The King is a movie about the rise and fall of a young prosecutor who gets involved in organized crime and politics. The film is a mixture of a drama and a crime flick but it also includes a healthy dose of social criticism that shows us a corrupt country. The movie reminds me of similar South Korean movies such as Nameless Gangster and New World. The film also recalls elements of Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street in its better moments.

One of the movie's strengths is that its story is closely connected to historic events in South Korea. This makes the story more authentic. Another strong point is the acting. Jo In-sung portrays the main character perfectly and convinces as an ambitious young man from a poor village with a solid moral compass who slowly gets corrupted by older colleagues but realizes that power and wealth don't necessarily make him happy.

On the negative side, the movie is at least half an hour too long with a total running time above two hours. Especially the middle section lacks fresh ideas and includes too much repetition that harms the movie's flow. A more concise movie would have been even more efficient.

If you are interested in recent and contemporary South Korean history and society or if you like dramatic crime movies, you should give The King a chance. This film might have its flaws but it's overall enjoyable and clearly above average. It also includes a few truly memorable scenes such as the heavy opening car crash, the protagonist's first nasty party, the protagonist's tense split with his wife and the weird interview with the ambitious journalist at his seaside mansion.

Korean cinema is known for its mastery of genre, fluidly blending thriller, drama, and dark comedy with social critique. The post-1990s renaissance brought bold storytelling and masterful craft to the world stage, addressing class, identity, and modern anxieties with cinematic flair.

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The story of a young prosecutor who rises swiftly to power, but tumbles even quicker.

Jung Woo-sung and Zo In-sung in The King (2017)

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