Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This spectacular movie came out nine years before John Wick, but because I am a westerner I saw J.W. and J.W.2 before this. After watching this masterpiece, I was compelled to write my first movie review. This movie is just as good as J.W. and in many ways similar to it, but it is something completely different at the same time. The movie is two hours long, but it didn't feel too lengthy or boring at all.Dalkomhan insaeng tells the story of a respected, talented, and merciless mafia enforcer named Sung-Woo whose devotion to martial arts is beyond ordinary mobsters. He seems like a person who is used to doing everything his boss tells him, but one job makes him hesitate, and the mafia goes after him.The way Sung-Woo's situation changes from being respected to hunted is expected yet perfectly subtle at the same time, and watching his character develop during the movie was rewarding. Every single character in the movie was believable and had a unique personality. The acting of all actors, both lead and support, was spot on.What really made this movie a perfect 10 for me was how basically everything is shown. Just like in John Wick, the action scenes are filmed with steady cameras so the viewer can appreciate the choreography of the combat. And even so, there is still something even more visceral, gritty, and violent about this movie that I haven't seen before in cinema. Sure, there are super violent movies out there, but the violence in Dalkomhan insaeng didn't have a single sign of over-the-topness. We get to see dead bodies laying still in a growing pool of blood, stabbing, smashing, bullet hits and blood pulsating through bullet holes via the now rare medium of a still movie camera frame that truly lets the viewer see what's going on.The movie had a few implausible events regarding main character Sung- Woo's abilities, fitness, and pain tolerance, but this movie definitely ranks closer to 10 than 9.5 in my books. After all, it is obvious from the start that Sung-Woo is not an ordinary guy. Also, the soundtrack was nice, different, and refreshing.

A cinematic jewel from start to finish, A Bittersweet Life is a remarkable portrait of the lifestyle & ethical codes of Korean mobs & tells the story of a high-ranked mobster named Kim Sun-woo who has been extremely faithful to his boss, Kang. When Kang asks him to keep an eye on his young mistress while he is out of town on a business trip & eliminate her if she is found dating someone else, Sun-woo ends up finding himself in an unwanted situation & makes a moral choice that turns his life upside down, setting in motion a chain of events that ends with an unforgettable finale.Kim Ji-woon's direction is slick & stylish from the opening moments and the film is brilliantly scripted too with Ji-woon properly weighing each sequence on paper before executing them on screen. The camera work is nicely balanced & captures images evocatively, the editing is near- perfect for the most part except that the wrap up moments felt like it could've been shortened but it takes away nothing from the sheer experience the rest of the film provides. And the background score is a big plus for the drama, action & suspense it accompanies within the film.On an overall scale, A Bittersweet Life is an incredible & indelible treat for fans of its genre. The plot is blazingly original & powerfully narrated, the action is downright violent & viciously engaging, the performances are very strong & characters are completely fleshed out, and it deals with the ethics of Korean mafia in a stunning & highly realistic manner. Guaranteed to please not only the gangster films' fans but almost every viewer, A Bittersweet Life is one of the best films of its year, one of the greatest Korean films of all time & one of world cinema's finest crime dramas that's as razor sharp in its approach as it is unforgiving in its climactic moments.A masterpiece, by all standards. Strongly recommended.

This is my first review on here, only because I felt compelled to tell someone about this film… When I say "coolest," I don't mean it in a that-movie-was-really-cool kind of way… Coolest, in this case, means that it is the smoothest, well-crafted, stylish, and beautiful films I have ever seen. Everything about the film has a you'll-never-be-this-cool feel, like Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction. Not to mention the fact that it has the same sort of humor.Now, I am a film student who has actually gotten a lot of praise from students and teachers and whatnot for my first film project… That's great and all, but after seeing this film I am reminded of what Steven Spielberg said after he saw The Godfather; "I guess I should quit now, because I will never make something this good." I am, in no way, comparing myself to Spielberg, I'm just describing the feeling of, "holy s***, this is amazing," and "wow, I could never do this ever…"See this movie before you die… Or before it gets remade.

A dark story of revenge from South Korea, this film manages to be effortlessly cool while at the same time full of suppressed emotion and, eventually, complete chaos. Yes, it's another sometimes devastating Korean gangster story, made with all the slickness and style of far eastern cinema.It's a downbeat and depressing film that explores the very depths of the human condition, and I have to say that I found the main character's journey to be pretty upsetting. Lee Byung-hun went on to bigger things after this (a Hollywood career and I SAW THE DEVIL) and it's no surprise, because he's excellent in the central role: extremely subtle and yet with his eyes brimming with feeling.As the title would indicate, A BITTERSWEET LIFE isn't a feel-good action film with the hero blasting away various well-dressed criminals: this is a crime film in which every action has a consequence, and you can guarantee there won't be a happy ending. It's occasionally disturbing, sometimes blackly funny, and gripping throughout. All of the gangster action you could wish for is here, in spades, and it's very bloody too; however, there's plenty of visual artistry too, and some scenes of breathtaking and touching beauty which transcend the film's genre to reach out and touch the viewer's very heart. The ending, in particular, is quite stunning.