Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage –
A Flawed Redemption
Nine years ago, writer-director Lee Jeong-beom’s film The Man from Nowhere (Ajeossi) took the box office by storm, and its success reached worldwide. His current film, Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage, follows a similar basic template: a bad guy meets a young girl to whom cruel things happen, moving him and driving him to seek revenge. However, there is a vast difference between the two films; while the former is a coherent work, our current subject bleeds from several wounds.
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| Director Lee Jeong-beom |
Primarily, the story and characters are riddled with clichés. Starting with the protagonist, he is one of those typical cinematic figures of the cop who is even worse than the criminals—it is no coincidence that the film's Korean title translates to "Bad Police." Jo Pil-ho (Lee Sun-kyun) is a rather transparent character; he doesn’t seem to be more than what he is: a corrupt, small-time detective who smooths over the cases of petty criminals for bribes and robs ATMs in alliance with a thief to finance his personal prosperity. Not even the fact that Internal Affairs is keeping an eye on him makes him truly special, as the systemic corruption within the police means he isn't in any real danger. Initially, the character is built entirely on superficialities—he has a foul mouth and is quick to use his fists.
The complication arises when, unknowingly, he and his partner carry out their heist at the same place and time as the massive Taesung Group, who happen to be blowing up a building housing incriminating documents. Jo Pil-ho, found wounded at the scene, is subsequently pursued by both the police and the corporation’s gangsters, as he is the only path to the evidence against Taesung.
This is when Mi-na (Jeon So-nee) enters the story, a high-school-aged girl, along with her friend. Mi-na most resembles a wild street kid, but during the usual chase sequences, Jo Pil-ho gains insight into the girls' lives and feelings. Of course, he isn't the sentimental type, but they are dependent on each other and thus help one another. While the friend is taken in by the detective's wife, Mi-na is crushed by the losses in her life, and the depressively inclined girl ends her life right before Jo Pil-ho's eyes.
By this time, the detective realizes that the girl's demise and his own endangerment were caused by a force much larger and more unscrupulous than anything he had ever encountered in his own narrower world. Up to that point, he had only clashed with thugs—including the henchman Kwon Tae-joo (Park Hae-joon), who at least has a distinct presence—but the moment arrived when he had to face the ultimate villain, the chairman of Taesung. The cold indifference with which Jung Yi-Hyang (Song Young-chang) measures the value of human lives in money deeply outrages the detective. He embarks on a solo mission, during which he settles scores with both men.
The film's strength is Lee Sun-kyun's performance, who carries the story on his shoulders. He plays the uncomplicated figure of Jo Pil-ho well and shows his emotional stirrings regarding Mi-na with exactly the kind of hesitant confusion one would expect from him. Despite being a cop, he isn't an intrepid action hero; he fumbles a lot against stronger opponents. Unfortunately, the scenes of the final showdown are so exaggerated that they turn into the opposite of heroism, appearing almost ridiculous. But a much bigger problem is that something is missing from the detective's character that prevents us from identifying with him; therefore, at the end of the film, we merely look at him as if in a cinema, but we are not moved.
However, the detective's character isn't the only one at fault. One cannot become a hero without a real adversary. Kwon is not one, as he is written as just a henchman—one of those clichéd types: the well-trained, cruel martial artist tucked into a dapper suit. Yet, Park Hae-joon cannot fully bring this character to life; despite every heavy blow, there is a certain softness in him that lacks credibility. But there is an even greater issue with the chairman of Taesung, who is merely a toothless lion. I have yet to encounter a primary villain as powerless as the one played by Song Young-chang, who was more disgusting in a mundane sense than a dark figure evoking a threat through his power.
The most vivid character in the film is Jeon So-nee, playing Mi-na, who had the opportunity to show many sides of her well-written personality. It is no coincidence that Lee Sun-kyun is also at his best in scenes shared with her, and hopefully, these are what we will remember from this film, rather than the clumsy ending.
Though even that ending is better than the moral lapse the film commits. I find the outrage of the Korean audience entirely justified when they discovered that Mi-na's old friend was portrayed as a victim of the Sewol disaster. Furthermore, at the end of the film, they evoked images of classrooms where flowers covered the desks of deceased students. Let us not forget that this occurred in an action-crime thriller, which is nothing more than a commercial film. Even the fact that the chairman is speaking before a massive audience of students—to whom the Taesung Group provides foundation support—is not enough of a justification. Obviously, it is not forbidden to actualize a story in such a way, but one's sense of decency still protests against it, even if, according to the director, they consulted with the victims' families before the release.
Beside the aforementioned flaws, the film does have merits that make it not a complete waste of time. It is certainly not as bad as its failure in Korean viewership would suggest. It has a good pace, its action sequences are spectacular, and its music sufficiently supports the tension. But even so, it is only a strong average; if you aren't a "time millionaire," you should choose the magnificent Ajeossi from the director's works instead.
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