Midnight Runners (2017)

Two friends who are students at Korean National Police University, find themselves in an endless race against time after they witness a kidnapping and decide to use their knowledge.

Director:

Joo-hwan Kim (as Kim Joo-Hwan)

Writer:

Joo-hwan Kim (as Kim Joo-Hwan)

Stars:

Seo-Joon Park, Ha-Neul Kang, Ha-seon Park

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Seo-Joon Park	...	Hwang Ki-joon
Ha-Neul Kang	...	Kang Hee-yeol
Ha-seon Park	...	Joo-hee
Dong-il Sung	...	Professor Yang
Yoo-ram Bae	...	Jae-ho
Joon Go
Lee Ho-Jung
Min-tae Kang

Storyline

Two friends who are students at Korean National Police University, find themselves in an endless race against time after they witness a kidnapping and decide to use their knowledge.

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Taglines:

Trainees by day. Detectives by night.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Japan]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

25 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Midnight Runners

Filming Locations:

Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Company Credits

Production Co:

Movie Rock, Sega Sammy Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Midnight Runners" marks Park Seo-joon first time playing a leading role in a feature film.

User Reviews

This year there were no other movies that made me laugh this hard

Entertaining buddy-cop action flicks have not been lighting up the screens for some time. In comes Midnight Runners which tweaks the well-trodden formula and the result is one crackerjack of a super-fun thriller. So far this year, no other movies have made me laugh so heartily.

Gi Jun (Park Seo Jun), aka Mr Action, and Kang Hee Yeol (Kang Ha Neul), Mr Germophobe-Bookworm, are two best friends at the Korean National Police University. They accidentally witness a young woman getting abducted and decide to work together to investigate it because they have learnt that time is of the essence in cases like this – even when they get tied up in red tape and find out they could be expelled.

Buddy-cop action thrillers tend to rely heavily on counterpoints to draw the two main characters – one fit, one fat (21 Jump Street), one full of action, one wisecracker (48 Hours), one nuts, one down-to-earth (Lethal Weapon). All three became lucrative franchises so you know the studios don't like to mess with the formula much. Midnight Runners doesn't re-invent the buddy-cop wheel, but tweaks it just a little, making the movie stand out like a bed of roses. It doesn't lean on counterpoints to build camaraderie. They may be opposites in certain ways, but it is the passion for doing what is right that unites them. The screen-time is devoted equally on both of them and no one tries to out- play the other. They are the perfect duo; they are one even though they are not the same. Their chemistry is undoubtedly inflatable and infectious, and they seem like they are having a blast.

Sometimes in my classes I get kids asking me dreaded questions like "What is the point of learning Calculus?" or "Am I going to use any of these stuff in life?". Midnight Runners addresses that in one pivotal scene that had me guffawing in laughter. I enjoyed the scenes of them using what they have learnt to crack the case. Writer-director Kim Joo Hwan even skewers the upper echelons of the police force and iterates the true purpose education itself in a noteworthy scene. How Kim deftly balances the dark crime with a light tone and ponderous moments is a magical act. It helps when you have such winsome characters. I think the best praise I can give it is that I sincerely hope there is a sequel in the works. Make it happen…. please.