turn. Aryoung causes enough commotion to be targeted by the rival Korean gangs also. What would Ki Chul do to protect Aryoung ?

You really need to see this movie to appreciate how well it's made. There's action, and comedy that's pretty superb. Shu Qi puts in great performance, keeping the quality of the movie high. There are intriguing development of the story at every turn that keeps this movie going. Good action, and not so bad romance are woven into the script also.

This is one of the great action drama/comedy to come out of Asia. You really need to see it to appreciate it.