The Villainess (2017)

A female assassin leaves a trail of bodies behind her as she seeks revenge.

Director:

Byung-gil Jung

Writers:

Byeong-sik Jung, Byung-gil Jung

Stars:

Ok-bin Kim, Ha-kyun Shin, Jun Sung

5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ok-bin Kim	...	Sook-hee
Ha-kyun Shin	...	Joong-sang
Jun Sung	...	Hyun-soo
Seo-hyeong Kim	...	Chief Kwon
Eun-ji Jo	...	Kim Seon
Ye-Ji Min	...	Sook-hee (young)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hae-Kyun Jung	...	Jang-Chun
Yun-Woo Kim	...	Eun-Hye
Seung-Joo Lee	...	Choon-Mo
Cheol-min Park	...	Sook-Hee's father
Min-Ji Son	...	Min-Joo

Storyline

Sook-hee is a trained assassin who was born to kill. She was just a little girl when the training started in Yanbian, China. After the death of her mentor, when the chance of starting a new life was given to her, she came to South Korea as a government agent. They promised her that she will be free after ten years of service. So she begins her new life as a theatre actress. But soon two men Joong-sang and Hyun-soo appear in her new life. And she started to find deep dark secrets about her past. Eventually she take matters into her own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | hand to hand combat | katana | female assassin | revenge | 

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Taglines:

An Endless Vengeance Begins.

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Arrow Films [United Kingdom] Official site [Japan]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

8 June 2017 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

The Villainess

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,238, 27 August 2017

Gross USA:

$27,741

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,737,458

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apeitda, Next Entertainment World

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Received a four minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival.

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Goofs

The couple - of modest means - are in a restaurant drinking a bottle of Châteaux Margaux.

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Quotes

Sook-hee: Let me show you what you've made me into.

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Connections

References La Femme Nikita (1990)

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Soundtracks

Variations on a Rococo Theme
By Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User Reviews

The Villainess is a decent action film with an engaging screenplay and amazing action scenes.A Must Watch for Action film lovers.

Ak-Nyeo/The Villainess (2017):

Action Lovers definitely never misses the chance of watching any action film from South Korea.Korean Action films have huge fan following for its ultra-stylish violent sequences like The Man from Nowhere,The Chaser,Old Boy and lot others.The Villainess is one such film of 2017 where action lovers will have a treat.

Plot:

Sook-hee (Ok-bin Kim) is a trained assassin who was born to kill. She was just a little girl when the training started in Yanbian, China. After the death of her mentor, when the chance of starting a new life was given to her, she came to South Korea as a government agent. They promised her that she will be free after ten years of service. So she begins her new life as a theatre actress. But soon two men Joong-sang (Ha-kyun Shin) and Hyun-soo (Jun Sung) appear in her new life. And she started to find deep dark secrets about her past. Eventually she take matters into her own hands.

My Review:

The Villainess makes no delay and right from scene 1,it shows abundant violence which shot in POV format.the sequence tracks a lone fighter through a building full of thugs, all of whom get dispatched with bloody efficiency. Finally, the unseen figure enters a martial-arts studio with a dozen or so adversaries and a mirrored wall. Only when the camera catches the intruder's reflection does the point-of-view switch from hers to ours. For starters,this scene may make them confused with its camera angles but it really deserves applause.

After that hell of a scene,The Villainess goes in a non-linear way to reveal the past and present of Sook-hee's life and it may confuse to an extent but later it gets Ok.The major reason for the confusion is that Sook-hee's look is changed from past and present.But once the screenplay gets to the point,we can clearly see that The Villainess is same ages-old cliched revenge plot with predictable twist.

The Villainess have inventively staged action sequences, including a sword fight between speeding motorcyclists, a knife battle inside a geisha house, and another protracted single take that tracks Sook-hee as she climbs onto the hood of a moving car, leaps onto a speeding bus and crashes through one of its windows, and slaughters some henchmen with an ax before the vehicle careens into oncoming traffic.

Cinematography is so tricky but amazing at its best.Background score is an asset.Performances are amazing and especially Ok-Bin is show-stealer with her terrific performance.

SO,The Villainess is a decent action film with an engaging screenplay and amazing action scenes.A Must Watch for Action film lovers.

My rating 7/10