KILLING TIME WITH KILLERS

‘Kill Boksoon’ builds promise right from the opening scene where two famous assassins face off near a railway track for a stylish yet anti-climatic (dark humour?) fight unto death. It then develops into a full-blown action melodrama that, well, somehow works. Set-piece fight sequences, an estranged single-mother and daughter duo who keep secrets from each other, highly principled gangsters/assassins, bloody knife/sword violence, this Korean film has all the masala that you’d need for an entertaining evening. If you’re into that kind of thing.

Venerated hitwoman Gil Bok-soon (convincingly portrayed by Jeon Do-yeon) is a veteran assassin at the top of her game, way ahead of her male colleagues and juniors. While things are peachy for Boksoon at work, she struggles to parent her teenage daughter Gil Jae-young (Kim Si-a), who neither knows about her mom’s profession, nor is able to confide in her about the troubles she is going through at school, or that she’s a lesbian.

As Boksoon comes to terms with her end-of-career problems with the syndicate, she is given a contract that proves to be her undoing. Boksoon makes a few uncharacteristic decisions (no spoilers here!) that go against the principles of her organization and its chairman (Sol Kyung-gu), with whom she has a long history. She is declared rogue, and immediately becomes a target herself.

Bloody bodies are strewn around and secrets are revealed, leading to an inevitable showdown between Boksoon and her mentor. Sadly, there’s only one who will remain standing, true to trope. All very familiar up to the end, but satisfying.

What is interesting about the movie is how they keep it emotionally engaging while spilling copious quantities of blood everywhere in numerous hitjobs. There are flashes of dark humour thrown into the mix of action and melodrama. The actors are convincing, the emotions run high, the fight choreography is snappy, and the overall packaging very stylish. Somehow, all of it works enough to keep you engaged throughout, pointing to good direction.

Watch it for pure entertainment. You’ll forget it as soon as it is over. What more can you ask for from the genre?

MORE INFORMATION HERE:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16900880