“The Roundup” (범죄도시2)

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
August 10, 2022

Ma Seok-do (played by Ma Dong-seok)
Kang Hae-sang (played by Son Seok-koo)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

“The Roundup” is an action-packed sequel to the 2017 film “The Outlaws.” Often times brutal and very bloody, the movie also has its share of slapstick comedy thanks to its affable star Ma Dong-seok.

Loosely based on the real-life kidnappings of South Korean nationals in the Philippines in the mid-aughts, “The Roundup” is centered on Detective Ma Seok-do, who is sent to Ho Chi Minh City to repatriate a Korean criminal. While there, Ma learns of another expat Korean who kidnaps wealthy Korean tourists and holds them for ransom. Theoretically Kang Hae-sang is in it for the money. But in reality, he takes sadistic glee in killing his prey, regardless of whether the ransom is paid.

Son, who was last seen in the K-drama “My Liberation Notes,” wields a mean machete and a deadly gaze. When one of his victims’ parents reneges on paying the promised ransom, Kang returns to Korea to hunt him down and deliver his own kind of deadly retribution.

What the film lacks in nuance is more than made up with expertly choreographed fight scenes, car chases, plot twists and, of course, Ma Dong-seok’s star power.

Since South Korea doesn’t have a gun culture like the United States, this action-filled movie makes violence personal. Opponents don’t shoot each other form a distance. Rather, they do hand-to-hand (or hand-to-machete) combat at close range.

With “The Roundup,” director Lee Sang-yong makes his feature film debut. Previously, he was part of the assistant directing team for “The Outlaws.”

Release date: May 18, 2022 in South Korea; August 9, 2022 via digital platforms and VOD in the United States.

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