Nowhere to Hide
1999; directed by Lee Myung-Se

This entry by Lee Myung-Se has long been a cult favorite, and an example put forth by many as to why Korea is the "new Hong Kong" when it comes to action movies. It certainly does have enough style to burn, but that's honestly not enough to salvage the fact that this, beyond its' admittedly lush visual trappings, is a very average crime picture, no matter where it was produced.

The movie revolves around a cop named Woo (Park Joong-Hoon) pursuing Chang Sungmin (Ahn Sung-Kee), a murder suspect. Unlike a lot of film detectives that use their wits or street smarts, Woo is pretty much a brute that literally beats information out of criminals. Shoving friends and family aside for the sake of his job, Woo's only connection to the real world is his level-headed partner, Kim (Jang Dong-Kun). But after Kim is hurt in the line of duty, nothing is left holding back Woo's determination to catch Chang at any cost.

It is admirable what Lee Myung-Se tried to do here. At this point in time in Asian movies, many of them were simply cookie-cutter clones of popular genres of the period, like "young Triad" movies or sappy romantic comedies. Blending elements from other directors like Wong Kar-Wai, Johnnie To, and Quentin Tarantino, backed by a soundtrack that features everything from Korean heavy metal to 1970's US pop, there's no denying that Nowhere to Hide is aurally and visually stimulating, and that it provided a much-needed shot in the arm for Asian genre pictures.

However, at least in the humble opinion of this reviewer, the film has not aged very well. What came off as original and ground-breaking at the time of release now simply seems trite and more than a bit gimmicky. When you strip off the audio and visual trappings, there's not much, if anything to the actual story that will really compel viewers. Ahn Sung-Kee puts forth a bulldog of a performance with Woo, but ultimately, it's pretty much a one-note, one-dimensional character. Like the film as a whole, Ahn's work initially hits the viewer with a punch, but can't follow through with anything else of substance to become truly compelling.

RATING: 5