Running Turtle (2009) Movie Review

The rather oddly titled “Running Turtle” sees Kim Yoon Seok following up his award winning role in “The Chaser” by playing another down and out cop working outside the law to track down a murderer. The film was written and directed by Lee Yeon Woo, who was previously responsible for “2424”, and is a decidedly lighter affair than Na Hong Jin’s grim crime thriller, adding in a little humour and family drama amidst all the usual fugitive chasing and cat and mouse games. The mix was certainly a successful one, and the film was a hit at the domestic box office, pulling in more than three million admissions.

Kim Yoon Seok (who also impressed in the excellent “Tazza: The High Rollers”) takes on the role of Pil Sung, a rather useless detective in a small provincial town, who spends most of his time trying to make money on the side by turning over pimps. Unfortunately, after a suspect has a heart attack in the police station while being bullied, he gets suspended from his job without pay, putting even more strain on his already tense relations with his wife and daughter. Things turn even worse after he encounters dangerous criminal on the run Ki Tae (Jung Kyung Ho, recently in the supernatural romantic drama “For Eternal Hearts”), and not only fails to catch him, but gets robbed of vital betting wins in the process. Determined to bring the vicious prison escapee to justice, not least since there is a considerable bounty on his head, Pil Sung teams with his motley crew of gangster friends in an effort to win back his job, money and the respect of his family.

Although “Running Turtle” has obvious similarities to “The Chaser”, director Lee does play things quite differently, focusing more on Pil Sung and his many woes rather than the actual case itself, with his attempts to capture Ki Tae never being particularly concerted until the last act. This works well thanks to the fact that the poor hangdog makes for a likeable protagonist, being flawed though basically honest, with his desire to regain his status and worth as a man making him easy to root for, despite his many daft mistakes and schemes.

Kim Yoon Seok is excellent in the lead role, adding a genuine touch of pathos, and not simply falling back on his laurels, but adding a different kind of underdog moral complexity. Certainly, the film revolves mainly around his character, who appears in pretty much every scene, and with Ki Tae never being particularly fleshed out as his opponent beyond being a martial arts master and near unstoppable force of bad-ass nature. This having been said, Lee does at times seem to be moving towards giving his villain some kind of sympathetic back story or reason for his behaviour, though keeps stopping short – this is arguably preferable than to having the film develop into another contrived cop/criminal buddy paring, and gives the story more of an old fashioned feel.

The film does pack in a good amount of action, mainly through scenes of Ki Tae beating the hell out of Pil Sung and his shabby cohorts and showing off some impressive skills, most of which have a gritty feel thanks to Lee’s grounded and unflashy directorial approach. During the latter stages things do get more intense, though Lee never plays it too straight, frequently allowing for a little comedy to drift into the proceedings. Thankfully, this never involves much in the way of slapstick or overt gags, mainly resulting from Pil Sung’s unending incompetence, and as such it manages to amuse without undermining the drama and tension. The plot does provide a few unexpected twists along the way, and the film in general has a pleasingly offbeat air to it. Whilst never quite subverting expectations, Lee keeps the viewer engaged and although tangential at times, the film has a certain amiable and upbeat quality despite the wretched shenanigans and occasional moral lapses of its protagonist.

As such, “Running Turtle”, although not particularly challenging, makes for entertaining, crowd pleasing viewing and should certainly be enjoyed by all thriller fans. Kim Yoon Seok again proves himself to be one of Korea’s best acting talents, and effectively lifts the film from being merely solid to something more interesting and involving.

Yeon-woo Lee (director) / Yeon-woo Lee (screenplay)
CAST: Yoon-suk Kim … Pil-seong Jo
Kyeong-ho Jeong … Gi-tae Song
Woo-seon Seon … Detective Jo’s Wife
Mi-ri Gyeon … Kyeong-joo
Ji-na Kim … Ok-soon
Jeong-geun Sin … Yong-bae