The Man From Nowhere

A man seeks to recover a little girl living next door to him, who has been kidnapped by drug lords.

Let’s get the bad out of the way first; this is a cliched, over-emotional story. At some points it takes itself so seriously you almost want to laugh out loud. The plot is disturbing in a way, but you can almost feel the screenwriters desperately trying to come up with the most messed up scenario possible.

That said, when it’s not trying too hard, The Man From Nowhere is an absolute masterpiece. The action is slick & restrained but you still feel every blow. Lee makes it look easy but the level of expertise required to pull off a film like this is far and above what most Hollywood directors are capable of. It’s ironic that the emotional scenes are way over the top while the action is lean and believable.

The way the tension slowly builds to a brilliant final sequence is expertly done, and keeps the audience absolutely riveted.

The Man From Nowhere is a must-see Korean action thriller that blew me away in spite of its ropey script.