The Roundup (2022)

[Drunk Monk]

Some nights, ya need some Don Lee aka Ma Dong-seok’action. This is actually the second film in the Crime city trilogy. The first was The Outlaws, which I thought I saw but couldn’t find evidence of that here. It’s a gritty K-cop with comic relief. 

I’ve mentioned Lee here before. He delivers brutal action flicks that are fun in that Korean way. Lee is built like a tank and his choreo always emphasizes his raw brute force. The choreo is intense - complex and savage - with odd moments of merciless humor. Lee plows through his opponents like a bulldozer and that’s good. There’s even some wild oners here. It’s ghetto gang fights - lots of knives and hatchets. Nuf said, right?

Totally D00M recommended and this is a decent starting place for Don Lee films (although I should rewatch/watch The Outlaws. Part 3 is already in production.
 
Seen on freevee so there were ads.

[Drunk Monk]

The Roundup: Punishment



This is the fourquel. I’ve not seen parts 1 or 3 yet.

[Drunk Monk]

The Roundup: No Way Out (2023)

Time for some Don Lee ultravi goodness. His company is called Big Punch and no one - NO ONE - delivers punches as big as Lee. It’s so satisfying to watch him punch baddies. Someday I hope he makes a film where he punches nazis.

Lee returns to Detective Ma Seok-do (a play on his real name, Ma Dong-seok). He’s got a new squad and there a new lethal drug on the streets - blue pills called Hiper. It’s coming into Korean gangs through the yakuza and of course there’s dirty cops and weaselly snitches. There’s a katana-wielding yakuza fixer as an extra bonus.

This all adds up to a lot of people for Lee to punch. He moves so well, a practiced boxer, so he choreographs feints, weaves and bobs to great effect. He uses two techniques a lot, a head feint then gut punch and a side step with a jab to the flank. It gets ridiculous at the end - every sustains so much damage but it’s all entertaining if you like that sort of thing (and we do - I’ve built a career on it). 

The snitches are super funny, as are some of Ma’s squad who always arrive late, after he’s punched the crap out of everyone. They do some great set ups for interrogation where everyone has methods to turn a blind eye to Ma’s inquisition method (punching them in the face).
 
Highly D00M recommended. I think this threequel was better that the sequel.

Seen on Hoopla. Annoyingly, only an English dub version is available and they give Ma a milk toast voice.