Jee-woon Kim's latest is a step in the right direction. I couldn't make it through his previous effort THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD. It just felt too much like I was watching a Bugs Bunny Cartoon. I SAW THE DEVIL has a much better title going for it and at least a tiny bit of character development.
In all honesty, I didn't react too strongly to this one. Some of the murder scenes are difficult to watch. Min-sik Choi turns in a convincing performance as the killer. His creepiness is enough to make you rethink his coolness in OLDBOY. The shots are well composed, the action is well-directed. All in all, it's a solid little revenge flick.
There are some things I'm not so crazy about. At two hours and twenty minutes, it feels a little long. There is also a rather long stretch in which Min-sik Choi's character lays low with another serial killer who has developed a taste for human flesh. This felt somewhat silly to me. I was unaware that serial killers pal around with other serial killers. Perhaps they belong to the same union. Maybe they met on Craig's List. I don't know. What I do know is that it took an otherwise serious movie into the realm of camp. If it were cut out entirely, it would do a lot for pacing.
It's good, not great and not for the squeamish. It's better than a lot of what's out there at the moment and worth a watch if you've got a free evening.
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