Gangster films have long been a staple of Korea cinema and have found favour with both filmmakers and audiences alike. Director Kim Hee-sung's latest feature is also an endeavour in familiar territory.
“The Goblin” is participating in the Asian Contents & Film Market at Busan International Film Festival
The gangster Doo-hyun is more commonly known by the mysterious nickname “The Goblin”, a man so ferocious and dreaded that he can eliminate entire gangs all by himself. Within his gang also works Young-min, a rookie under Doo-hyun, still trying to earn his stripes. When Young-min kills their boss one day, Doo-hyun takes the fall for it and ends up in prison, ruining not just The Goblin's reputation but also his family, with his wife cutting all ties between him and their infant daughter.
Ten years later, Doo-hyun is released from prison and starts upon a normal job and a quiet life, using his spare time to try and reconnect with his estranged family. Young-min, meanwhile, used Doo-hyun's absence to live off the Goblin name and has risen up the ladder, making himself an affluent man and a force to be reckoned with. As fate would have it though, both Doo-hyun's and Young-min's daughters go to the same school and the latter girl just happens to be a bully, causing both men to cross paths once again and for the real Goblin to show himself.
Kim Hee-sung's films has its moments, but funnily enough, it is the emotional core that is probably where the narrative is at its strongest. The bond between the father and the daughter he wants to reconnect with is among the highlight, even if not entirely original. The same goes for the gangster elements of the story, which are decent enough, but have a strong sense of deja vu to them, ticking off a checklist of genre cliches along the way.
This familiarity also extends to the feature's look, with the cinematography and other elements of the production borrowing from guidelines set by past productions. Dark neo-noir corridors, neon lightings, smart suits, men with rods and baseball bats are all present and accounted for. The music is sporadically good, but somehow fails to relay a sense of urgency and thrill, particularly in the action sequences. It is, however, worth noting that the feature is still in the post-production stage when this reviewer watched it, so chances of the music and sound mix, which still felt very much works-in-progress, will likely be fine-tuned before release.
Speaking of the action sequences, they are easily the feature's weakest link. Lazily choreographed and badly edited, they fail to generate excitement of any kind. Even the fight with the three sidekicks, which is built up to much promise, doesn't satiate expectations. This is ironic, because this is the director who made a feature called “The Techniques of Fighting” and a sequel to it. The edit, however, is rather sharp and this is possibly the biggest compliment one can give the production. It knows exactly where it wants to go and gets there without any detours, maintaining a continued investment in the story and characters from the viewer.
Despite the cliches, the characters are written well and in Jo Dong-hyuk and Lee Wan, Doo-hyun and Young-min respectively have a decent pair of actors playing them. The script doesn't demand a lot from the actors, but they are fairly watchable. Jo Dong-hyuk, particularly, brings that quiet mysterious aura to Doo-hyun which made his character in the drama “Bad Guys” so likeable. Lee Wan, for his part ,manages to portray the duality of his character, the growth from errand boy to top shot and from hot-headed gangster to a loving father, in an effective manner.
Despite its rather glaring issues, which specifically have to do with “The Goblin” failing to be its own film and ending up as a mash-up of previous ideas and techniques, Kim Hee-sung just about manages to keep the feature from derailing by keeping it on point with a “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” approach and within a bearable runtime.
