User reviews

Simply wow.

A lot of people are put off by foreign language films and I hope those people don't let that stop them from watching this.

It has all the panache of a typical Hollywood film and I have to disagree with some comments that the back-story aspect is lacking compared with the action; my exact thoughts when watching this film were along the lines of "I cannot believe how genuine the character development is". The bond between the two main characters is extremely believable (huge props to the actress who played the young kid). I thought the fact that the film wasn't edited down to the hour-and-half standard probably gave them more room to develop and for an action film, there was much more intelligence than I was expecting to the story.

One of the best films I have seen in a long time.

9/10

"This Man" is about as standard plot-wise as action movies get. A lone wolf type takes a little girl under his wing, the kid gets kidnapped, and he ends up having to go through heaps of bad guys in his quest to save the girl.

By all accounts, the movie should have evoked little more than a shrug. After all, anyone who has seen even just a moderate amount of action movies will have seen countless movies with variations of this basic plot. One might think of "Leon" or "Man on Fire" for some closer examples, or movies such as "Taken" in other respects.

What made this movie into my favorite action movie in a long while is the execution of that basic plot. "This Man" manages to create just the right dark, gloomy mood to match the story and all the characters are believable. None of the scenes appear contrived or overly tear-jerker. Another vital aspect for an action movie is, of course, that the action sequences are very well done. The movie is quite graphic, but not gratuitously so or for its own sake such as in many a recent horror movie (the Saw series comes to mind).

I guess the movie could be likened to a good apple pie - certainly nothing revolutionary, in fact quite the staple of its genre, but who would want to turn down a really good apple pie with quality ingredients?

This movie threatens to be a run-of-the-mill action movie, but manages to create its own identity. The sameness is how it shows most of its bad guys, and there are plenty, as one dimensionally evil. There are children who are put in harm's way, but not gratuitously--for the most part--providing the hero with a chance to be human.

It's very Korean in its thinking, which is always refreshing to me. Saying that, I was surprised by how much it reminded me of TAXI DRIVER. It's not a re-tread by any means, but it almost felt like the director was paying tribute to the earlier film in a couple of scenes. I have no idea if this is true. Most people I have talked to about this movie have never seen the other.

This is an action film and it does not disappoint on that level. Some of it is pretty brutal, but by the finale you will most likely feel that everyone gets what they deserve and, if anything, a few deserved more. This is because they manage to build characters we care about with out slowing down too much. The pacing is nicely done with properly placed comic moments as well. Some of the humor was a bit dark, which was also nice.

What surprised me was how much I cared for the main characters. The child was sweet but not overly so. I'm used to the child being inserted for sentimental or "Ahhhh" effects--like in the first RUSH HOUR--but that is mostly avoided here and it feels much more genuine over all.

There are cruel moments in the film but the film itself did not feel cruel. That is why I liked it. So often films are either mindless, or mean-spirited, and this one avoided these pit-falls.

The man might be from nowhere but this film could only come from Korea, the land of a million stories of revenge.

was to come out of the viewing experience wowed.

As I sat watching the movie. My general impression was, this is a good movie. It has a cool story. The acting is great, the characters are engaging. The action is good but not proving itself to be better than what most movies normally put out there.

Then came the end. And it ended with more than a bang. More like a beautiful, chaotic explosion.

This movie as a whole, was great. I am in WOW shock. Now, the end was amazing, but without the hour and a half of plot, story, characters, suspense, good fight/action scenes, sweet revenge, etc.... the end would not have been so incredible.

This movie is in comparison, like a cross between Taken, Bourne Identity (mildly similar to Bourne, he doesn't have memory problems or anything), Leon the Professional, and Man on Fire. Honestly. This movie rivals them all.

Its very gritty, very brutal. Very violent, and at times disturbing. But there is a lot of emotion and heart building up at the center of it all.

I don't know if you are one of those idiots who don't watch these movies because they don't want to read the subtitles and think that the dubbing is too cheesy and would take away from the movie, if you are. Get over it and you will end up experiencing a Dynamic movie you otherwise would not have watched.

If subtitles don't bother you. Then I suggest you go ahead and watch this one.

Let me start off by saying that I was skeptical whether I should watch this movie because of all the comparisons here to US productions. Because while I did enjoy most of the ones named, not enough to want to see a basically South Korean copycat at the theater.

