Movie: Gangnam Blues (18)Rating: 3.5/5Actor Lee Min Ho is quite popular in India. Many of his Indian fans might have seen this film as well. But I watched it because the title seemed attractive, and also because it's​ an action film. But I must say that GANGNAM BLUES is one of those films which have the most of the game going in their favour but a few bad tricks spoil the game to quite a certain extent.GANGNAM BLUES is a film definitely not for kids or family audiences. Mature audiences too might not like it if excessive violence and sex are not their taste. For me, the violent action sequences were fine but the film was reduced to a B-Grafe entertain due to the insertion of pornographic sequences which were totally unnecessary. The action indeed is the best thing about the film as every single action scene is beautifully shot and executed. Even the storyline is good but the screenplay disappoints at times, and it's something I don't expect from South Korean filmmakers.But this film has great actors who carry the film on their shoulders. Lee Min Ho and Kim Rae Won are good enough in their roles. Other actors are fit for their roles. The film could​ have been far better had the director trimmed the film well, particularly the sex sequences. Also, though I liked the end, the last shot seemed way too unnecessary as it didn't make a proper sense and wasn't relevant enough.But GANGNAM BLUES is indeed a good film. There are a few more flaws but you won't realize them while watching. This is definitely not the best film ever but is a good film for those who love dark action movies, just like I do.

South Korea, early-1970s. The government decides to redevelop the Gangnam area south of Seoul, an area that is currently essentially a shanty town. This redevelopment will mean wealth for property owners and developers and corrupt politicians waste no time in feathering their nests. Also into this vacuum steps several criminal gangs, fighting over land, and often working on behalf of the politicians. Caught up in this is a resident of Gangnam, Jong- dae, who discovers that by joining one of the gangs he can pull himself up out of his poverty.Had heaps of potential. There are similarities with The Godfather - the turf war, the gangster connection, the unwilling civilian who becomes a crime lord, the sweeping scale of the drama. However, that's about where the similarities end. While The Godfather was a cinematic masterpiece, Gangnam Blues is mediocre.The biggest problem is that it is unfocused. Writer-director Ha Yoo tries to cram in too many stories and sub-plots, minimizing engagement with individual characters and making the movie overly long and padded. Focusing on the lead character and keeping detours in the plot to a minimum would have made for a much better movie.On the plus side, the movie is quite gritty and the action scenes quite good. Reasonably entertaining, in spells.

This film avoids the trap of trying to make the great mob movie by flying low, and it works, it is a rich experience. I will be watching it again. The biggest similarity with the Godather is that Gangnam can evoke what it wants just through the visuals. The meaning, and meanings, of the story are interlayered in what you see and how you see it. The lighting was I thought great, I rarely do. If you've known crime, criminals, cities, politics, family, hard times this film will speak. You get a tapestry of human personalities, and the faces speak about life, choices, chances, death. Pretty violent but surprisingly gentle. I guess it is because it is all symbolic of life's struggles and of cultural changes during the 1970's. It gave me the feeling of a (the) true story of Gangnam. Novelistic. Music, A-1. Acting, too. It's the only mob movie since the Godfather which could be compared to it.

what we got here is a very badly scripted clichéd screenplay with very pretentious dialog, then we got a very deadbeat director who failed to ignite those who signed up for playing the roles in it. there were several segments of this film that made me feel like watching a lousy Korean pornographic crap. those intercourse, fornication scenes are just absolutely unnecessary, yet this brain-dead director just added and inserted those love-making scenes. every time when the clueless sexual stuff suddenly showed up, i just couldn't help myself to curse. this film was trying to portray the Korean politicians using the gangsters to rip the land from the poor, and the real estates business and values in Korea were starting to boom. the storyline is very weak, and most of the acting performed by almost every actor in this film was not good, therefore it failed to get me connected. a very bad film that the Korean movie industry rarely under achieved in recent years, since most of their recent products are very good, some of them are even light-year better than what Hollywood did in recent years. i have to confess that i didn't finish it, because it's one of the worst Korean films.