To call Ryoo Seung-wan's “Veteran” a wall-to-wall success would certainly be no understatement. To date, it is the sixth highest-grossing domestic film in South Korean history, and has racked up numerous honors, the most notable being a Blue Dragon Award for Best Director. Complete with an abundance of appearances across international film festivals, this testosterone-injected action comedy was, and still is, a certified cinematic powerhouse.
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The story begins in breakneck fashion, following veteran policeman Seo Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min) masquerading as a pompous rich husband, attempting to buy a Mercedes for his “wife” Miss Bong (Jang Yoon-ju). As it happens, this facade is to aid in the busting of an international car smuggling ring, which, thanks to plenty of brutality, occurs shortly thereafter. Soon, Do-cheol finds himself invited to a TV production party to celebrate his success, where he first encounters the contemptible corporate princeling Jo Tae-oh (Yoo Ah-in). Smug, brash and arrogant, the Sinjin Group heir is forcing two shirtless men to arm-wrestle upon the police inspector's arrival, and, after awkward pleasantries are exchanged over the table, is soon the recipient of intrigue from the man he claims has a “steely nerve.”
Adding fuel to the fire, Bae (Jung Woong-in), a meek truck driver who Do-cheol had befriended during his car smuggling investigations, finds himself caught up in an alleged suicide attempt, following a confrontation over unpaid wages with the barbarous Tae-oh in his office. Seeing ample reason to question how and why this occurred after hearing the driver's seven-year-old son's testimony, the sadistic heir Tae-oh becomes the subject of Do-cheol's investigative will. Aiming to bring down the ill-mannered snob once and for all, Do-cheol and his team risk both their jobs and lives in an archetypal fight for justice.
In depicting a black-and-white, uncomplicated clash between the antagonistic proprietors of conglomerate culture and the everyman types who fight against them, Ryoo Seung-wan moulds a movie that is wholly crowd-pleasing, but nonetheless exciting. Drawing his battle lines with cartoonish, overblown leads, there is no grey area to be found throughout, and viewers will find themselves effortlessly rooting for the morally tactful grey-collar workers, whilst craving for the comeuppance of the iniquitous villains.
Nevertheless, some praise regarding the categorical firmness in how good and evil are separated must be awarded to the stellar acting shown throughout. Firstly, there is Hwang Jung-min, a man no stranger to Ryoo's style of cinema having worked with him priorly on “The Unjust,” who depicts an ethical, yet slightly restless police inspector in Do-cheol, flawlessly. Combining charisma and ego with ease, Hwang gives his character a ballsy charm, making him compelling as an intransigent hero, whilst also dodging cliches as the archetypal morally tactful cop.
With that being said, it is the less experienced Yoo Ah-in who gives the most impressive performance in “Veteran.” Powerful, affluent and conventionally handsome, Yoo's character Tae-oh is, on the surface at least, a man most would aspire to be. Yet, Tae-oh finds himself so irredeemable, so utterly contemptible that one would sooner be the hapless union worker the elites like the Sinjin heir look down upon, than wish to walk even a centimetre in his shoes. Merit for this must be given to the actor, who floridly brings the character to life with uneasy energy. Most prominently, this skill in crafting such an incorrigible villain is shown in an office scene, where the princeling brutally beats his guard dog to death with a golf club, purely because circumstances are not in his favour. Supplemented by his sidekick Director Choi (Yoo Hae-jin), who himself is a cynical personification of the consequences of cronyism, and a man moulded into the belief-set that money and power can get you anywhere, Tae-oh is one of the most clear-cut, unreservedly immoral foes a film of this ilk can produce.
Continuing, a further astute aspect of the movie is its frenetically choreographed action sequences. Stunt director Jung Doo-hong gives a dance-like fluidity to the action scenes, which also profit from sharp, swift editing, courtesy of Kim Jae-beom and Kim Sang-beom, as well as from Jung-gun's emphasised, visceral sound recordings. Consequently, these scenes are thoroughly enjoyable to watch adding necessary creativity which smartly breaks up the surrounding set-pieces and dialogue-heavy portions of the runtime.
In conclusion, “Veteran” is a pacy, exciting piece of cinema which thrives in its uncomplicated script and smooth execution. Even at over two-hours long, the film moves at a frantic pace, aided superbly by comedic beats which, even if occasionally outlandish, always seem to hit the mark. Thus, Ryoo Seung-wan's largest directorial box-office triumph makes for a sublime watch, and is a silver-screen success which continues to hold up.