If you fear the same thing: Don't worry! This movie is exactly what you would expect from great Korean cinema, comparable to the likes of "The Chaser", "Memories of Murder" and "A Bittersweet Life". In this movie, there is lots of rather believable tragedy, little kitsch (there is the occasional unsuitable one-liner and the girl sometimes says things that in my opinion are too mature for her age and yank a little too much at the emotional chain - these are basically the things that brought my rating down to 9/10) and a fair amount of graphic violence and realism in the fighting scenes. There are also some wacky characters just like they appear somewhat frequently in east Asian productions but I think they fit in quite nicely despite the otherwise very serious tone.

If one were to compare it to a US production, I would go with e.g. "A History of Violence" because of the serious tone and the realism but still, the overall style is drastically different.

The whole experience is nicely rounded off with a very beautiful score and the only thing I considered negative besides what I already mentioned was that the plot is moving very fast. At various points I was not sure whether I didn't pay enough attention or whether details were left out. Meaning for instance how one character got the information about another character. These connections of information between characters are not always clear in my opinion but it does not really hurt the story and I am sure that it would be clear with a second viewing - something that this movie absolutely deserves.

The plot isn't original, a damaged special agent trying to lead a quite life gets dragged into danger to protect a young girl, but it is done very well.

The pace is good, we have a nice mix of action and story at the start to make Cha Tae-sik's attachment to the girl believable, the action gets more involved and quicker as we progress.

The acting is good, Bin Won is convincing and for a change so are the villains, they aren't over the top comic book evil, they are just criminals, and the big surprise is that Sae-ron Kim manages to play the annoying child character without being annoying, an excellent performance from her.

The action sequences are well done, violent without being very gory, some elaborate martial arts and some simple brutality.

The ending is OK, it tries to hard to be emotional but at least it doesn't try to be clean and sanitised.

It reminded me most of the Bourne films and, although it is a lower grade than they are, you should still find a lot to enjoy here if you liked them.

You've seen the story before in The Professional or Man on Fire. Man with a checkered past gets drawn into unintentional friendship with kid, who falls prey to bad guys due to extraordinary circumstances. Plot is actually fairly unique and interesting (we get a peek at a creative underworld business strategy in Seoul's Chinatown), one of the bad guys has a fun role, and the relationship between the hero and the kid comes across as pretty genuine. Action is pretty decent as well (if you turn off your realism filter). Dialogue and writing are slightly sub-par, but it doesn't detract too much from the pace and plot of the film. It shouldn't win many awards, but this film is worth watching for sure.

Korean thriller makers are making a splendid job now-a-days, they have even succeeded the Hollywood thriller makers in this specific genre..The Man from Nowhere' is a perfect example of this. Anyone might think this is a mix of 'Leon:The Professional' and 'Man on Fire' where a highly trained but troubled person tries to protect a child, but this movie is more than that.There are many short but strong stories nicely fabricated that will keep You watching the total movie in a rush! Now come to the story. A mystery man with no past links suddenly becomes involved in a drug transport because of a child being kidnapped and unfortunately that child was the only link of him to the outerworld .So had to comeout from his own hideout and save the girl and find out the persons behind it. He has to defy the police as they are after it too, at a point the sad past life comes to daylight and it was well understood about his strange behavior of everything. This rouge so renegades the force and takes the action by his own. The stylish BOURNE looking action scenes specially needs to be appreciated.But I m not giving it the highest rating only its lacking of showing the touchy emotions in the best way..it was excess .Silence play a better role than words in some situations, it needed that. But the overall movie was simply sublime.reasonable violence was shown here..it was logical. Some funny characters and parts are nicely putted into, that enhanced the color and variety of the movie. But I am getting addicted to this korean thrillers." Memories of a murder', "Joint security Area', Vengeance trilogy( including OLDBOY), Infernal Affairs trilogy, 'The Chaser','Thirst','The Bittersweetness of Life', 'I Saw The Devil'..the serial is getting longer and longer..keep it up !!

The mysterious Tae-Sik Cha (Bin Won) has grown attached to his precocious neighbor So-Mi (Sae-ron Kim) despite her drug-addled mum's objection. The latter's involvement in stealing narcotics from major heavies' results in So-Mi's being kidnapped. Tae-Sik is inadvertently thrust into seedy world of drugs trade & human organ harvesting syndicate. But the brooding hero possess array of unique skills to take on the baddies and rescue So-Mi.

Shades of Shane (1953) and Man on Fire (1987) in terms of story but this South Korean actioner has immaculate productions values and absorbing pace to maintain interest from beginning to end. And what about that tremendous climatic knife-fight culminating with bloody face-off against Thai actor Thanayong Wongtrakul playing the silent henchman.

But from Korea! A movie haven (and heaven some might argue) for a lot of genre movies. Many of them on the violent side. Which means you should not be easily frightened or squeamish. This has a story and for some it may take a bit too long to get going, but I'd argue it is the right amount of time and it had to take its time to breathe.

