User reviews

In 18th Century Korea, ice is a much sought after commodity; initially controlled by the government, an unscrupulous businessman manages to take over the product and use it for his own ends. Meanwhile, ice guardian and soldier Dong-Soo (Ji-ho Oh) is arrested and exiled for a period of time after his crew dies in the takeover bid; and mild bookseller Duk-Moo (Tae-hyun Cha) becomes determined to take revenge when the same businessman has his best friend tortured to death. So Duk-Moo comes up with an elaborate scheme to steal all the ice from the businessman's warehouses, and soon he draw Dong-Soo into the plot. But they need to gather together the top specialists in the fields of information-gathering, tomb robbing, explosives expert, driver, master of disguise and money-man if they're to be successful in pulling off the plan.... Elements of a wacky Ocean's 11 type plot mix with some serious treatment about the class system in Korea in the 18th Century and a little bit of romance to sweeten the plot; this is very clever, with an excellent ensemble cast and a lot of funny moments mixed with action-packed suspense. I have to say that there were so many characters (I've only described a couple of the main ones here), at times I was kind of confused about what was going on, but it was quite a lovely experience just the same.

This is a bland heist movie that seems at first to have the potential to be fun but falls short. Quite a bit of characters and scenarios was just pointless and doesn't really add anything to this movie. I was never a fan of the actor Cha Tae-Hyun and once again he plays the same character he does in just about all of his movies. Since the beginning build up seemed to have potential I thought the exciting and clever parts would be when the heist actually takes place. However it just turned out to be generic and pretentious while it trying to be more than what it really is. The plan is way more simple than what it really is, with quite a bit of unnecessary elements. The heist revolves around a group trying to steal ice which was a rare commodity back in the Joseon Dynasty. I am not quite sure which movie is worse this or "The Thieves" 2012. Oh and the theme song is alright but it's way overplayed, like WAY too much.

4.8/10

The movie revolves around a guy who wants to take revenge of his past by a witty trade. The journey also involves around various other interesting, funny and unique characters like the tunnel digger, bomb maker, etc. Really, when the movie picks up, you feel thrilled and excited as to what would happen the next. Broadly, the story of the movie isn't a very great one, but the screenplay is something that amazes you. The unique style of characters, their roles, etc. takes the show away. The main character plays through out the movie as the centre piece weaving the entire scheme of theft carefully, but as an interesting one should be, it has it's own twist and turns.

This Korean heist movie was a great discovery! Adventure, comedy, lovers of heist movies with a historical touch will love this one!

Surprised at every level. I thought this would be ultra silly or just bad but it was plain fun. Not to be taken seriously but a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

Apparently this is a directorial debut and I have to say it's an achievement as it's a bit complicated and you have to watch carefully not to get a bit lost.

Some of the humor is hilarious and it's a bit cliched at times but it pulls it off without any harm done.

I've seen worse heist movies and what this film misses out on in perfection it makes up in being thoroughly enjoyable.

Nice acting all round, some stunning scenery and a good plot.