''The Point Men'' () is a 2023 South Korean

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Yim Soon-rye Yim Soon-rye (born January 1, 1961) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. She is considered one of the few leading female auteurs of Korean New Wave cinema. Career Education Born in 1961 in Incheon, Yim Soon-rye graduated from Han ...

and starring

Hwang Jung-min Hwang Jung-min (born September 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is one of the highest-grossing actors in South Korea, and has starred in several box office hits such as ''Ode to My Father'' (2014), ''Veteran'' (2015), ''The Himalayas'' (2015 ...

and

Hyun Bin Kim Tae-pyung (born September 25, 1982), better known as Hyun Bin, is a South Korean actor. He gained widespread recognition for his role in the 2005 romantic comedy TV drama '' My Name is Kim Sam-soon''. Since then, he has appeared in leading ...

. The film is based on the

2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan The 2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan began on 19 July 2007, when 23 South Korean missionaries were captured and held hostage by members of the Taliban while passing through Ghazni Province of Afghanistan. Two male hostages were ex ...

and the subsequent rescue mission. It was released on January 18, 2023 in South Korea and screened in

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...

Synopsis

A story about a diplomat and a National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent who struggle and risk their lives on foreign soil to save Korean hostages that have been abducted in the Middle East. The film is based on true events of

, when 23

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

were captured and held

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

in Afghanistan.

playing a NIS agent conducts a rescue operation and negotiations with the help of diplomat played by

Cast

as Jung Jae-ho, diplomat *

as Park Dae-sik, NIS agent *

Kang Ki-young Kang Ki-young (born October 14, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He is well-known for his supporting roles in a number of popular Korean drama Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television serie ...

as Qasim / Lee Bong-han * Jung Jae-sung as Vice Minister Kim * Kwon Hyuk as Secretary *

Bryan Larkin Bryan Larkin (born 7 August 1973) is a Scottish actor, writer, producer andhttp://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/bryan-rising-star-hollywood-2421851/ Daily Record Article 15 October 2013 self-taught filmmaker. He was awarded the Trailblaz ...

as Abdula *

Jeon Sung-woo Jeon Seong-woo (born December 30, 1987) is a South Korean actor. Career Jeon debuted as a musical actor at the age of 20 in the musical ''Royal Dream of the Moon'' in which he portrayed the young version of Jeongjo of Joseon. He has since appea ...

as Secretary Cha *

Fahim Fazli Fahim Fazli (; born May 30, 1966) is an Afghan American film actor. Biography Fazli was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He escaped Afghanistan and settled in the United States in the 1980s. He returned to Afghanistan as an interpreter with the U.S. ...

Taliban leader *

Lee Seung-chul Lee Seung-chul (; born December 5, 1966) is a South Korean singer best known for the hit songs, "My Love", "Never Ending Story", and "Girls' Generation". Currently an artist of Kakao Entertainment's label Flex M, he debuted in 1985 as the voc ...

as Minister Choi * Iyad Hajjaj as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan * Ahn Chang-hwan as Sim Bo-jung *

Park Hyung-soo Park Hyung-soo is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Arthdal Chronicles'', ''The Devil Judge'', ''Crash Landing on You'' and ''Happiness''. He also appeared in movies '' Confidential Assignment'', '' The Chase'', ...

Production

The film inspired by a true story of 23 South Korean Christian volunteers taken hostage by Taliban militants in Afghanistan in 2007, was to commence its filming in late March 2020, in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, but due to the

COVID-19 outbreak The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

the shooting was postponed. After normalisation

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in late April 2020. The actors and production team flew in July for

schedule of filming. The shooting at Jordan was wrapped up in September 2020.

Release

The film was originally slated to be released in September 2022, but was postponed due to aftermath of COVID-19 and busy schedule of lead actors. In December 2022, with the release of trailer the theatrical release date of the film was announced for January 18, 2023. After the domestic release, the film is slated to release in North America on January 27, in Hong Kong and Macau on February 2, in Taiwan on February 3, in Philippines on February 8, in Cambodia on March 3, and in Thailand on March 23. The film was released in select theaters in the United States and Canada on January 27, 2023 by 815 Pictures.

Reception

Box office

The film was released on January 18, 2023 on 1289 screens. It opened at 1st place at the Korean box office with 104,798 admissions. The film topped the weekly collection on Korean box office for the week January 16 ~ 22 by collecting US$5,478,201 and 659,022 viewers. The film surpassed 1 million viewers in 7 days of its release. It recorded 1,023,232 cumulative audience on January 24. , with gross of US$13,471,119 and 1,720,005 admissions, it is the highest-grossing Korean film of 2023.

Critical response

Lee Da-won of

Cine21 ''Cine21'' is a South Korean film magazine issued by '' Hangyeore newspaper''. The magazine was first published on 24 April 1995 in Seoul, and subsequent issues have continued to be released weekly. The first editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief ...

reviewing the film praised the performances of Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin, writing, "Thanks to the stable breathing of the two people, the attraction of the movie increases even more." Lee opined that though director Im Soon-rye's narration is "as expected neat and clear", but "the lack of catharsis in the 'narrative of defeating evil and rescuing the weak' is a major weakness that does not ensure the success of the film". Han Hyeon-jeong reviewing for Maeil Economy wrote that "there is little catharsis even in the more perfect coordination of the two perfect protagonists." Han liked the climax and

's energy but felt film was "insipid". In conclusion, she wrote that "I don't think I'd like to recommend it to someone or experience it again."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
''The Point Men'' on Kofic
* *
''The Point Men''
at Mojo {{DEFAULTSORT:Point Men, The Films directed by Yim Soon-rye 2023 films South Korean thriller drama films South Korean crime drama films Films shot in Jordan 2020s Korean-language films South Korean films based on actual events Films about hostage takings Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films about diplomats Films about the National Intelligence Service (South Korea) Films set in 2006 Films set in Afghanistan Films set in Karachi Films set in Seoul Works about the Taliban