When their investigations are deemed unsatisfactory by the public, the police, led by detective Seo Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min), must protect a convict they put behind bars from a vigilante named Haechi who has started taking matters into his own hands. They enlist the help of Park Sun-woo (Jung Hae-in), a rookie cop with ~impeccable~ fighting skills, to protect the convict and track down Haechi. This leads to brawls, laugh out loud moments, and a clever unravelling of psychological layers because the film lets us in on who Haechi is from the beginning.
I, the Executioner, directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, is a lot of fun. It’s obvious from watching the film that the director and the actors were not afraid to play around with the shots and action sequences. The film feels fresh because of this and invites the audience along on that fun ride. The fun also applies to the non-action parts of the actors’ performances, bringing a lot of comedy to the film. Personally, I’m more used to seeing Jung Hae-in in serious leading man roles (although I am also seeing more of his comedic side in Love Next Door on Netflix- the kdrama girlies know) but this film shows more of his range as an actor.
Justice is a big theme in the film, specifically – in my opinion- our perception of it. When has it truly been served? Haechi is praised by the public because he is executing a form of justice the police is restricted from serving, but that the public deems necessary. The other side of that coin the film presents, is when people benefit from this form of justice being served. In addition to ethical concerns about extreme measures of justice, there are also concerns about whether we actually care about it being served or care more about making ourselves look good to the public, to the point where truth is lost.
I, the Executioner is playing at TIFF ’24. For more information, click here.
