The Suspect Movie Review

The Suspect (2013)

Action packed, The Suspect will have you in a high adrenaline rush from beginning to end. This movie can be the perfect remedy for those scary cats out there, like me, who watch horror films at night and then need something lighter before going to bed to avoid nightmares. Why? Because The Suspect won’t give you much to think about, it will solely entertain your eye.

The Suspect follows North Korean Spy Ji Dong Cheol (Gong Yoo) as he tracks down the killer of his wife and daughter after being abandoned by his country. But when he becomes the prime suspect in a murder case, he will attempt to prove his innocence by uncovering the truth with the help of reporter Choi Gyung Hee (You Da In).  

The story presented in The Suspect was not something new -kind of like a Korean version of the Bourne movies. If I were to keep comparing it, it would specifically be like the Jason Bourne: Supremacy. The hook of this movie is the action; the pace is so fast, you would think the movie was only 40 minutes long, and its runtime is 137 minutes. I will admit the way the events developed wasn’t satisfying at all. Though I said this movie wouldn’t give you much to think about, it will live you with a gaping question mark in your face. This is due to the sudden beginning and its unfinished ending. Even the beginning of the movie was Jason Bourne style, because it was not a complete one. It is as if the story had started from the middle of the events, and you learn what happened before thanks to elements like flashbacks and narrations. The ending, on the other hand, was the opposite of the beginning; it was left opened, though the audience could guess what happened next. I was a bit disappointed when the conflict was resolved easily and the tension wasn’t really built after all the hyped and action created. [SPOILER ALERT: I think a better conflict would have been the search for his daughter. Too much time was spent in the content of the glasses. END OF SPOLIER] But honestly, it was hard to focus and pick one problem to follow out of the three.

Aside from the lack of storyline, the gem of this movie, the action, awarded us with some really cool scenes like the big car chance. Not forgetting the special effects and the torture scenes, which made my body cringe in unexpected ways. That was pretty believable! What was not believable and a bit dramatic was his training backstory and scenes. I know he is supposed to be from North Korea, but the setting and the graphics were over the top. Sadly, for the fighting scenes, there was too many shaky-camera scenes and so, the fights could not be fully appreciated. Still, one thing that could be appreciated was the amount of money and time put into this movie. Even San Juan, Puerto Rico appeared as a filming location -I know because it’s my country. There could have been other locations, closer locations, cheaper locations to shoot the little amount of scenes that were shot in San Juan. Flying an approximate of 17 hours and 39 minutes from Seoul to San Juan, Puerto Rico for only a two-minute screen time, now that’s what I call dedication.  

So much more could have been done with their backstory, and I mean Dong Cheol’s character. Yet I am not sure if there would have been a difference with his one-face, emotionless, spy character. The cast did a good job and they were on point, but I could not buy Gong Yoo’s role, or feel for him. I was glad for reporter Gyung Hee’ strong character, though I am a fan of the damsel in distress character. But seriously, in this movie, with its fast pace, there was no time to be saving anyone but himself. Also, you can always find a funny or stupid character no matter where, and I was happy to see Jo Jae Yun as Captain Jo play that role. Now this guy with his bubble gum playing the double side agent was entertaining. I was just waiting for something to happen to him like getting caught or shot at. Or for his infinite supply of gum to run out.

In all, the film was meant to have you entertain with its action: car chasing, knifes cutting, fist and kick fighting, shooting, running, bleeding, staring, parkouring, yelling and even some crying. Though I may not be a big fan of Gong Yoo, I will say that he looked good with short hair and that action scenes fit him. I just would have loved a more complex story. Did the action made up for it? You will be the judge of that!

My rating for this movie is: ♥