''Iris: The Movie'' () is a 2010 South Korean spy action film. As part of the first Korean production that shot a

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

and feature-length film simultaneously (

Kim Kyu-tae Kim Kyu-tae is a South Korean television director and producer. He directed the Korean dramas '' A Love to Kill'' (2005), ''Iris'' (2009), ''Padam Padam'' (2011), ''That Winter, the Wind Blows'' (2013), ''It's Okay, That's Love'' (2014) and '' Mo ...

was in charge of the TV segments, and

Yang Yun-ho Yang Yun-ho (born November 11, 1966) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His feature film debut ''Yuri'' (1996) screened at the Critics' Week of the Cannes Film Festival. Among the films Yang has directed since are '' Libera Me'' (2 ...

in charge of the film segments), the TV series ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

'' was a hit when it aired on

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

in 2009, with ratings of 30%. ''Iris: The Movie'' is a feature-length edit of the 20 episodes, along with additional footage shot specifically for the theatrical version and a different ending. ''Iris: The Movie'' premiered at the 34th

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens around 230 films ...

on March 21, 2010. It did not receive a theatrical run in South Korea, but was instead released on November 22, 2010, through

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

PPV PPV, ppv or pPv may refer to: Technology * Pay-per-view on cable or satellite television * People Powered Vehicle, a human-powered vehicle from 1970 * Police Pursuit Vehicles, the most common police vehicles in the United States and Canada Scienc ...

, and ''Cine21'' online portals. Due to

Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably ''Joint Security Area'' (2000); ''A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); ''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' ...

's Japanese fanbase, distributor Kadokawa Pictures released the film theatrically in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on January 8, 2011, under the alternate title ''Iris - The Last''.

Plot

The Korean peninsula is constantly under political and military tension, especially with the North Korean nuclear issue. To avoid a second

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, a secret

black ops A black operation or black op is a covert or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization; it can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it i ...

agency known as the National Security Service (NSS) protects South Korea's national security by training special agents who would use any means to fulfill their mission. They officially do not exist and are not acknowledged or protected by the government. Although they are trained to be cold-blooded killers, there is one

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

they cannot avoid: love. Hyun-jun and Sa-woo were close friends and rivals in the

707th Special Mission Battalion The 707th Special Mission Group ( ko, 제707특수임무단, Hanja: 第707特殊任務團) is an elite counter-terrorism unit of the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command. History The unit was formed after the Munich massacre, which for ...

, and both are recruited into the NSS and quickly become the best of the best. Each with different secret assignments, they soon take different paths in life. In a world of conspiracy and betrayal, they both fall for Seung-hee, the beautiful but lethal profiling specialist at NSS. Kim Hyun-ju's mission is to dismantle IRIS and prevent a nuclear attack on Seoul.

Cast

... Kim Hyun-jun *

Kim Tae-hee Kim Tae-hee (; born 29 March 1980) is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful actresses, she is best known for her roles in Korean dramas such as ''Stairway to Heaven'' (2003), ''Love Story in Harvard'' (2004), '' ...

... Choi Seung-hee *

Jung Joon-ho Jung Joon-ho (; born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor, who gained fame in the 2000 series, Women Like You, (왕추). His recent hits are '' Last Scandal'' (내 생애 마지막 스캔들) and ''IRIS''. Jung Jun-ho has a passionate interes ...

... Jin Sa-woo *

Kim So-yeon Kim So-yeon (born November 2, 1980) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for starring in a number of well-known television dramas, notably ''All About Eve'' (2000), '' Iris'' (2009), ''Prosecutor Princess'' (2010), '' Happy Home'' ( ...

... Kim Seon-hwa *

Kim Seung-woo Kim Seung-woo (c. February 24, 1969) is a South Korean actor who participated in various films, television series and variety shows through out 1990 until 2022. He also works in different media platforms such as playing a talk show host role. ...

... Park Chun-young *

Choi Seung-hyun Choi Seung Hyun, also known as Shawn Choi, is a South Korean film score composer. He has composed music for movies such as '' Oldboy'', '' The Classic'', '' Windstruck'', ''My Girlfriend Is an Agent'', and many more. His works are well known to ...

... Vick * Kim Yeong-cheol ... Baek San

References

External links

* * South Korean spy action films 2010 films Films about North Korea–South Korea relations 2010s South Korean films {{SouthKorea-film-stub