At first, Midnight Runners seemed to be a lighthearted buddy cop flick where two friends just make their way through the police academy. It starts off pretty funny. Park Seo-joon and Kang Ha-neul clearly had fun forming the bond between their characters with a competitive spirit. However, this bond sets the stage for some subtle critique, as these academy students decide to solve a kidnapping despite all the systemic hurdles they bump into that run contrary to what they’ve been taught. Midnight Runners doesn’t set out to fully critique the system, but it at least acknowledges some of its failures and inspires future cops to act for justice, not just for power.
Two apathetic police academy recruits who become best buddies through the tough training together witness a woman being abducted right before their very eyes. As they were taught in the academy, they quickly report the incident to the police, but the police are in no hurry to jump on the case. So the duo decide to take the matter into their own hands and rescue the woman.
