These
candidates will not debate, but there will be plenty of dirty campaigning. Yes, we have seen organized crime “elections”
before, classic ones in fact. However,
in this case, a crafty old copper plans to be the secret hanging chad. He will play a high stakes game in hopes of
influencing the Goldmoon syndicate’s succession in Park Hoon-jung’s New World (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
We
know Choi Min-sik is a serious hardnose, because he was in Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, and Nameless Gangster. Indeed, we can tell his
Detective Kang does not have a lot of qualms about cutting corners right from
the start, but he will soon raise Machiavellian ruthlessness to an art form. Years ago, Kang placed Lee Ja-sung, a green
police recruit, super-deep undercover with Goldmoon. Since then, the corporate alliance of
criminal clans has become so powerful the police only hope to contain it. The untimely rubbing out of their chairman presents
a golden opportunity. The strategically
placed Lee will influence the ensuing leadership struggle to benefit Kang’s
favored contender, but only Kang and his easily manipulated superior know the
details of Operation New World.
Even
Lee is not privy to the identity of Kang’s candidate, but he generally assumes
it will be Jung Chung, the violently erratic head of his clan. Lee chafes under Jung Chung, openly resenting
his immaturity and condescension. Nonetheless,
since they are both ethnic Chinese, the prospective chairman completely trusts
his lieutenant—at least for now.
Together
with last year’s Nameless Gangster,
Choi delivers a heck of a gangster epic one-two punch. He again commands the screen with his rumpled
middle-aged intensity. While his work as
Kang is somewhat understated compared to his turn in Devil (also written by Park), he still brings a sinister charisma
that makes the movie. By the same token,
Lee Jung-jae matches him step for step as Lee, tapping into all kinds of angry,
paranoid inner turmoil. Yet, neither is
as disconcerting as Hwang Jun-min’s nearly feral Jung Chung.
It
is possible some viewers might guess New
World’s big twist, but the circuitous route it takes to get there is
devilishly clever and grimly logical.
Park keeps the tension cranked up and when it is time for a big gangster
brawl he pulls out all the stops. The
elevator scene alone is worth the price of admission.
