Wonderful character development!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A lot of fun.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Movie: The Suspect (15)Rating: 4/5Gong Yoo is a skilled and matured actor, and I witnessed this in TRAIN TO BUSAN, SILENCED and THE AGE OF SHADOWS. I was so impressed with him that I ended up being a fan of him. I searched for more of his action films, and came across THE SUSPECT. A film with a decent screenplay, visuals and action scenes, this one definitely guarantees a watch.THE SUSPECT comes with bunch loads of surprises. These are quite effective as well. The story being a fine one and the screenplay being a decent one holds you, along with the action sequences being the best thing about the film. One thing that is disappointing for sure is that the film doesn't have a proper execution in certain portions. The film's pace could've been better in the between when it begins to slow down. Certain sequences are deftly handled, while many are just executed in an unimpressive way. I can understand that the director would've tried his best, but he has not been successful in gripping the viewer completely. Some scenes look similar to many popular South Korean action films.But these flaws flaws don't trouble you for long as the film lets go of the grip only occasionally. Once it regains, particularly in the second hour, it entertains fully with its terrific action scenes, cinematography and performances, heading towards a clapworthy climax. I was so overjoyed that I rewinded and replayed the ending scene. Here the director succeeds to a great extent.Gong Yoo is excellent, and that needs not to be told. He looks even better and manly here. Park Hee-soon is terrific, and his character is quite likable to a certain extent, just like that of Gong Yoo. Yoo Da-in is just fine, and even though she overdoes her part in a few scenes, her act is a decent one.THE SUSPECT may not be the best South Korean film, but with its stunning action, visuals and of course, its leading man, deserves to be seen at least once. I liked the action a lot, and I'll be watching it again.

Eager to please big budget action in the vein of the Bourne or Mission Impossible franchises. A North Korean double agent evades a South Korean triple agent while searching for the true killer of an important government official, who is also responsible for the murder of our hero's family. There's also a secret chemical weapons formula being chased by both sides.None of this matters, of course, because the story is an excuse for lots of spectacular fight scenes and even more spectacular chase scenes; a quite satisfying amount of cars are damaged in one lengthy chase. Characters speak mostly in exposition as they stare at computer monitors or hold phone conversations. Our hero is somewhat dull and uncomplicated, and one wishes the story was actually focused on the two primary antagonists -- who could easily carry their own movie.Overall solid entertainment in the style of Hollywood action blockbusters.

''The Suspect'' is a South Korean action-thriller in the vein of several contemporary spy movies like ''The Berlin File''. The movie tells the story of a North Korean defector who has once been a top special forces agent. After years of loyal service to his country, he became the victim of a conspiracy and purge. While the defector was able to make it to South Korea, his wife and young daughter were killed. Filled with grief and anger, the defector is now working as a chauffeur for a warm-hearted chairman who wants to help the North Korean people by developing a chemical product that could improve agriculture and prevent future famines. One day before a crucial meeting in North Korea, the chairman gets assassinated by some obscure members of the South Korean intelligence service. The defector witnesses the crime and fights the assassins but he can't save his boss. The dying chairman though gives him his glasses which hide the formula for the chemical product. The defector gets now hunted by the South Korean intelligence service who accuse him for the murder of the chairman and want to get the formula. The manhunt is led by a tough colonel who wants to eliminate the defector at all costs but who soon realizes that his boss is hiding a sinister secret and that things are more complicated than they appear. With the help of an ambitious journalist, the defector wants to uncover the secret of the chairman's glasses, clear his name and fight the true murderers and also find the man who killed his family.On the positive side of the movie, one gets a twisted and tension-filled story line. The movie is gripping and entertaining and never gets boring despite a running time of almost two hours and a half. The acting is solid and especially the defector, the colonel and the main villain are portrayed in authentic ways. The movie has some character development and spends enough time to add some depth by telling a few side-stories in form of flashbacks. The action scenes in the movie are of the highest quality and at least as good as similar contemporary Hollywood movies. One gets to see agile and yet brutal martial arts fighting scenes, brutal shootings and breathtaking car chases. Some of these scenes are unrealistic and over the top but they are definitely fun to watch. Despite all the action and brutality, the movies manages to keep a human core and comes around with a moving ending.On the negative side, I must admit that this movie obviously picks up several ideas from past South Korean but also international spy flicks. The story line of the movie is not really original and several parts of the film are in fact quite predictable for genre fans. The script could have been more innovative in my opinion.Despite this obvious flaw, genre fans should still watch this movie as it's among the better South Korean spy movies of the last years. It easily beats ''The Berlin File'' and is probably on one level with movies like ''New World'' but obviously less groundbreaking than ''Shiri''. For international fans, you will probably appreciate this movie if you liked the films of the Bourne franchise.

The Suspect is the type of espionage thriller that starts very good but as usually happens with Asian movies, loses a lot of time with personal dramas and love / hate relations among enemies. The first half of the movie is so fast that it is almost impossible to follow (specially with subtitles). A dissident North Korean highly trained spy called Ji Dong-cheol; working as a chauffeur for an important industrial and political person, witness his boss assassination by a people of the South Korean Secret Service. Ji Dong-cheol is able to fight the killers, so before dying, his boss gives him a pair of lenses with some secret information (the Mc Guffin).Of course, Secret Service blames Ji Dong-cheol for the assassination and and start chasing him all over Seoul unsuccessfully. A retired Special Forces, is summoned to capture Ji Dong-cheol; but there is some old history between them.The first half of the movie, the action is NON-STOP; however during the second half, personal past issues of the main characters are explained via flash backs or dialog; slowing down the action (and the main story line too much). There is still plenty of action and violence filmed in a way only Hong Kong or Korean movies can; but the interest decays. It is common for Asian movies to include some over-dramatic moments but in this case, the pace changes too much and the events depicted are not that believable or properly developed.In brief; a decent Korean action thriller with could have benefited for a 20 or 30 minutes trimming or with better written script and a director capable of handling drama without boring.