South Korea loves a good gangster story, and they love a good boxing film too. To follow-up the rather lacklustre “The Golden Holiday”, director Kim Bong-han tries to mix both the sub-genres with “The Wild”, his latest release which will be streaming in North America exclusively on WellGo USA's streaming service Hi-Yah!
The Wild is streaming on Hi-Yah!
Woo-cheol used to be a successful boxer who had to spend seven years in prison after his opponent died in an unlicensed, underground boxing match. Upon his release, his friend and gangster Do-sik arranges a welcome gift for him in the form of Myeong-joo, a beautiful young prostitute, who Woo-cheol kindly refuses. While Do-sik wants to integrate his old friend into the business, which involves dealing in drugs with North Korean defectors led by Gak-soo, Woo-cheol wants to leave it all behind and go where no one knows him to live a quiet life. This plan is, however, thrown into disarray when he takes a liking for Myeong-joo, who he saves from the ruthless detective Jeong-gon, who in turn is also involved in the drug dealings. When it becomes clear that the motives of everyone involved may not be as clear and beneficial to him as they seem, Woo-cheol must decide which side to be on and, more importantly, how to get himself and Myeong-joo out of the mess he finds himself in.
If there ever was “old wine in new bottle”, it would be “The Wild”. The new bottle, however, doesn't necessarily improve the taste and that also stands true for the viewing experience of Kim Bong-han's latest. It tries something new with the boxing angle, but doesn't really do much with it as the bigger picture is revealed, besides using it to burden our lead with guilt at opportune moments. The directions that the narrative goes into as a gangster saga also have a strong sense of deja vu to them, with nary a fresh moment in it.
That is not to say that this is a boring feature; it has enough to keep the audience engaged for its runtime, a bit bloated as it may be. It has its moments, with the action sequences impressing with their choreography and execution, even if they end up being short and far between. The final raid scene, in particular, is the right kind of brutal and bloody. After a point though, the narrative seems to take on more than it can handle, with crosses and double crosses coming in plenty, overwhelming itself and the viewers. Certain characters in the already overcrowded storyline seem to have been inserted only to execute such betrayals late into the feature, which end up being not as powerful as the writing seems to think they are.
The “new bottle” element of this production is most seen in the technical aspects, which are its saving grace, besides lead Park Sung-woong's performance, and that of Seo Ye-ji as Myeong-joo, which are the two performances that deserve praise. Park's boxing training is impressive, with the actor coming across quite convincingly in his poses and mannerisms in the few scenes he is meant to show them as a boxer. These glimpses mostly come in the fight sequences, which have been lensed impressively along with the rest of the feature, with the trademark neon glows often associated with Korean crimes features. The return of Oh Dal-su to big-scale productions, as the North Korean gangster Gak-soo, is also a welcome and overdue addition.
A perfectly serviceable work if one is unfamiliar with the genre and other works within it, “The Wild” does very little to entice fans of gangster features. On the positive side, it looks and sounds impressive, but Park Sung-woong as an actor continues to both excite and infuriate, picking up solo leading projects that never quite test his inherent talent. If for nothing else, “The Wild” does stand out for an excellent and memorable final scene, which utilizes a plot device in a wonderful, hitherto unseen way.
