Despite being the third film in the respective Crime City series – preceded by The Outlaws (2017) and The Roundup (2022) – The Roundup: No Way Out very much operates on its own. Sure, it helps to have seen the other films, but Lee Sang-yong‘s enthusiastic actioner transmits a joy and an individuality that doesn’t alienate the uninitiated.
Balancing a light brutality with a welcome sense of humour, No Way Out shines brightest when it’s letting series star Ma Dong-seok (who also serves as the film’s producer) loose as Detective Ma, a gentle giant whose single punch routine speaks to the film’s aforementioned straddling of comedy and carnage. Ma and his band of merry men – who have all been upgraded to the Metro Investigation team of the South Korean police force – are quickly brought into play when a drug known as Hiper starts doing the rounds on the streets of Seoul, and its supplier, Joo Seong-cheol (Lee Joon-hyuk), hopes to distribute without certain yakuza brethren in Japan catching on. A drug dealer distributing is one thing, but Japanese gangsters is another, so it only makes sense that Ma exercise his strongest arm as he investigates the case before anymore bodies drop unnecessarily.
As mentioned, No Way Out as the third film in a series doesn’t play against the enjoyment of unversed viewers. Kim Min-sung‘s script is aware how to establish Ma in a manner that doesn’t feel as if any information is being recycled, but certain familiarities regarding character tactics or situational references layer the film with a tickle for returning eyes. As well, No Way Out adopting a more fictional temperament – as opposed to the previous two that were laced with true crime events – means there’s a certain level of fun adhered to, something evident in the way in which Ma is framed as a hulking “thug”, despite the fact he doesn’t always want to inflict pain, even though he knows he can all too easily.
A further celebration of the intricate simplicity present in the fashion of Korean cinema, and especially its presentation of the action genre, The Roundup: No Way Out knows how to manoeuvre the expected beats of the cop story narrative we’ve become so accustomed to with a welcome unpredictability; and, thankfully, serving as a positive when it comes to the notion of sequels, a fourth film – subtitled Punishment – is slated for release next year. No way out, indeed, and we wouldn’t want it any other way if this is the calibre of genre we are receiving.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Roundup: No Way Out is currently screening in South Korean theatres. It is scheduled to open in the United States on June 2nd, 2023 and in Australian theatres on June 8th.
