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| NO. 3. Starring - Han Suk-Kyu - Le Mi Yeon - Choi Min Sik. Director - Song Neung-Han. Tae Joo has one ambition, and that is to be number 1 of the Do Ka Gang. After learning of the imminent assassination attempt on Do-Sik boss of the Do Ka Gang, Tae Joo sets off to earn his stripes. Do-Sik is saved but in the process Tae Joo is taken hostage and tortured in order to gain the location of Do-Sik. He withstands and manages to flee his captors. In appreciation Do-Sik immediately makes Tae Joo number 3 in the gang. But to him this is still not good enough. He wants to become number 1. Unfortunately 3 obstacles block his path. 1. Hyun Ji. His long-suffering girlfriend, who dreams of taming Tae Joo whilst aspiring to be a world class poet herself. 2. Ashtray. Number 2 in the group and so named because of his inventive use of the common glass ashtray in gaining useful information. 3. Ma Dong. Public prosecutor and enemy to all gangs, especially the one frequented by Tae Joo. I struggled to enjoy this movie, as it never seems to go anywhere. It seems pretty pointless and insignificant. Set over 20 years the story of Tae Joo is billed as an Action/Comedy, but unfortunately the action sequences are not really action packed and the comedy is bland and unfunny. The story is basic gangster fodder and the cast seems to labour throughout, making the whole thing quite an ordeal. The lead character Tae Joo (Han Suk-Kyu) is simply uninteresting and devoid of any kind of charisma. The same can be said for the majority of the cast with one exception, Ashtray. In my opinion he would have made a much more interesting subject and more worthy of 109 minutes of my life. Some people will find No.3. to be a well scripted, expertly shot, fast paced explosive black comedy. I however found it extremely difficult to actually watch the whole thing without skimming the disc at the wall. The only reason I didn’t do this was because a friend lent me the disc ;) If not for Ashtray, I would have been much more severe with the score. 4****stars. |
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