Coming off like a combination of Oldboy, The Raid: Redemption, La Femme Nikita, Kill Bill, and the Jason Bourne franchise, 2017’s The Villainess, a South Korean film co-written and directed by Byung-gil Jung, is an action packed adrenaline ride that carves out an interesting angle within the genre.
Opening with a mostly first person action sequence, it is intensely claustrophobic, showing a supremely talented killing machine of a woman carving her way through a narrow hallway only to find herself in a room packed with another ominous group of villains. Setting the tone from the very beginning, the viewer quickly understands that there is a grace to the way the camera moves (a dynamic visual panache that is all the more impressive when you realize a good portion of it is done without computer generated effects) – though it is a very bloody flair to be sure.
The woman is Sook-hee (Ok-bin Kim), and she is nabbed by the cops soon after exacting her revenge. Seeing promise in the woman, Chief Kwon (Seo-hyeong Kim), the head of South Korea’s intelligence agency, brings her in, changing her appearance (by way of plastic surgery), hoping that she will accept her newfound home and become one of her sleeper agents.
At first more than reluctant, she eventually becomes one of the agency’s best, fusing her raw talent with her in-depth training. Pregnant upon being brought into the agency, she has a daughter, Eun-Hye (Yun-Woo Kim), while locked away from the world. But not all is what it seems, and her sordid past, as well as her unreadable new allies, may hide some mystery, danger and threats – a possible conspiracy lurking in the shadows. Will she be able to solve the enigma that is her life before it is too late?
Just one example of star Ok-bin Kim doing her own stunts in The Villainess
Finding an original way to shoot action, it almost feels like we are watching through a fisheye lens. With the lead actors putting their lives on the line, there is an authenticity to each blow, even as the story grows evermore fantastical. That is not to say that the tale is not entertaining. . . it drives things forward at an energized pace, all while spinning a web of conspiracies (by way of flashbacks) for our lead to fight her way through (and, despite a few flaws, it works for the narrative).
Zooming forward at an exciting clip, The Villainess is an all-round thrill ride. Featuring a grounding performance from Ok-bin Kim (a spy whose first priority is the well-being of her young daughter), as well as solid acting from the supporting cast, it adds another level of quality on top of the pedal to the metal action. So, don’t axe this one off your list, it is well worth chasing down.
This film is in Korean with English subtitles