We’re back with a new film review, this time we watched the action film ‘Kill Boksoon’ that was recently released on Netflix. If you’re in need of some badass action, keep on reading.
‘Kill Boksoon’ was written and directed by Byun Sung-hyun. Byun won the award for Best Director at the 2022 Daejong Film Award and the BaekSang Arts Awards for his film ‘Kingmaker’. It seems like he might just be in the running for this film as well.
Plot
We follow our character Bok-soon as she navigates her life as a killer for hire and as a mom. Thankfully, it doesn’t really land in clichés, I was a bit afraid of that. However, it beautifully portrays a complicated character who balances on the sharp edge of a knife.
Bok-soon (Jeon Do-Yeon) is part of the company MK who kind of (forcefully) unionized killer for hires. Much like K-pop idols, they have a term on their contract. Hers is running out and she’s not sure if she wants to renew her contract or retire. She’s an A level killer and gets some of the most important jobs. She’s renown for her skill and her 100% success rate.
She was recruited by Cha Min-Kyu, played by Sol Kyung-Gu who was also in ‘Kingmaker’. He’s also an A level killer and was assigned to kill Bok-soon’s father. His young version is played by Lee Jae-Wook. She had a rather interesting reaction hence his recruitment. He helped her become the killer she is today so she it makes it hard for her to decide whether or not to resign.
Bok-soon’s daughter Gil Jae-Young (Kim Si-A) is 15 and going through puberty. She’s going to a private school and often throws Bok-soon for a loop on how to respond. After an altercation at school, she’s expelled for a week, pending the decision of the schoolboard. I really enjoyed their interactions, as they felt so real for a mother-daughter duo.
One of the rules of MK is that there will be no unauthorized kills. However, there has been a recent string of kills and the director of MK, Cha Min-Hee (Esom), Cha’s sister, finds out who it is and uses it to cause mayhem for Bok-soon as there is a lot of bad blood.
Overall
I am truly obsessed by ‘Kill Boksoon’. I enjoyed watching this movie so much. I love the duality of Bok-soon’s character as both a mom and a killer. Her jumping between both worlds almost effortlessly. I liked the small glimpses of her journey to get there.
The action scenes were SO cool. The way they showed the final fight with the different layers was insane.
Honestly, this was great. I loved the journey her daughter had as well. It made it so inclusive without glamorizing it.
I’m always a sucker for Koo Gyo-Hwan, who plays one of the killers so I was thrilled he was in the film as well.
Watch the trailer below.
