Yes everyone I am back, and my vacation has finally started. In the coming days, I will try and catch up with some of the posts I have missed out on, as well as write some reviews of my own. And what better way to kick off a vacation from work, with a movie about work. Well, sort of. Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate my job or anything like that, but it is not my lifelong ambition either so to speak. And I guess the same can be said for most people that have a day job. If you happen to be one of those lucky few that are an exception to this rule, congratulations on that great achievement. But before this post is turning into a job interview let me start by telling you what this movie is about.
In A Company Man, we are introduced to Heyong-do, a man who seems to love his job. Wearing a suit and tie, he always turns up in time for his work at the seemingly normal company he is employed by. But the company is a front for an entirely different kind of business namely that of assassinations. Heyong-do is one of the hitmen, and one of the company’s best. Never before has he failed a mission, and it looks like he has no conscience whatsoever. But then he meets up with the single mother of one of his co-workers, and falls in love. This is the beginning of the end for him. Because of his intense feelings he really wants to change his ways, and quit being the stonecold assassin that he has been all his life. When he begins to spare certain people that he was supposed to kill, the company wants to get rid of him. But not by laying him off. No they have a much more permanent solution in mind….
This is one of those great Korean actionthrillers that I really love to watch. Although actionthriller seems to be too harsh a word for it. There certainly is action, I won’t deny that, but at the heart of it is also a pretty heartbreaking drama, and a truly great story to boot. A movie such as this stands or falls with the performance of it’s lead actor, and luckily the casting for this one was perfect. So Ji-sub portrays the role of Heyong-do in a terrific way. His natural charm makes sure that you instantly care for this character, even despite the horrific job he is carrying out. Both in the drama and action scenes So manages to deliver a believable role, and he is one of the best reasons for watching this film. But actress Lee Mi-yeon, who plays his love interest also does a great job. Their on screen chemistry works very well, and in scenes that could normally have turned into something very mushy, they both manage to avoid that altogether.
For the actionlovers out there this film offers just enough to satisfy. As mentioned even though you can classify this as an action thriller it isn’t the overall theme of the movie. So do not expect an action sequence every minute, as you will be really disappointed. The movie is shot and directed beautifully with a terrific final shoot out scene, that is one of the highlights of this movie. I have tried to find some things that I did not like about this film, but I honestly could not find them. This is just a solid Korean movie, that is truly worth seeing. With great performances by the cast, and a story that provides enough drama and action, I highly recommend this movie. So, as Heyong-do mentions at one point in the film: “The work day is over ” . And so is this review.
I give A Company Man a 9 out of 10 score.
Awesome review and it sounds pretty interesting, what I like about it its it seems to have a mixture of action and drama, but I need to watch it first so I can confirm it.
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It is exactly that, a mix between drama and action. Thanks for the kind words, and if you do get to watch this, I hope you will enjoy it 😀
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That was my honest opinion and your reviews even though they’re full of passion you still look at the movies objectively when you review them, that’s great!
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Sounds interesting…
I’ll have to try it out.
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It’s very good indeed 😀 If you do get to check this out, I hope you are going to enjoy it 😊
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Was this on netflix? I think I watched it a couple of years ago when I went on a korean binge…
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I don’t know if it’s been on Netflix, I own the movie on dvd 😊 But it might have been (content in my country is usually different then in the rest of the world 😊).
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That scene where they are sitting at tea just looks super familiar…
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Yeah: it’s one of those scenes that you might see in quite a number of movies. It was a great scene in this one though 😊
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I have watched this one! And i liked it too~
Awesome review! 🙂
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Thank you 😀 It really was a great film that I enjoyed very much 😊
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You said it’s a movie about work and then I see a guy with a gun. Guess that’s also work of a sort 😀 Great review, as always, and enjoy your vacation!
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Lol, yes work can be different for everyone I guess 😂😂 It made for a good movie though, thst is for sure 😊 Thanks, I will definitely do my best to enjoy it.
