Heist films seem to be making a comeback over the last few years and it is fortunate that good filmmakers understand that in order to have a good heist movie, you have to have a colorful and strong cast of characters.
It’s becoming rare these days to find a film that gives you an ensemble cast of characters with strong and colorful personalities that make them easily identifiable with audiences. Netflix has been anything but a virtue of quality entertainment and while that doesn’t change here, the one thing they seem to get right is being able to distribute better films made by other companies. no better example of this than the latest film out of South Korea called ‘Seoul Vibe’
In a film set in 1988 during Seoul Olympic Games, Dong-Wook (Yoo Ah-in) and Joon-ki (Ong Seong-wu) return to Seoul in the middle of the 1988 Olympic Games after successfully completing a heist job in Saudi Arabia.
The duo returns to reconnect with the rest of their team known as the Sangyedong Supreme after a successful job but as soon as they return, they are scooped up by Police Attorney Ahn (Oh Jung-Se) who threatens to arrest them in jail time for their actions in Saudi Arabia.
Ahn recruits the team for a dangerous mission where they have to infiltrate a car chase on the streets of Seoul leading them to General Lee (Kim Sung-Kyun) and Chairwoman Kang In-sook (Moon So-ri). Their job is to extract information about the former government’s secret fund but the deeper they get into the Chairwoman’s secrets, the more dangerous the mission becomes.
‘Seoul Vibes’ has all the makings of a big-budget Summer movie. Many films struggle with balancing the tone of having a campy entertaining group with the more serious dips in the storytelling but the best part about this film is its cast.
Yoo Ah-in, Go Kyung-Pyo, Lee Kyu-Hyung, Park Ju-Hyun, and Ong Seong-wu have a strong chemistry together that really makes the film. Yoo Ah-in may be the star of the film but Park Ju-Hyun is stand out in the movie. The film’s story plays out between three groups; the Sangyedong Supreme, General Lee, and Chairwoman Kang. The group is blinded by the riches of the criminal underworld. Style and Fashion are two big elements of the story showing just how consumed with American culture South Koreans were during the time.
Meanwhile, General Lee gives off the vibes of being a North Korean dictator as he represents the stakes of the plot. As menacing as Lee can be, Kang is the most dangerous of the group being an older woman with a chip on her shoulder makes her completely ruthless as a character.
80s hip-hop and fashion are on full display throughout the film making for a cool aesthetic. The film is very nostalgic without making 80s retro the central theme. Seoul Vibes is one of the best films of the year and one of the most downright entertaining films of 2022.
Seoul Vibes is a film that could be the start of a franchise if its cast keeps the same mojo in the future.
4/5
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