To develop and to show us characters and relationships. Of course it is heightened. Of course the movie takes liberties in many areas. But it is well played and well acted. The action set pieces are quite something - and while there are many characters, it is all digestable enough and condensed to a point where it works like a clockwork ...

I haven't watched an Asian film for a while if not of my friend who talked a lot of good things about this film. I would like to acknowledge the director for directing incredible Artists who portrayed tremendous performances who actually touched my feelings and emotions in many different ways. The main character embellished as a young hero who can really save by the speed of his fists, his skills in weapons to defend himself and remorseful countenance in his face in order to portray his agony, compassion to save his only beloved object- The little Girl and the children. Yet you can see this man in contrasting character, the softness side of him when he really cried and could see the real tears coming down from his eyes. The voice clarity of the movie is another standout. Unlike certain movies, I have to stop and replay the parts I did not understand. I enjoyed so much listening how they pronounced and emphasized words according to the character portrayed. I have seen Asian movies in the past and the dubbing were the worst part. Entertainingly, the movie was beautifully crafted. I was at my seat all throughout enjoying every moment. Since there were some scenes of brutal killings, I am though suggesting for adult viewers only. Enjoy the movie.

Super deadly killer with super human strenght, reflexes and what not starts a friendship with a girl that lives in the same apartment building where he lives. The mother of the girl is in trouble with the mob, the little girl is in danger, our hero awakes from his slumber and goes super saiyan level 4 and wrecks hell on mobsters.

That's about it, now, the problem is, among other things, how the protagonist is pretty much invincible. He gets the obligatory action cliché scene where they have to remove a bullet from him, but aside from that he destroys his enemies so easily there is little to no tension in the action sequences. The friendship between him and the girl is also rather dull and never feels very convincing, or engaging. Add a highly annoying stupid detective and you have a set of insipid characters. The action sequences range from decent to average, while there are some nice camera tricks here and there, one including a continuous shot going from inside a building to the street, other moments suffer from the jerky-camera syndrome of today's action cinema. Performances are also very painfully average.

Not really worth of the cult status some people are throwing to this one. OK to kill a rainy Saturday, but even so, you might just want to pick a better action movie.

When I first saw the trailer to this movie, I wanted to go see it but wasn't like super hyped up for it. It basically looked like the Korean version of "LEON: The Professional". But this movie is like the Korean version of "Man on Fire" with fight sequences that are similar to the "Bourne" movies. I heard this film really skyrocketed Won Bin's popularity, especially in Korea and I could tell why. He really is a badass in this movie and his charisma is overflowing in this movie. One of the girl in the audience couldn't help but say "he is so cool" in Korean during the scene where Won Bin's character is driving angrily while on the phone with the bad guys while showing some intimidating emotion. The plot isn't super original or anything, basically "Man on Fire" with a better flow and more dark and gritty with better action in my opinion. Overall this film was a lot better than I expected and also kept my interest from beginning to end while also being entertained. The style of this movie reminded me of "A Bittersweet Life" in a good way which is a plus with saturated colors leaning towards the dark and blue. Some people might get a bit irritated by the constant camera shot to Won Bin's face while he takes a pose like in some magazine or something. But I could tell it's to sell the movie to female viewers as well. Excellent casting, pretty good story with some slick action scenes make this movie really worth seeing, there is something for guys and girls.

8.3/10

I'm watching this movie in 2023, whereas I've already seen The John Wick and Nobody (2021), so I think I'd love it more if I'd seen it in 2010. I would find the rhythm of the film acceptable when it comes to fights and chases, but there are some scenes that could have been depicted more violently in the portrayal of them.

The next point is about preserving the culture that dominates South East Asian action movies. In this movie, the elements of Ax and Saturn, chanting, insensitivity to violence, etc. Were used well, which I think makes this movie. It is placed next to prominent films such as The Outlaws and The Chaser.

Have you ever thought how lost and distraught one can be following the loss of his/her loved ones? I guess this is a point that is worth pondering over, especially when we are witnessing such a tragedy unfolding in Japan.

" The Man From Nowhere", widely known as "Ajeossi" in South Korea, essentially depicts a man who has withdrawn himself from the society and lost his sense of worth and living due to the lost of his loved ones. However, he finally began to show affection and fondness in the little girl lives down the street; it was just like how tin man finally found his heart. They were each other's only friend. So when she is taken away, he fights with all his might and wit because he cannot possibly handle the loss of his only beloved friend.

