Childhood friends Jang Tae-young and Park Tae-young were not just namesakes. They were like brothers from another mother. That was fortunate for Jang, because Park’s mother went crazy and burned down their home. For the rest of his school days, Park lived with Jang and his guardian sister. Eventually, they went into business together, building an online gambling empire. Having recently expanded into traditional luxury casinos, Park sends Jang to do a deal in Vietnam.
Unbeknownst to Jang, Park always envied Jang’s remarkable luck and more personable charm, so he sets-up his partner, leaving him in the hands of organ harvesting gangsters. Jo Joong-hwan’s schtick has always been asking his victims to choose: heads he takes their liver, or tails for their eyes. That is when Jang’ coin lands on its edge. A deal is a deal, so Jo secretly dumps Jang with his gambler friend, Kwak Dong-wook, who reluctantly nurses him back to health.
Quickly recognizing Kwak’s skills, Jang starts apprenticing with Kwak. As fate would have it, Kwak often plays on behalf of Chairman Sasaki, a high-ranking Yakuza considering an investment in the company Park stole from Jang. Sasaki’s resentful assistant Kaneko could also be helpful, if Jang can trust her.
Song of Beelzebub (a reference to the fatefully tempting hand of cards that Jang keeps drawing) is the fourth Tazza film, but it stands completely alone from its three predecessors. (However, it still makes sense to call it Tazza, because it was adapted from the final story-arc of the original Tazza manhwa comics.) It also probably ranks as the most violent film of the series, to a degree that might surprise viewers looking for something in the spirit of The Sting—but that also makes the stakes feel even higher, in a life-and-death kind of way.
Of course, there are still plenty of double-crosses and triple-crosses in the new and final Tazza film. Choi and co-screenwriter Kim Hyun maintain all the clever capery twists that made the franchise so popular. The Cain and Abel-level betrayal also gives the film extra bite. In fact, Roh Jae-won plays Park as such a slimy cold fish, the audience hates him even before he turns on Jang.
Like the previous films, Beelzebub emphasizes good gamblers know when to fold, which is an important lesson to learn. Happily, it didn’t apply to this film series. Choi’s fresh start found plenty of life left in the final Tazza film, by playing to the franchisee’s strengths. It is maybe not quite as much rollicking fun as the prior two films, Hidden Card and One Eyed Jack, but it is still a highly entertaining caper. Enthusiastically recommended for fans of gambling and grifter movies, Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub is still playing in Los Angeles at the Regency Koreatown.
