Review | Film review: Asura – Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min in bloody tale of corruption and betrayal
This tale of political corruption and crooked police is overpowered by highly choreographed ultra-violence and smug machismo
2/5 stars
It has been a good year for South Korean cinema, producing everything from sumptuous erotic costume dramas ( The Handmaiden ) to adrenaline-fuelled zombie thrillers ( Train to Busan ). In their midst strides Asura, a blood-splattered tale of corruption and betrayal fuelled by vacuous, bile-spewing machismo and encased in a cynically hollow cinematic sheen.
Jung Woo-sung plays Han, a shady police detective in the pocket of corrupt city mayor Park Sung-bae (Hwang Jung-min). About to quit the force to work for Park full-time, Han is propositioned by the equally slippery prosecutor Kim (Kwak Do-won) to inform on his benefactor.
Embroiled in a case involving the deaths of a key witness and fellow officer, Han stalls, only for his ambitious young partner Sunmo (Ju Ji-hoon) to slide into his spot as Park’s new muscle. As the pressure mounts and the body count rises, Han is running out of time to choose a side.