This simple plot is very well executed. In terms of the pacing, it was just right and through subtle interactions between Taesik (played by Won Bin) and Somi (played by Kim Sae-ron), they show their high interdependency and chemistry. There was not a single part of the movie that is boring. Your tension is constantly kept at high, and you will be sometimes treated with some tidbits of laughter.

The narrative is definitely not the only attraction to this movie that eventually became the top selling movie in South Korea in the year 2010. Possibly the other main attraction is the film's cinematography. This movie has superb fight choreography (underscores superb). Brace yourself for a bloody massacre, but one that is not just of a bloody mess but of mission and gracefulness. This, coupled with creative angles and excellent sound effects, you get a movie that is of high production value. This alone assures you that the money that you spend on the movie is worthwhile.

How can one forget the other important factor? It's the protagonist. Won Bin has made several breakthroughs in his acting career that started back in 1997. However, this is probably by far the most successful role that he has taken up. With this single role, he has bagged 7 awards. Is that justified? Certainly! From the initial bizarre look and stare, to later on how he soften his look towards the little girl he wants to protect, to the flashback where it depict his downfall and devastation, to the ruthless and merciless look that was fuelled by hatred and despair when he was in search of the little girl… they were all effectively delivered to the audience. You can get so drawn into his acting that you may feel the sheer violence is justified. One moment you grief with the man who lost his loved ones, the next moment you crease your forehead at his brutality. The balance of this multi-faceted character is definitely not easy, but Won Bin did it. Also commendable is that there was no stuntman that stood in for the combat scenes. All the fist, knives and guns action were executed by him. His black belt in Taekwondo definitely comes in handy for his role. Indeed he has proved himself to be more than just an eye candy.

As the movie is coming to an end, it takes on a twist that prevented another episode of tragedy. The ending scene was definitely perplexing at first, but it turns out to be the man has finally found his 'home' for his heart, where he can pour out his affection and love once more. With the calming ending track leading into the credits, you cannot help but be affected, that is being moved to tears. To sum it all: great acting, great production, great movie.

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I found out about this movie by searching for the best ranked Korean films in this site (after getting excited by the EXCELLENT "The Watcher"). And well, to be honest this movie is kind of a 6.5 to me (but IMDb has no way of specifying it). First of all, I LOVE oriental cinema, specially Korean lately so the quirky humor and weird characters aren't a problem (altough the chubby police man kinda annoyed me), I'm used to them Still the movie has a few problems on its own. On the good side, the movie is fast paced, entertaining and the fight scenes (especially the last one) are great, kinda reminds me of the first Bourne movie. Some characters are memorable, like the main character who is a mix of Reeves/Neeson. But then again, some are plain ridiculous and exaggerated, like the villain who always dresses in white. All in all it's a very entertaining movies with just a few flawed moments. Unfortunately for me, those flaws killed the mood at certain times and they were unnecessary.

Still, it's a VERY decent movie and a nice addition to the Korean cinema.

SYNOPSIS

A quiet pawnshop owner (Won-Bin) gets tangled up with a gang of criminals after getting involved with his neighbour's daughter.

SPOILER-FREE

This movie are one of those rare movies that managed to get a 100% (yes, you read that right) on Rotten Tomatoes. The story starts with how this quiet pawnshop owner somehow managed to bond with his neighbour's daughter due to her mother's very own lack of care of the child. The movie starts slow before going on a spiral fast pace upward after the settings are placed in.

I would say that Won Bin played his role very, very well. Heck, I don't even recognize the guy until after almost hafway through the movie (I stumbled into this movie through my friend's viewing). He mostly just used his body language, or his expression to convey his feeling, a true testament to his acting range. Not until halfway through the movie do we even have a sniff into his character's backstory. It's what made me glued to my seat. The curiousity to know what happened with his character.

The action is also very violent. They're not too reliant on guns so they would make do with other things like knives or anything sharp or blunt, which makes for some very good fight scene spectacles. It's what make Korean movies stand out from other countries. It's very well crafted, well choreographed. That final fight scene is one of the memorable scenes in the movie. They won't hesitate to show you anything, whether it be violence, nudity, or even worse. They don't hold back or shy away from any ugliness. It shows any grim thing at its core, it shows the visceral truth.

The chemistry between him and the kid also shows. They are a few very touching scenes between them that might get you. Sure, the range of emotions doesn't hit you as hard as say another Korean movie, Oldboy. But it did just enough to tip the balance of your mental state while watching the movie.

The antagonists in this movie also provided you enough motivation for you to love to hate them. They basically have no morals, no code, and will do anything to get what they want. Name anything you could think of regarding the mafia, the movie pretty much shows they do it. The only downside of this movie is probably the plot. It is a bit predictable at times. Though, the way they executed them makes you forget about it.

