In a perfect world, Don Lee (aka, Ma Dong-seok) would be a bigger star on this side of the pond. Though beloved in Korea, over here he’s best known for Train to Busan and that Marvel snoozefest, Eternals. The latter was his Hollywood debut, and he stole the entire movie from his bigger co-stars.
But elsewhere, he’s been the kickass star of some really great action films, such as The Roundup franchise, where he plays a big, burly cop who fights crime through sheer blunt force. With his ample frame and laconic delivery, he seems like an unlikely action hero, but that’s what makes those movies so entertaining (and often very funny). If you haven’t seen any of them, get over your aversion to subtitles and seek them out.
Another one to check out is 2019’s The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, where Lee plays Jang Dong-soo, a powerful mob boss who’s attacked one night by a mysterious serial killer. Jang survives and vows revenge, ordering his henchmen to find the man. At the same time, renegade cop Jung Tae-suk (Kim Mu-yeol) is equally obsessed with catching the killer (responsible for several murders), but is regularly thwarted by his corrupt captain.
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| The Don Lee Workout. |
Apparently, there’s been an American remake in development for a few years with Don Lee set to reprise his role. But why wait? The best version of The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is already here. Exciting, violent and fast-paced, this is an outstanding Korean action film featuring another muscular performance by a guy more people should be aware of.
This is a re-issue of a Blu-ray edition first released in 2019.
EXTRA KIBBLES
FEATURETTES - Making of; The Characters (actually just a montage of clips featuring each main character).
TRAILER
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