Our take
While the police haven’t been getting a good rep in recent years, there were times when cops actually got the job done, and went after the gangs that we individuals can’t. Kang Yun-seong’s narrative feature debut is based on the real-life Yanbian Heuksapa Incident, and what’s interesting is that along with having Ma Dong-seok deliver some of the finest and most entertaining fight scenes, there’s a sense that these cops actually care about people, like when Seok-do urges his boss to be gentle towards their team after having to stay in the office longer, or when he reaches out and works directly with the community. The Outlaws doesn’t transform the genre, but it’s well-written, well-choreographed, and held together through the strength of Ma Dong-seok’s charisma (and arms). It’s no wonder director Kang and Don Lee managed to transform this into a sprawling franchise, something to be akin to Korea’s Fast & Furious.
What it won
Cannes
1 nom
The story
In Chinatown, law and order is turned upside down when a trio of feral Chinese gangsters arrive, start terrorizing civilians, and usurping territory. The beleaguered local gangsters team up with the police, lead by the badass loose cannon Ma Seok-do, to bring them down. Based on a true story.
Elsewhere
""The Outlaws" is a very entertaining if not quite first-rank genre exercise that reps an auspicious bow for first-time feature director Kang Yoon-Seong."
— Dennis Harvey
After a turf war between two gangs turned Seoul’s Chinatown into a bloodbath, fearless, old-school detective Seok-do and his team plan to stop the bloodshed by taking down Jang Chen, the cold-blooded boss of the Heuksapa gang.
Truth Chamber aside, it’s just nice to see cops actually care about the people they’re protecting, and I think it’s just one of the things cop thrillers and actual cops forget about.
ACAB, except maybe for Ma Seok-do.
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