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Hmm. This sounds good. I’m going to have to see if I can find it. Nice review Michel! I hope you have a lovely vacation!😊
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I hope you will be able to find it. It’s definitely worth the watch in my opinion. Thank you very much, I hope it will be a good vacation too 😊
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Adding it to the list! Sounds like just my kind of movie 🙂
And Happy Vacation!!!
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Yes, I certainly think that you will enjoy this movie. It’s the perfect blend between action and drama. Thanks, I hope my vacation will be fun 😊
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First of all, welcome back! Secondly, as always, I enjoy reading your reviews and this one is no exception. Your review is enjoyable to read, as always. 😊 Anyway, the film sounds interesting. I really am curious about the story. I think I will watch it too. Thank you for sharing! 😊
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Thank you very much. It’s great to be back 😀 And ofcourse it’s always nice to read these very kind words from you: really appreciate it 😀 As for the film, it really is well worth seeing. Especially since it’s a rather unique blend of drama and action 😊 Hope you will enjoy it !
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The story premise sounds fascinating to me. I haven’t seen an action-drama type of film in a very long time, which kind of sucks haha. But it’s difficult to find ones that can balance both decently. This film, however, has me very intrigued. Thank you for sharing this review! Happy vacation-ing. 🙂
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Thanks: am trying to enjoy my vacation as best I can. You are right about the balancing. It really is hard to find movies that manage to pull off both in a good way. This one does manage to accomplish both very well in my opinion. Hope you will enjoy the film 😊
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Great review 🙂 You’ve made me, want to watch Korean films now 🙂
Any recommendations on, where to start?? 🙂
Also, Hope you have a lovely vacation 😀
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Haha, well that’s a good thing 😊 Thank you for the kind words, appreciate it. As for your question, what movie genres do you like to watch? I can give some recommendations based on your answer 😊
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You’re welcome 🙂
I like horror and psychological thrillers.
Thanks 🙂
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Cool, those are very good choices. For horror I can highly recommend Train to Busan. I did a review for that one a couple of weeks back, and it is too date the best Korean movie I have seen. Absolutely analist movie. Another great and psychological horror/thriller movie is the Wailing. I pan on doing a review for that one sometime in the future, but it is a really terrific film (and quite scary as well). Another one that moght be of interest to you is Confession of Murder. A really great serial killer movie, with an amazing twist at the end. But for starters I would go with Train to Busan, that one is absolutely amazing 😊
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Thanks so much 🙂 Very much appreciated 😀
Wow they all sound so exciting 🙂 Can’t wait to watch them 🙂
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You are welcome. I hope you will enjoy watching them 😊
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Good review 😊😊 I love Korean movies so much, so I need to watch this haha x x
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Thank you very much 😊 If you like Korean movies, this one certainly will be very entertaining. I hope you will enjoy it 😀
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Your most welcome 😊😊 Yay, I will check it out x x
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I love action films with an emotional nuance. I’ll have to put this on my watch list.
Have you read the Rain series? The author is Barry Eisler. Rain is a hitman, and the stories have a good emotional payout too.
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This certainly had that. If you eventually get to see it, I hope you will enjoy the watch 😊 As for Rain, no I can’t say that I have. Have not even heard about it before but thanks for sharing this. Will put it onto my to read list 😀
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I’ve only read one so far but was impressed that the author gave the character that depth.
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Sounds very promising.
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So this like a few weeks ago. I didn’t like it as much, but found it to be a pretty good flick. The premise was interesting enough to keep me watching, So Ji-sub was great in the leading role, and the action scenes were well done. I enjoyed that office shoot out a lot. Looks like something that might happen if I resign from my own job lol.
It reminded a lot of a Korean movie called A Bittersweet Life while watching it. They tell a similar story, but have different execution to the story they tell. If you liked A Company Man you might also enjoy A Bittersweet Life if you haven’t seen it already.
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A Bittersweet Life is terrific. It’s definitely the better movie, that’s for sure. I really thought the high level of acting in that was terrific. It’s been quite a while since I have last seen it, but it’s amazing.
As for this movie…it really was fun. The office shooting scene was really good (even though it was completely over the top lol). Haha…and I hope that won’t happen at your office 😂😂
Glad you enjoyed the film! 😊😊
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