The Point Men (2023) Movie Review
Korean director Yim Soonrye is back with another thrilling film, namely ‘The Point Men’ starring 2 of his top actors namely Hwang Jung-Min and Hyun-Bin. ‘The Point Men’ was made based on An Young-Soo’s writing which was inspired by a true incident that had shocked the world, namely 23 Korean nationals captive by the Taliban in 2007.
The film ‘The Point Men’ was actually scheduled for release in September 2022, but this film was finally released for the first time in Korea on January 18, 2023, and aired on CGV starting February 1, 2023.
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Synopsis The Point Men (2023)
Tells of a Korean NIS (National Intelligence Service) intelligence agent named Park Dae-sik (Hyun-Bin) who must be assigned to Afghanistan to help release 23 hostages held by the Taliban, Afghanistan. The Taliban threatened to kill the captives if their demands were not met
The Korean state also sent a diplomatic representative named Jung Jae-ho (Hwang Jung-Min), to negotiate directly with the Afghan side. The duo Park Dae-sik and Jung Jae-ho did not walk because of their two different ways of carrying out a very difficult mission.
The interests of freeing the prisoners in the Taliban collided with the country’s political conflict which is still related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the WTC United States. Korea, which incidentally is an ally of the United States to fight in the Afghanistan region, made the negotiations even tougher.
The Point Men (2023) Movie Review
A duet of opposites
The character of NIS agent Park Dae-sik from Hyun Bin is made more orthodox and carries out missions without caring about certain rules. Diplomats Jung Jae-ho and Hwang Jung-Min, on the other hand, must obey the rules of their country. These two characters make the twists in the film more complicated on the pitch.
The precarious situation where the lives of 23 citizens are in their hands is even more difficult, with the time limit given like a normal hostage. Jung Jae-Ho’s negotiations were too convoluted so that Park-Dae-sik’s agent, who used to go straight into the field, finally melted away with some of the tense events that the two of them went through.
It’s a shame that Hyun-Bin’s intelligence agent character doesn’t have many dangerous fights. Park Dae-sik looks cool with his tension-breaking characters, namely Qasim/Lee Bong-han (Kang Ki-young) who appear extraordinary throughout the match churning out our stomachs.
Kang Ki-young is perhaps the most awaited thing throughout the film. Apart from being a translator there, he also always does ridiculous things that are only concerned with money. His character is the catalyst between the duo Hwang Jung-Min and Hyun-Bin.
State conflict of interest
It is so clear, from the perspective of the Minister of Defense of Korea and diplomat Jung Jae-ho, this has very different goals. Even though they both saved the citizens of the country. The director shows clearly the way the Minister doesn’t want to scar the face of the Korean nation.
This is possible in most countries, prioritizing the interests of the class rather than the citizens themselves. But the Korean government in the film is not so dominant and looks so weak.
Conflict-ridden visuals of the Middle East
SoonRye, the director, did not hesitate to show a visual of the Middle East which is so barren to add to the tense atmosphere when dealing directly with extremist groups. The addition of a military fleet for war makes the situation even more real.
Not only the Middle Eastern background and high-class military weapons, but also the arrangement of Afghanistan, complete with its community groups, assures us that these Korean representatives look foreign in a foreign country, with a mission that is practically impossible.
Seeing the background of the film ‘The Point Men’ in 2007 with all the limitations of technology, everything looks so real. The addition of some flashbacks as a supporter of inter-state conflicts will bring us back to the terrorist conflict situation in the post-9/11 incident.
The Point Men (2023) Conclusion
The duet of diplomat Jung Jae-Ho and intelligence agent Park Dae-sik feels tough and slowly melts as a result of Qasim’s unifying character which always invites laughter. No longer a duo, the trio of rescue prisoners in the Taliban pumped our hearts until the end of the fight.
Luxurious visuals to support the conflict situation in Afghanistan are very real. Even Yim Soonrye did not hesitate to show military actions in the middle of densely populated Afghanistan to show the murky conflict between countries after the September 11 incident.