This Korean comedy boasts an amusing premise: Jung Do-man (Jung Jae-young), a police officer assigned to traffic patrol in a small town, is tapped to play the role of a bank robber in a robbery simulation exercise. The fake heist itself is mostly a publicity stunt to assure local residents of the police force's competence following a wake of unsolved robberies. The problem, however, is that the by-the-book cop takes his assignment much too seriously, creating unexpected problems for his bumbling colleagues. Director Hee-chan Ra's Going by the Book—a remake of the 1991 Japanese film Bang!—offers an entertaining riff on police procedures taken to an absurd extreme. Much of the film's humor is centered on Korean cultural protocol, particularly in regard to the small town police force's attempt to avoid embarrassment created by Do-man's overdone performance—not easy, as the exercise spirals into a nationally televised event. The driving force here is the solid performance by Jung Jae-young as the cop-turned-faux robber, whose stoic demeanor is leavened by a subtle charisma that keeps the viewer rooting for him in his quest for perfection. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)
Going by the Book
BayView, 103 min., in Korean w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.99 Volume 28, Issue 4
Going by the Book
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