Another Public Enemy
Another Public Enemy
| 27 January 2005 (USA)
Another Public Enemy Trailers

A criminal psychopath from a wealthy family is confronted with Chul-jung Kang, a former classmate who no longer likes his activities.

Reviews
RolandCPhillips

I saw this much-hyped sequel against my better judgement. Having seen the original and some of Kang's other films, I knew it would probably be overlong and only intermittently entertaining. In this, I think I was proved right, but I still enjoyed it more than I expected.The first film diluted it's manic, almost psychotic, intensity with excessive length and a rather flat delivery. For all its beatings, asides on corruption and justice, monstrous acting, coal-black humour and over-heated atmosphere, it was too long and stymied further by a restricted, almost myopic visual style – plus too much shouty dialogue.This sequel shares many of the same problems. This cinematography is quite disappointing. Despite being shot by Kim Song-bok, who also shot the stylish, colourful Shiri and JSA, the production is restricted to offices, minimalist interiors and homes, all bathed in bland lighting; it is by no mean a dynamic visual spectacle. It lasts almost 150 (longer than the first film), and draws out what could have been an economical, punchy narrative with repetitive speeches on the nature of responsibility and the role of public servants. Worse still is the overall lack of aggression – this is positively tame in comparison to the original, with no chainsaws, knives or bricks in sight. The social commentary is also simplistic. Many of the issues raised and crimes pursued have world-wide relevance but the debate is terribly laboured and simplified here, and thus the film never takes on an epic dimension (which the films of Michael Mann do) despite the long running-time: there's precious little sense of a wider-world, or even a sense of South Korea on the international stage. At times, it resembles a dreary TV-legal drama.But for all that, I was gripped. The film takes a thoroughly old-fashioned approach to character distinction: prosecutor Chul-jung Kang is the good guy, a tough, utterly dedicated, incorruptible force for good, living a lonely bachelor's life in the pursuit of justice for the innocent, belying the long-hours, derision and low pay. Sang-woo Han is an absolute b**tard who'd kill his own brother, sell-off his father's charitable legacy and even drive-over elderly, well-meaning street-cleaners who tick him off for littering. He's the bad guy, and the friction between hero and villain makes for a tense match, that protracted dialogue cannot nullify.The film's meticulous attention to procedural detail and male camaraderie is also interesting. The male-melodrama that underlies so many Korean blockbusters (especially Kang's Silmido) is more engaging here, less forced and makes the prosecuting team quite endearing. The film peters out steadily towards the end, and like the first film the climatic showdown is slightly disappointing because it takes too long to come, only here its worsened by a weak, weak conclusion. That said, there are several other excellent action sequences: a ruck at the start between warring schools, some nasty collisions on the highway involving a motorbike gang, and a few more brutal beatings ordered by the chief baddie.And what a baddie: greedy, self-obsessed, un-patriotic, incredibly arrogant and happy to delegate all his wrong-doing and GBH to his lackeys, he still maintains that his is of noble blood, above all us proles. Just seeing the SOB get his dues made the experience worthwhile.

... View More
Muviegirl

I really enjoyed this movie!! I thought the two main characters had awesome chemistry and honestly, who on some level does not enjoy a good "good guy" vs. "bad guy" movie every once in a while? Here's what it's about: You have these two men, who were childhood rivals at school. They meet years later when the bad guy (who of course has a ton of money and power but wants even more) ends up committing a sting of crimes. Now the good guy, who has become a cop (with very little money and power, but one hell of a grudge) gets involved. He cannot wait to take down his childhood nemesis, and of course all hell is about to break out, because this case is personal! Honestly, this movie is just so great because it is sooooo much fun to watch!! You get a lot of great action sequences. They are incredibly well choreographed, especially the one at the movie's opening. You also get a lot of laughs, albeit some of them probably aren't intentional on the filmmakers part;) yet this just totally adds to the overall entertainment value. For example, it was just so much fun watching the bad guy do these crazy things just to prove to us that he is in fact "a bad guy." You also get a lot of really creative nastiness. There was a scene from the movie that involved a coke can, which my friend and I must have replayed twice, because it was just hilarious! Obviously this movie is not a complex piece of work, but if you want a movie that's gonna entertain you, then this one is totally for you!

