Bloody Ties

With Martin Scorsese's The Departed—a remake of the Hong Kong original Infernal Affairs—performing decently at the box office and taking home the Oscar for Best Picture, it probably won't be long before someone in Hollywood latches onto this similarly-themed high-octane Korean action film. Ho Choi's Bloody Ties teams a disgraced, rebellious narcotics cop (Hwang Jeong-min) with a low-level drug pusher/ex-con (Ryu Seung-beom), who join forces to bring down the powerful, well-connected drug kingpin (Lee Do-gyeong) who ruined them both. Set in the dark and gritty port city of Busan, the film revels in gloomy atmosphere, sudden violence, and cynicism about official corruption, with characters who turn on one another without a second thought and explode in rage at the slightest provocation. Some scenes involving the dealer's uncle, as well as a young female addict who becomes a pawn in the men's schemes, may strike viewers as needlessly cruel, and the over-the-top performances from the two leads—who rant and rave almost without pause—can become exhausting over nearly two hours. For those who appreciate nihilistic Asian machismo, however, the almost ludicrously hardboiled Bloody Ties should prove an entertaining watch. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a “making of” featurette and a trailer. Bottom line: a small extras package for a decent action flick.] (F. Swietek)