A Company Man

(3.5 STARS) "A Company Man" or a Salaried Killer in a Suit
On the surface Ji Hyeong-Do (Ji-seob So) looks like any other ordinary businessman commuting in a train. Every morning he goes to the office of a medium-sized "metal trading" enterprise in Seoul. But what people in the same building do not know is that Ji Hyeong-Do has been working for the company that in fact specializes in contract killings. He is a faithful "company man" who gets paid and even "promoted" for what he does. He is even tasked with "firing" his co-workers.

One day Ji Hyeong-Do's perfect life as first-rate killer starts to change, however, when he chooses not to follow a certain part of the order given to him. This leads to his meeting with Yu Mi-yeon (Mi-yeon Lee), mother of two children. And Yu Mi-yeon was a singer Ji Hyeong-Do adored when he was young.

A 2012 Korean thriller "A Company Man" is more about the central character Ji Hyeong-Do and his transformation than about the brutal fights he has to go through. The action is sparse, especially...

Great movie - witty and sarcastic about the plight of the "salaried man"
Great movie. Nicely paced, good story and likeable (and dislikeable) characters. The action scenes were pretty awesome - love the Tarantino-esque all out office scene at the end. U.S. folks may have mixed feelings about it but I think the entire concept of the movie is to take the stereotype of the salaried man to a new sarcastic, witty and over-the-top level so if you watch it with that view I think you'd enjoy it more. Not to say it's not enjoyable as is. Overall, definitely worth getting and watching. I'm also becoming a big fan of the lead actor So Ji-Sub. He seems to make some solid movie choices. I just watched him in Rough Cut (directed by Kim Ki Duk - who did Spring, Summer, Autumn, Fall... and Spring, Pieta, Samaritan Girl, 3-Iron, to name just a few of the classics), the Korean title is actually read "A Movie is a Movie" and the Korean title makes the movie make more sense when you watch it. Anyway, just saw him in that and that was pretty awesome. And saw him in Always...

A true company man
I didn't know what to expect going in to watch this movie. I was not familiar with the main character. Man, was this like a slap to the face or something! the main guy, So Ji-Seob is a truly phenomenal actor. The intensity he portrays on screen is so heart wrenching. The film definitely starts slow, but that slow burn grows into something epic by the end. You get pulled into his goal and by the end you are cheering him on. This film totally made me his fan.

I recommend this to anyone that appreciates a good drama, there are some action scenes but they are not the focal point. (although, that scene in the car was so freaking awesome!)

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