The Childe (2023 | South Korea | 118 minutes | Park Hoon-jung)
Marco (Kang Tae-Ju), A young Filipino-Korean man, is fighting underground muay thai bouts and taking less than wise snatch and grab jobs just so he can scrounge up enough funds to pay for his ailing mother’s surgery. His father was in the wind the moment he was born and despite a tireless search to find him, all paths led to dead ends… until now. Out of the blue, his father reaches out and wants him to come see him in Korea. Desperate for help with his mother, Marco jumps on a plane for what turns out to be the most chaotic and dangerous few days of his young life. Not only are his step brother and sister out to use him for their own nefarious plans, Marco has not one, but two assassins sent to procure the unsuspecting young man. With little more than his instincts and fighter’s grit, he does everything he can to stay alive and away from those that want him dead, which is pretty much everyone.
If you don’t like bloody thrillers, this is definitely not your bag. I don’t know that a single scene went by without at least a little blood present if not buckets. Violence was the name of the game, but if you can get past that, there’s much fun to be had.
While Marco is at the center of this story, he’s one of the least interesting characters we have the pleasure of meeting in this fly by the seat of your pants action-thriller. Admittedly, I’m biased toward “Nobleman” (Kim Seon-Ho) the dapper, charming, and deathly talented assassin that “befriends” Marco. Seon-Ho has been on my radar for quite a while and needless to say… I’m a big fan. Despite playing a sweetheart in most of his other work, he absolutely stuns as a witty, narcissistic, precise killer. And that smile, you just can’t beat it. Alongside him is the genuinely frightening Kang-woo Kim playing Marco’s older brother Director Han. His straight man to Seon-Ho’s comedic timing is what really drives the story and the entertainment value of The Childe. While the rest of the cast, including fellow assassin and rival Yun-ju (Go Ara) worked really well and supported the story, it was those two men that made it psychotically fun. So. Much. Blood. I think I’ll watch it again.
The Childe is only in one Seattle-area theater and only until July 5th (at least for now). I highly recommend you head to Cinemark Century in Federal Way to see it for yourself because this is definitely one to experience on the big screen.
The Childe arrives for a limited run in theaters on 6/30