The Outlaws 범죄 도시 Beomjwoe Doshi “Crime City”
Writer/Director: Kang Yun-seong 캉 윤성
Rated R | $52.9 M worldwide* | 2 hrs 1 min
ACTION CRIME THRILLER • October 3, 2017
“Can cops do this?”
The Outlaws is an action crime thriller set in 2004 and based on real events, as the intro. describes:
“Since the 1990s, Chinese-Koreans settled in the Garibong-dong district in Seoul and formed a Chinatown. Chinese-Korean gangsters from the same region created new gangs. Many gangs of varying size were active by 2004. This film is based on [the] 2004 ‘Chinese-Korean gang mop-up operation’ conducted by the Seoul police, all names have been altered.”
The movie stars Ma Dong-seok 마 동석 (born Lee Dong-seok aka “Don Lee”) who stole the show in Train to Busan (2016 $92.8M), which launched a global career that’s taken him all the way to Marvel’s Eternals (2021 $402.1M) and beyond! Ma Dong Seok as Detective “Ma Seok-do” makes a “big dog entrance” back to the camera, his super-broad shoulders filling the screen—a walking wall of man.
As he enters, the whole time talking on the cell phone, he disarms two men in a knife fight while we get our first laugh when he answers what must have been the question “What’s going on?” with the reply “Nothing, a bunch of kids are fighting.” Then, he takes charge of the two street cops who showed up earlier and are just standing there doing nothing. “Come here. Are you here for a show? Sort this out.” Dropping the confiscated (stolen) knife, he scolds the street vendor whose display the knife was stolen from while paying him for it. All this establishing his abilities and his values, and setting the no-nonsense tone that drives him through the film.
After a Venom gang member is stabbed, Detective Ma goes in search of the perpetrator. Confronting eight men (some armed with pipes and clubs), he and his three fellow policemen approach unintimidated. Ma tells them to drop their weapons. When they don’t and one guy smirks, Ma open-handed smacks him. And when I say smack, I mean you are not prepared! Despite this, the cops get a lead from the “Venom” gang leader “Serpent” played by Heo Sung-tae 허성태 and off they go to find the stabber at a gambling hall. (Heo Sung-tae was “Player 101” from Squid Game and starred in many KDramas you know and love. He didn’t start acting until he was 39 but he’s been in tons of movie and shows, sometimes just as cameos.)
Another moment of comic relief serves to highlight Ma’s size, strength, and bravado. When they enter the gambling hall and burst into a back room chasing after the perp, one of the younger and obviously inexperienced cops yells “Police!” and flashes his badge (lanyard with ID card) then drops it. The character “Kang Hong-seok” is played by the angelic looking Song Ha-joon 송 하준, great casting as a contrast that serves to emphasize that size and power matters. [BTW that’s a poster for (The Outlaws 3) The Roundup: No Way Out filmed in Japan, released May 31, 2023 (South Korea), which calls him a “monster cop” | Check out the trailer.]
Once again outnumbered two to one, the cops don’t back down as a gang member gets in Ma’s face. Ma quickly handles him, smashing his face onto a tabletop and pinning him down with one hand as he motions to the perp standing at the back of the room to surrender. Of course, the perp takes off and a chase ensues.
Despite his size and the fact that he’s running while still wearing a suit from a blind date he went on, Ma outsmarts the stabber who pulls a knife on him. Detective Ma’s uber-confidence is in play once again as he demands the perp put his knife in an evidence bag that he pulled out of his pocket like “Let’s just get this police stuff over with.” Another funny moment, followed by the perp taking a swipe at Ma and getting the smack down. Only this time, the perp passes out. Don’t know if you’ve ever smacked someone hard open-handed (or been smacked) but if the base of your palm connects with their jaw, it can be lights out.
And “enter the dragon” so to speak . . . Yoon Kye-sang 윤 켜상 (the gorgeous doctor from “Chocolate”) plays “Jang Chen” the bloodthirsty leader of the “Black Dragon” gang who also works as a brutal loan shark enforcer. BRUTAL! The roles couldn’t be more different. And as we see how brutal, at this time, 10 minutes 21 seconds in, we get the title credit. [I don’t think I can ever look at Yoon Kye-sang again without seeing this evil character! LOL #funnynotfunny]
Detective Ma brings the opposing gang leaders together to try to get them to make peace, like that’s going to work. Unfortunately for him, Serpent thinks he can do the “Do you know who I am?” thing and it costs him his life. Jang Chen then takes over the Venom gang.
The movie gives us more of what Jang Chen and his two Black Dragon henchmen are like. After a club’s bouncer/handler insults them, Jang sics them on him and they chop off his arm. And that’s just the beginning of their ensuing reign of terror. Taking over the “Cobra” gang’s territory, word spreads as the cops find out just how savage they are when some of the various body parts of the Serpent show up in garbage bags.
Although they interject a fair share of comedy, the violence in this movie is no joke. It makes you wonder: How brave did you have to be to be a cop in Seoul in 2004? As the cop “Oh Dong-gyun” says “Even if we deport these fucks, they’ll come back with a new ID, locals are scared of payback, nothing we can do.”
One thing I particularly enjoyed was the casting of the Police Chief. Jeong In-gi 정 인기 is great as the gullible veteran bureaucrat. He was great in everything I’ve seen him in. The longer the movie goes on, the more invested you become in the cops catching the Black Dragon gang. It’s not just that the Police Chief is hoping for a promotion, or that the Homicide Division will take over the case if Ma’s men aren’t successful, at some point you just started rooting for them, not just because the bad guys are so bad, but because they’re working so hard to bring them down.
I think this movie can teach you ALL the Korean curse words. LOL It reminds me of the “F” word in Scarface. Maybe I should count all the times they say Sshi-bal 씨발 and Gae-sae-kki 개새끼.
The ending is SO SATISFYING (well, the whole movie is great, but), the ending is so satisfying you might cheer out loud. A lot of credit goes to Yoon Kye-sang and his Moron #1 and Moron #2 for being so hateable. The movie satisfies all the Action Movie Essentials.
Kudos to Writer/Director Kang Jun-seong! I watched it on Rakuten Viki where they gave it a 9.5. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 91%.
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*Box Office stat from BoxOfficeMojo.com