''The Merciless'' is a 2017 South Korean

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 ...

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 ...

film directed by Byun Sung-hyun, and starring

Sol Kyung-gu Sol Kyung-gu (born May 14, 1967) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Public Enemy (2002 film), Public Enemy'' film series, ''Peppermint Candy'', ''Oasis (2002 film), Oasis'', ''Silmido (film), Silmido'', ''Hope (2013 film ...

and Yim Si-wan. The film was released in South Korea on May 17, 2017. It was shown out of competition in the Midnight Screenings section at the 70th Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2017.

Plot

The story is about the loyalty and betrayal between an inmate leader and an undercover cop/prisoner, who team to take over a gang. It centers around the main character Hyun soo, the undercover cop, and Han Jaeho the inmate leader.

Cast

as Jae-ho * Yim Si-wan as Hyun-soo *

Kim Hee-won Kim Hee-won (born January 10, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Since 2007, he has played supporting roles in films and television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which ...

as Byung-gab * Jeon Hye-jin as Chun In-sook *

Lee Geung-young Lee Geung-young (born December 12, 1960) is a South Korean actor. He graduated from the Department of Drama in Seoul. He debuted in 1977 and after completing his mandatory military service, he debuted in 1982 as the 10th public relations actor fo ...

as Byung-chul *

Jang In-sub Jang In-sub (born 24 February, 1987) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in Special Affairs Team TEN Season 2, Secret Door (TV series) ''Secret Door '' () is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Han ...

as Min-chul *Kim Ji-hoon as Jung-sik * Lee Ji-hoon as Public prosecutor Oh *

Choi Byung-mo Choi Byung-mo (born January 14, 1972) is a South Korean actor. Personal life On June 19, 2017, Choi got married with popera singer Kiriel Lee Gyu-in (birth name Lee Gyu-in) after one year and a half of dating, the wedding ceremony was held at ...

as Captain Choi * Moon Ji-yoon as Young-geun *

Nam Gi-ae Nam Gi-ae (Korean:남기애; born on 13 September 1961) is a South Korean actress in Chung-Ang University, Department of Theater and Film. She made her acting debut in 1998, since then, she has appeared in number of plays, films and television ...

as Hyun-soo's mother *

Jin Seon-kyu Jin Seon-kyu (born September 13, 1977) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles on the big screen, such as '' The Outlaws'' (2017) and ''Extreme Job'' (2019). He won Best Supporting Actor award at the 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards ...

as Prison Security Section Chief

Special appearance

Heo Joon-ho Huh Joon-ho (, born April 14, 1964) is a South Korean actor. His name was previously officially romanized as Hur Joon-ho and is sometimes romanized unofficially as Heo Joon-ho. His father was Heo Jang-kang, a well-known Korean actor. Huh bega ...

as Kim Sung-han

Cameo

Shin So-yul Shin So-yul (born Kim Jung-min on August 5, 1985) is a South Korean actress. Shin began acting in 2006, and appeared in supporting roles in films and television series such as ''Hello My Love'', ''Jungle Fish 2'', and '' Penny Pinchers''. Her bre ...

as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 1 *

Kim Bo-mi Kim Bo-mi (born May 15, 1987) is a South Korean actress. Kim began studying ballet when she was 11 years old, and she later enrolled in Dance at Sejong University, with Ballet as her major subject. Then in 2008, she appeared in the cable show '' ...

as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 2 *Lee Mi-so as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 3 *

Kim Sung-oh Kim Sung-oh (born September 15, 1978) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles ''Supporting Roles'' ( es, Papeles secundarios) is a 1989 Cuban drama film directed by Orlando Rojas. The film was selected as the Cub ...

as Jung Seung-pil

Release

Prior to its local release, the film has been pre-sold to 85 countries including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Australia, India, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Mart. According to the distributor

CJ Entertainment CJ Entertainment (Hangul: CJ 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company under CJ ENM. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, investment and exhibition. History During early 1 ...

the film was later sold to additional territories, reaching a total of 117 countries worldwide. The film was released in French cinemas on June 28, 2017, by ARP Distributors.

Reception

The film received a seven-minute

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...

at the

2017 Cannes Film Festival The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish film director and screenwriter Pedro Almodóvar was the President of the Jury for the festival and Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and ...

. Michele Halberstadt from ARP Films praised the film for its screenwriting, direction and characters. According to the

Korean Film Council The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) () is a state-supported, self-administered organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea. History KOFIC was launched in 1973 as the Korean Motion Picture Promotion C ...

, the film topped the Korean box office on the first day of release and sold 95,261 tickets.

Adaptation

On December 28, 2017, CJ E&M, the production company of The Merciless, announced a television adaptation of the film. According to the company, the script will be written in 2018, and the drama would be produced in 2019.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merciless, The 2017 films 2010s prison films South Korean crime drama films South Korean action drama films 2017 crime drama films 2017 crime action films 2017 action drama films South Korean prison films Films about organized crime in South Korea CJ Entertainment films South Korean crime action films 2010s South Korean films