Movie: Commitment (15)Rating: 4/5I didn't know about this film until I found that it was dubbed in Hindi. I saw it and found it to be unexpectedly good as most South Korean action thrillers are. COMMITMENT doesn't add anything new to the genre but provides a pretty great deal of action packed entertainment with a good portrayal of human emotions and relations, though the emotions slightly falter towards the end.Choi Seung-hyun is good in his role. This is his first film I've seen. Other actors too were good. The screenplay is decent, and there are a lot of impressive moments throughout the film. The action scenes and visuals are amazing, as is the cinematography. Editing is fine.Besides, COMMITMENT also has a great portrayal of emotions throughout. The story being realistic helps to connect to the characters and feel their pain. The heartwarming brother-sister relation is brought out very well. Full marks to the director for utilising and extracting great performances from his actors. However, the film falters in the end. The climax was a good one but the emotions didn't come out well. It's only here that it's hard to feel for the characters, otherwise there's not a single scene where you won't.But that being a minor flaw doesn't affect the film's entertainment quotient, and due to that I recommend watching COMMITMENT.

The son and daughter of a falsely-accused North Korean traitor are imprisoned for their father's crime; one day, the son is given the chance to not only earn their freedom, but to erase the stain on their family name by becoming a spy.Sparing us the needless training scenes, our anti-hero enters the South, the Republic of Korea, as a refugee, where he is "adopted" by North Korean handlers (despite being an adult) and sent to school. Okay, so I've no idea at what age Koreans leave school, but this seemed weird... but not as weird as teachers bullying pupils with a wooden cane before leaving them unsupervised. Still, carry on...The lead soon develops an attachment with a classmate, and even though there's never any romance per se, there is a genuine chemistry, which makes their relationship feel more meaningful than just two horny teens bonking. And this is important, because we already know she'll most likely be kidnapped - but certainly used against him - later on by his enemies. This is an action flick, after all.But what's this? As our spy sets about his duty, a rival faction's bumping his fellow spies off as a major player seeks to usurp power in the North.Yeah, I really liked this part of the plot, just as I really liked how our young spy understood none of it, being naive to the ways of the world. Anyway, the story twists and turns, there are shoot outs, plenty of kick-arse fights scenes and then we get to the ending, which is either going to be the typical Hollywood ending (the hero rides off into the sunset with the girl) or the typical Korean one (i.e. everybody dies), because so far, the film hasn't broken any seriously new ground to elevate it beyond being a merely good action-thriller. And South Korea knocks them out by the dozen.So, if you're new to Korean cinema, you'll likely love this flick, but for fans who have seen it all before, there's really not enough here to recommend, even though it is very enjoyable while it lasts.

Cool is all this movie is, and I don't mean that in a completely positive way either. This movie suffers from what made "71: Into the Fire" lacking in substance. It has some action sequences with good enough choreography but underneath it all, there just isn't much. This movie tries to attract younger audiences with the main characters being in high school and with the main protagonist constantly trying to act cool. Which is fine, since it worked in "The Man From Nowhere" but just doesn't really work here. Sure there are parts with characters getting all emotional and all, but it doesn't pierce the audiences. The way it's developed I just couldn't care for the protagonist and his situation. The martial arts sequences are alright but that is all that is going for this movie, which is fine if it's main focus is the martial arts but that isn't the case either. It tries to integrate a thrilling and gripping story, but fails. I may get some heat from T.O.P fan girls but the guy can't act and I just couldn't believe that a scrawny skinny guy like him is able to beat the crap out of people by slapping the around. He does his trademark look of looking oblivious until another fight scene starts. I know this is to show the characters innocence which he tries to do with every show and movie he is in but it gets tiresome. His stage performance as a rapper is fierce and cool though. I am fine with him wearing make up on stage as a rapper, but he freaking wears eyeliner in some scenes where he plays the action hero in a movie. Which does not work for me, no matter how big the pretty boy trend is in Korea. I just couldn't take him seriously. Anyways when it comes to the action sequences, they are far between and when it tries to focus on the story without the action it gets boring real easily and seems to drag without much interest development. Even the climax wasn't much, it's a forgettable movie overall and I think it just stood out in Korea because T.O.P is a popular entertainer.5.5/10

Commitment is a tense thriller, mixed together with the young espionage and love story.Myung-hoon (Seung Hyun Choi) is the son of a North Korean spy who has been killed on the job in South Korea. Myung-hoon and his younger sister are trapped in the North Korean camp and will get the freedom only if he becomes a spy himself. He is now trained and has been sent to a South Korean school as a high school student. He befriends a girl in his class who is being bullied by a group of students. After all He understands that his own country is trying to eliminate him and now he has to save his sister and new friend as a commitment. He is committed to protect his sister and friend even at the cost of his life.Seung Hyun Choi delivers an exceptional performance with gritty facial expressions and body language. His character remains as powerful as it is writing for him.We see guns, explosions, martial arts and good action sequences laced with a fantastic espionage genre. However, the love story seems a bit clichéd but it has been managed with somewhat skill as it never goes over the top.The dirty political between North and South Korea, introduces the plot but has been left aside midway, you may feel the requirement of some more implications.In a nutshell, it is a real treat for Asian action thrillers, this is a definite must see film. You will enjoy the quick and perfect action sequences.My Vote 7.2/10