| Language: Korean Director: Lee Ho-Jae Running time: 119 min Release year: 2009 |
| Cast: Park Yong-Ha, Kim Min-Jung, Park Hie-Sun, Kim Mu-Yeol, Kim Jun-Seong, Jo Deok-Hyeon |
Movie Review:
Gotta admit I’ve dabbled in the world of on-line trading before and have had a few moments of glory while having many more painful moments of holding the bag long after the party ended. “The Scam” takes this risky world of on-line day trading and mixes in a group of high-tech thieves, some of whom are straight-up gangsters, to make a pretty darn compelling thriller. The film is directed by first time director Ho-jae Lee and features another fun to watch performance by Hie-sun Park (”Seven Days” and “Hansel and Gretel”).
In “The Scam” Hyeon-su (Yong-ha Park) hasn’t had much luck in life, but it seems he has finally found his calling in on-line day trading. Hyeon-su uses his advance understanding of charts, moving day averages, and the stock’s liquidity to jump in and out stocks at the opportune time. One day, Hyeon-su notices unusual trading activity for an obscure tech company known as Omega Telecom. He recognizes the pattern as a classic pump and day ploy by someone with large assets. Hyeon-su then jumps on the trading activity of Omega Telecom and dumping the stock before the stock’s initial manipulators can sell their shares. The person behind the pump and dump scheme is former gangster now high roller Jong-ku Hwang (Hie-sun Park). Needless to say, Jung-ku is none to pleased with what happened with Omega Telecom. |
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Once Hyeon-su goes to his brokerage firm to withdraw his funds his life is set to become a whole lot more complicated. The broker assisting Hyeon-su is Min-hyeong Jo (Mu-yeol Kim), a principle member of Jung-ku’s gang. Once Min-hyeong notices the origins of Hyeon-su’s money, he quickly notifies his boss Jong-ku.
A shortwhile later, Hyeon-su finds himself surrounded by Jong-ku and three of his muscle men. Hyeon-su is then given the choice of joining Jong-ku’s gang for an even larger on-line scam or face the consequences of his prior actions. Needless to say, Hyeon-su joins Jung-ku’s group and what lies ahead for Hyeon-su is a myriad of double crosses and half-truths.
First off, “The Scam” takes a surprisingly detailed look into the on-line day trading world. The amount of detail portrayed in the film shouldn’t work as a barrier for people with little knowledge of on-line trading, but rather a quick on the fly lesson on the perils of day trading. The story also moves along at a swift pace with enough action occurring to entertain all varieties of viewers. Hie-sun Park, who has already carved a named for himself with excellent performances in “Seven Days” and “Hansel & Gretel,” once again delivers an on the money performance as the ruthless Jong-ku. Hie-sun is also flanked by a charismatic supporting role performance by Mu-yeol Kim as his principle stock broker. There’s even an odd resemblance with Mu-yeol Kim and Mark Wahlberg (I kid you not). Femme fatale, Min-jun Kim turns in a performance not on the same level as those two, but still provides for a performance that’s pleasing to the eyes. Yong-ha Park, as the main protagonist Hyeon-su, is feasible in his leading role, though noticeably more drab when compared with his peers.
Storywise, “The Scam” delivers a perfectly watchable script, but after its conclusion you do get the feeling that the story could have offered a little more. This is probably due to the fact that the outcome was never in doubt, while all of the characters are clearly delineated between good and bad. The script also seems to favor simplicity when it comes to the story’s development as a way to counter-balance the complexity of the on-line day trading world. This is an odd complaint coming from someone who finds so many recent Korean thrillers tacking on so many unneeded plot twists and becoming unnecessarily complex. I guess there’s an ideal balance somewhere and folks like Hong-jin Na & Shin-yeon Won seem to know where it is.
What “The Scam” ultimately aims for is to recreate the edgy world of on-line day traders, while condensing that story into an easily digestible form. You definitely won’t find yourself bored with “The Scam” and there’s also stellar performances by Hie-sun Park and Mu-yeol Kim to keep you entertained. The movie does leave you wanting a little more depth with characters and storyline. Even with that small complaint, I did find myself having a fine time watching “The Scam” and have a feeling that most others will as well. Heck, I might even try flipping stocks one last time … |
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{ Recommended Korean Movies } |
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Lady Vengeance (Chinjeolhan Geumjassi) |
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My dear enemy (Meotjin haru) |
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The good, the bad, the weird (Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom) |
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Director: Ji-woon Kim; Cast: Kang-ho Song, Byung-hun Lee, Woo-sung Jung |
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