... View More
Soju King

This movie is the typical South Korean film that relies on melodrama, plot holes, unbelievable characters and, as always, a dash of nationalistic pride. Even the main character, a city prosecutor, is hard to sympathize with as his main motivation for pursuing the antagonist is because of resentment he felt for this person back in high school. The scene where dozens of police cars show up out of thin air and have every street in Seoul blocked off to catch some motorcyclists requires the viewer to suspend all logic. There are some Korean films that show promise for the future of the industry in Korea. This isn't one of them.

... View More
Musashi Zatoichi

New Public Enemy¡¦ who laughs at Justice with his money and power The new antagonist born out of " Another Public Enemy " is JUNG Joon-ho. Even the cinematographer was taken back by the actor¡¯s naturalism at playing such an evil character.Although many other members of the production crew were worried how JUNG Joon-ho will be playing the role of such a cold hearted, manipulating villain so well, the character was perfect for him to play. During the final showdown between the public enemy and the prosecutor, the cinematographer recalls that his acting was so intense and powerful that it actually shook the camera. And in order to give the actor the appearance of that of being a member of the aristocratic, bourgeois society, more than 20 designer suits and a luxurious hotel suite, which cost USD 5,000 a day to rent were used.Tunnel Total Shut down¡¦ 5 Simultaneous Camera ¡¦ The Most complex and dangerous High-speed pursuit scene ever ! One of the highlights of the movie is the scene where KANG Chul-joong, the Prosecutor is in high-speed pursuit of bikers. Because of the complexity and amount of danger the scene possessed, it was necessary to block off the tunnel that was used for the scene. The tunnel was shut down with barricades provided by numerous patrol cars and police officers. More than 5 cameras were used in the scene in order to captivate the best scenes, including an unmanned camera that was set up on the road.Another scene was when the motorcyclists run KANG Chul-joong¡¯s car off the road and onto the entrance of the tunnel, where a truck comes barreling out and crushes the car.The crew chose a suburban area near the InchonInternationalAirport. And since the scene was a very risky one, several ambulances and emergency personnel were on stand by.This scene also required the 5 camera set up.Three Directors for One film¡¦ Each scene for the best directors¡¦ In "Another Public Enemy", director KIM Sang-jin of "Jail Breaker", "Ghost House" and "Attack the Gas Station" was placed in charge of the flashback scenes of KANG Chul-joong¡¯s youth, while CHANG Youn-hyun of "SOME", "Tell me Something" directed the chase scenes. Director KANG took charge of the films overall drama, and character development. Giving each director in charge of specific scenes was to make the best film with the best scenes which the two other directors are good at. Because the two directors already had experience working with director KANG in previous films, the outcome of the collaboration was perfect that created a synergy effect that added to the films overall success.SYNOPSIS KANG Chul-joong (staring SOL Kyung-gu), a prosecutor for the Seoul District attorney¡¯s office, is a unique one. He prefers going directly to the crime scene to reading files, his intuition and guts to logic and reason, and using weapons of force to sitting back watching his men get stabbed by criminals. And now, once again, his gets one of his gut feelings about a particular case, and wastes no time in getting involved in the Myung-sun Foundation case, during which he opening declares war on HAN Sang-woo ( starring JUNG Joon-ho), the Public Enemy.HAN Sang-woo( starring JUNG Joon-ho) assumed the position of Executive Director of the Myung-sun Foundation when his father died, and his successor, his elder son, suffered a car accident and fell into a coma. Soon, a director on the board of the Myung-sun Foundation becomes suspicious and files a case with the prosecutor¡¯s office.KANG Chul-joong has a hunch about the case and decides to pursue it.And coincidentally, HAN Sang-woo turns out to be an old friend of KANG Chul-joong from high school.

... View More