Bad Guy, by writer-director Ki-duk Kim, is about Han-gi, played by Jae-hyeon Jo, a antisocial gangster and pimp who notices college student Sun-hwa, played by Won Seo, while waiting at a bench one day. After Han-gi is beaten up by a group of bystanders for attacking Sun-hwa with a kiss in front of her boyfriend, Han-gi hatches a plan to get revenge on Sun-hwa. It works, and Sun-hwa is added to Han-gi’s stable of whores. As the days, weeks, and months wear on, Han-gi develops more and more feelings for the reluctant Sun-hwa, who may or may not be warming to the idea of being nothing more than a hooker.
Bad Guy is not an entertaining movie what so ever. While it’s not terrible, it’s just a bit boring. The movie is too long, too meandering, and in the end, too pointless. Korean dramas internalize everything, and unfortuantely sometimes the process of getting there is such a long tortorous journey that sometimes reaching there is not worth reaching.
There are so many questions that are left unanswered and it makes the movie that much more unbeliveable. Questions like; Where are Sun-hwa’s parents? Where is her boyfriend? Doesn’t anyone notice she’s missing? She’s left unguarded so often why doesn’t she just run away?
Ki-duk Kim was also the write-director of The Coast Guard and you can tell right away. It uses the same style cinematography, storytelling (or lack threreof) and even score. The only saving grace to the movie is the acting by Jae-hyeon Jo, he speaks about two sentenes and they’re near the end of the movie, yet he’s able to convey his emotions very well. His expressions and body movements tell you exactly what he’s thinking. If it wasn’t for him this movie would have definitely received a 1 out of 5, but I can’t ignore the fact that he was the best thing in the movie.