The last action star is not from the United States but from the country of South Korea.

The days when a single name can carry an action movie due to its appeal to mainstream audiences have been snuffed out due to the rise of superhero movies. Fortunately, South Koreans love masculine storytelling and masculine movies which is why Don Lee remains one of the top action stars in the country. 

Over the last few years, Don Lee has produced a franchise of movies called “The Roundup”. The original film entitled ‘The Outlaws’ was released in 2017 until the focus shifted In 2022 with The Roundup, a film about a group of cops who break up organized crime rings throughout the city. Last year, the follow-up, ‘The Roundup No Way Out’ began shortly after the events of the last movie which saw Ma Seok-do’s crew take down a trafficking and murder ring out of the country of Vietnam.

‘No Way Out’ ended with a cliffhanger about the conclusion of this story that was already filmed along with the last film. Now we finally get that conclusion. After shutting the door on a Vietnam crime ring, the series shifts to the Philippines, as former Korean Special Forces and current head of an online gambling organization Baek Chang-gi kills his worker Jo Sung-jae who attempted an escape. 

His body is sent back to Korea where Ma Seok-do agrees to bring the killers to justice as the dying wish of a Grieving mother. However, there is a power struggle that he is not aware of. The Online Casino admin Chang Dong-cheol promises Baek to increase his share if he shuts down a rival casino and takes over their members. Baek does so with a violent raid on the rival’s server and takes the members’ data but Chang fails to fulfill his promise. Feeling inadequately compensated, Baek flies back to Korea to confront Chang where he realizes that Chang has no plans on holding his end of the deal so Baek is going to deal with Chang and get the money himself. Seok-do has one shot to stop Chang and Baek before he has the opportunity to flee the country. 

Similar to a Chinese film that was released last year entitled ‘No More Bets’,  Punishment is a film that reveals the dangerous environment behind online gambling. Many offshore betting accounts that people use are set in Asian countries such as South Korea and the Philippines.  While at face value, you think you were doing it with a legit organization, in reality, the film exposes that many of the workers of the sites are being forced to work there by larger criminal organizations, and many of them are beaten or killed if they try to flee.

The style of the action is very central to  South Korean culture.  This isn’t a typical John Wick movie where everyone has a gun and people’s heads are getting blown off one by one. This is a film that utilizes hand-to-hand combat in knife fights to keep the audience engaged in the action portion of the movie.  The bread and butter of this series is watching Donley one-shot a series of nameless faceless goons with his one-punch KO power.

If you are a fan of the Roundup series, you are going to get more of the same that you have already experienced.  The drawback of this film is due to the abundance of characters that are introduced which pulls Focus away from the overall story.  The film is set up from an a, b, and c plot scenario.

Our lead hero Donnelly and his police force who  have a toned-down role in the story this time around.  On the flip side, you have a powerful investor who was leading the charge of this online organization and was looking to gain even more money while not paying the people around him what they were worth. Finally, you have a hardcore stone  face killer who only cares about what is promised to him and that shows no regard for human life throughout the movie.

Because you have three distinct personalities the film tries to keep tabs with everyone but the pacing feels a bit jarring and ultimately the film isn’t as polished from a pacing standpoint as it should be.  The runtime is less than 2 hours however the film feels longer due to its inability to keep the story flowing.

Don’t Leave still has a major following in South Korea that cannot be denied however you can’t help but feel that this series has worn out its welcome With one formulaic film after another.

 However, if you were a first-time viewer of the Roundup series they’re certainly enough here to be thoroughly entertained if you’re just looking for a casual action Escape film.  The Roundup punishment knows what puts butts in the seats and doesn’t try to do anything more than that.

If you like knife fights, hand-to-hand combat, some over-the-top personalities, and cold-blooded bad guys along the way, The Roundup Punishment passes the test with a satisfying production.

3/5

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