Sook-hee is out for revenge against the criminals who killed her husband in the opening sequence of THE VILLAINESS which first plays out as a first player POV action sequence straight out of HARDCORE HENRY and OLDBOY as she mercilessly makes her way through the henchmen and various criminals in the building. In the aftermath, she is forced to be trained as a government assassin for the sake of the child she is pregnant with. She has to give them ten years of her life as a sleeper agent with acting as her cover and she will get a normal life at the end of it. Her old life soon collides with her new life after she falls in love with a new man (who is an undercover agent recruited to watch her by the agency she works for).

THE VILLAINESS is very interesting derivative Korean action film which is a blatant rip-off/ remake of LA FEMME NIKITA. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but Luc Besson could be in the right if he ever wanted to sue for how similar the movie is to his movie. Director Jung Byung-Gil says this is a an original work not influenced by other works, but all of the similarities to LA FEMME NIKITA and KILL BILL must have somehow seeped into his mind even on an unconscious level. The action sequences are fierce, but the shaky camera work during those scenes could be less so and not be distorted by a fish eye or anamorphic lens way up close. The human eye can only handle so much motion when watching a movie and these action sequences can be hard on the eyes with all of the shakiness that makes the Bourne movies seem tame in their use of shaky camera style. There are some beautiful shots in the movie with the best one being Sook-hee holding a sniper rifle in a wedding dress in the restroom. THE VILLAINESS makes for an entertaining rental, but you might be better off renting a different action movie if your eyes can't handle the shaky camera style of the hyper-kinetic action sequences.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Two making-of promotional fluff sequences that focus on THE ACTION CHOREOGRAPHY and THE CHARACTERS which have interviews with cast and crew mixed with behind-the-scenes footage and flip clips.

Also included on the DVD are the teaser and theatrical trailers for the movie along with previews for other WELL GO USA releases (like TRIPLE THREAT and TRAIN TO BUSAN) which play before the main menu.

FINAL ANALYSIS: THE VILLAINESS plays like a Korean remake of LA FEMME NIKITA, but the action sequences could have used less of a hyper kinetic shooting style to make it easier on the eyes when watching them.

This review is ©12-22-2017 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

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