All in all, a very very good movie. It's Taken (if its good) + Logan in a way. There's not much that I can say that doesn't involve the plot. It is an entertaining, gripping, well constructed, violent thriller, bloody visceral, dark and grim at times but filled with hopes and rainbows movie.

"The Man From Nowhere" has been compared to "The Professional", but in this case, the killer-child relationship is mostly at a distance, without much time for a bond to develop beyond cliches about bad mothers and cool guys who can't display positive emotions. The movie has lots of great individual moments involving knives, tasers, bathrooms, and driving ranges, but most of the characters (including our protagonist) are too cliched to take us beyond a collection of cool action shots. The police subplot slows the film dramatically (this would've been better at 90 minutes, with the cops gone almost completely), and the ending is totally unsatisfying. Skip it unless you're specifically into Korean action thrillers.

You have to remember that there is a school of thought that suggests that martial arts were invented in Korea. Whether you buy that premise or not, you can be assured they take their action movies seriously. On paper the notion of a mysterious pawnbroker with an unknown past, who just wants to be left alone, who befriends the child of a local party-girl .. well, it does not prepare you for this adventure. In truth, this film has more in common with Matt Damon as Bourne than any other recent American film I can think of. He is polite, he is pleasant, but you push this guy the wrong way and, bang, the bodies just start to pile up. No question some B-level Hollywood shop will go for the fast dollar and do a remake. But this will always be the one to watch. **Updated May 2015 ** In 2013, I said the Hollywood version was a lock. I was right. It was called The Equalizer and starred Denzel Washington. It was a combination of this story and the old TV series of the same name. In the final scene of this US version (which many missed) the writers left the door open for a sequel or even a franchise, which appears to have been greenlighted as I pen these words. And I was right about something else -- this version is still better. See it. ****

***UPDATE MAR 2021 *** In the decade since this was done, Korean TV or KDRAMAS have improved in quality to the point where they are considered the best written TV in the world. Many of the emotional beats found in MFN are visible in the KDRAMAS, proving that the unique blend of action and emotion here was not accidental, Korea has some of the best screenplay writers on the planet. ***

I love avenger movies or good ol' revenge movies. They speak to me. But not all revenge movies are created equal. Most of them are good, but some are pretty lousy. For instance, it can't be rushed. If a person is killed after one scene, that's not enough to make me vested in him/her being avenged. Another thing that has to be right is that the protagonist has to be someone I like. If it's a character I don't care much for then I'm not going to care much for his/her cause. One more thing is that the revenge has to be commensurate with the person's own emotions. If the injustice done to the protagonist was immense, so should be the revenge.

"The Man from Nowhere" was a top tier revenge movie.

A little girl named Jeong So-Mi (Kim Sae-ron) was constantly bothering her neighbor Cha Tae-sik (Won Bin). She was a bug-a-boo, but she had no one else to hang out with because her mother was an addict and she didn't have any friends. She wasn't harmful, mean, or irritating; in fact she was adorable and just needed love. She wasn't getting any love at home so she sought it from her neighbor the pawn shop owner.

Her mother ran afoul of Man-seok (Kim Hee-won), a big time drug dealer, which got her killed and her daughter taken. Cha never showed it, but So-mi was special to him which meant they just took the wrong girl. Cha went on a righteous mission to find So-mi and no one was going to stop him.

"The Man from Nowhere" just got better and better as it progressed. It already had the right elements to be a great revenge movie, then they added emotion to it as well. They had already made Cha a skilled and merciless killer willing to sacrifice his own body and his own freedom to find So-mi, but before that, they made sure that the audience would have the same desire as him for So-mi to be found. I didn't want Cha to rest until he reached So-mi, and if that meant going through everyone in Korea, then so be it; and Cha clearly felt the same way. TMFN is compelling, it's awesome, it's moving. It was the complete package.

I don't know about those romantic crap lovers, with strange sexual tendencies, but for real men, this is the kind of film you would like to see with your fellas having some beer and pizza, while saying things like: Oh! S#$! What Tha@#$@$, did you see that?!

Yes it is an old theme, yes it's similar to Taken, The Professiona, Man on Fire, and even other Koreans like the Trilogy of Vengeance and I Saw the Devil,but still is so cool in such unique ways that you may want to see it a couple of times while showing your American friends how independent filming is done in Asia.

At the beginning, I thought it would be like many Korean movies with long slow paced scenes, dramatizing events, but no, it turned out to be a well balanced action movie, with a proper ending.