Deliver Us From Evil (2020)
Director: Hong Won-chan
Starring: Hwang Jung-min, Lee Jung-jae, Park Jeong-min
Primary genre: Action
“Deliver Us from Evil” (not to be confused with Scott Dickerson’s horror film of 2014) stars two of South Korea’s biggest stars - Lee Jung-jae (“Assassination“ (2015), “Along With The Gods“ (2017/18), “Squid Game” (2021)) and Hwang Jung-min (“Ode To My Father” (2014), “City of Madness“ (2016), “The Wailing” (2016)). Jung-min portrays a John Wick like agent (named In-nam) who assassinates a Yakuza mobster, triggering Jung-jae’s The Butcher, a blood brother of the deceased to seek revenge.
This sounds all pretty banal on paper but what separates “Deliver Us From Evil” from all the other modern cinematic actioners, is how the plot involves stakes with a race against time thrown in for good measure. Without giving too much away and despite a convoluted opening act that establishes key players, the script brings all required puzzle pieces together in a bloody climax that will please fans of the genre. There is some surprising depth behind the chaotic proceedings lending the film more gravitas to its final emotional outcome.
However, despite the script’s insistence on a powerful acting face off between between Jung-min and Jung-jae, they rarely share any scenes together feeling like a wasted opportunity considering the effective chemistry they displayed in “New World” (2013). Jung-min takes cues from Keanu Reeve’s performance in “John Wick” (2014) as the stoic assassin who rarely breaks down his facade doing though all the heavy lifting while Jung -jae seems to be having the time of his life with his psychotic killer portrayal accompanied by OTT outfits and a gazillion tattoos. Unfortunately his character is nothing more than an excuse for action rendering him almost one-dimensional feeling that the script could utilize a few more sequences to see what makes him tick. Finally, Park Jeong-min is spot on as Yui, a bilingual transwoman with a heart of gold who is stuck in Thailand, playing a much bigger role that you would expect in all the mayhem.
Shot almost entirely in Bangkok (80%) with beautiful cinematography by Hong Kyung-pyo (“Snowpiercer“ (2013), “The Wailing“ (2016), “Parasite“ (2019)), the movie shines in its several skirmishes between its two protagonists which are directed with sufficient panache and steady momentum by Hong Won-chan. Without displaying any novelty in its action presentation, Won-chan gets the job done extracting top notch performances and making the most of his exotic setting. While it will not win any awards for originality, there is a lot of interesting things going on and the cat-and-mouse dynamic between In-nam and The Butcher is enough to keep butts in the seats.
Action packed and bloody
+Top notch acting
+Jung-jae is having a blast
+Action packed
+Surprising emotional core
+Exotic setting
+Beautiful cinematography
+Great pace
-Jung-jae’s character is one-dimensional
-Jung-jae/Jung-min need more scenes together
-Convoluted first act