Rough Cut movie review

When a thuggish movie star enlists a gangster with acting aspirations for his movie, the line between fiction and reality begins to blur.

Junggugeo Kaenada 중국어 캐나다: ★★
Only 만: ★★.5

Junggugeo Kaenada 중국어 캐나다: We recently reviewed A Company Man starring So Ji Sub and Runway Cop starring Kang Ji Hwan. So, a movie that brings the two of them together seemed like the next logical step.

Only 만: Yes, though this film bears little resemblance to either of those two, being more of a violent character study of two men who want to become each other. But, for those who are watching, because of their love for these actors, let us emphasize that neither one of them looks good in this movie.

Junggugeo Kaenada: Well, once again, Kang Ji Hwan tries to make himself as unappealing as possible as a whiny bitch of an actor out to prove something by aligning himself with real criminals. I thought So Ji Sub came across as a more appealing character, because he played everything cool, and never let on to the movie crew that he was in the middle of a dangerous power struggle.

Only: Kang Ji Hwan’s Jang Soo Ta was pointlessly angry from beginning to end, and it came off as whiny and desperate, since he’s a successful actor. Whereas So Ji Sub as Gang Pae was, as you said, cool, even in a dire situation.

Junggugeo Kaenada: However, Gang Pae became considerably less attractive after he attempted to rape the actress, played by Hong Soo Hyun. Unbelievably, she seemed to rebound from the assault pretty quickly, and became his girlfriend of sorts. WTF? As an aside, I found it hilarious how different the actress character was from actress who played her, Hong Soo Hyun, who was pretty down to earth and boring when I saw her on “Roommate”.

Only: Well, Gang Pae was only superficially cool. The guy basically ended up throwing away his life, because he wanted to be in a movie. Also, yes, sexually assaulting unsuspecting actresses while filming is definitely not cool.

Junggugeo Kaenada: I commend the movie on making the change in Soo Ta and Gang Pae so gradual, as they started influencing each other. However, at some point, I lost track of what was happening, because the execution was sloppy.

Only: Yes. It belatedly dawned on me what some of the changes meant, like Gang Pae surreptitiously disobeying his boss’ orders to kill someone, or Soo Ta obsessively working out to film the fight scene. It only became clear to me when Gang Pae dropped out of the movie and reverted to type, that they’d both been trying each other’s lives on for size.

Junggugeo Kaenada: If only the movie was more methodical and less muddled than it actually felt. The actors were great, the story was interesting, and yet, it failed to reach its potential. What went wrong?

Only: Let me preface by saying I liked this movie, but I didn’t love it and I feel like it could have gone in a more interesting direction. Some scenes were good, like Soo Ta trying to be tough while being beaten up, and then finally falling apart, as Gang Pae coldly tells him that he should learn the difference between reality and a movie. But others, like the aforementioned assault or the fight in the mud towards the end were just pointless and far too long. It definitely lacked consistency.

Junggugeo Kaenada: The jarring part of the movie for me was near the end when both guys got paired up with a girlfriend. It seemed tacked onto a grittier storyline. Fortunately, the ending slapped the possibility of a happy ending aside. Without revealing too much, I’ll say that it fit the rest of the movie, but I did find it abrupt.

Regardless of the problems, I found the acting strong, and on a superficial level, So Ji Sub and Kang Ji Hwan were both pretty hot. I had never seen So Ji Sub with some fat on his cheeks so he was surprisingly cute.

Only: The thing I liked about both of them was the physical aspect of their acting, especially So Ji Sub; his posture, body language and mannerisms conveyed a lot about Gang Pae. Though, on a superficial level again, his hair was atrocious.

But, how would you sum up Rough Cut?

Junggugeo Kaenada: Rough Cut featured committed performances by So Ji Sub and Kang Ji Hwan, and an interesting concept. Uneven pacing and a lack of focus muddled a story that should have been kept simple in order to best showcase the theme of the movie.