7 / 10
score
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The Disc

The Picture


The Man from Nowhere is given a superb 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen picture which director Jeong-beom Lee uses to great effect in both the close-ups and wide shots for the combat sequences. He doesn't go as far as Sergio Leone for the close-ups, but many of the opening scenes are very tightly framed so the actor completely fills the screen. This works particularly well for Tae-Sik Cha as it highlights his isolation and detachment, with a particularly grim palette, full of blacks and shadow.

When it comes to the action sequences, these are all exceptionally well choreographed and executed by (what must be) an extremely skilled team of stunt choreographers and performers. It does seem that Bin Won did many of his own stunts as there are some scenes in which it is clear that it is really him and not a stunt double as you can see his face throughout.

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The Sound


The only audio option is Dolby Digital 5.1 Korean which is really the audio track of choice for a film like this. I would never have considered an English dub and, unless the 5.1 encoding was drastically wrong, a stereo option would have gone largely unused. This track really does the business in presenting the dialogue clearly, allowing the score to come through the five main channels without interfering with the dialogue and, when it comes to the more bombastic scenes, bring the subwoofer into play as gunfire resonates through the front and rear surrounds.

The music does a fine job of highlighting the sadness and anger that Tae-Sik feels and really helps to give the ending its huge emotional punch. This is a film with excellent sound design and sound effects so everything sounds as good as it possibly can which, coupled with the excellent use of the 5.1 setup and score, make this a terrific audiovisual experience.

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Final Thoughts


It is a shame that this comes on such a vanilla disc as it is a terrific action movie with more depth, better rounded characters and realistically violent set pieces and any other film of this nature I've seen in a very long time. It is much better than Tony Scott's Man on Fire so, if you liked that and films such as Leon, you'll love this. It features a tour de force performance by Bin Won and the writing and direction, by Jeong-beom Lee, is excellent.

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