The Divine Move

The Divine Move (God's One Move) was released in 2014 starring Jung Woosung and his quest for revenge in this crime based thriller. The title of the movie (The Divine Move) refers to a "once in a lifetime" switch of the board when the losing baduk opponent turns the game in their favor. It's also used as a reference between the players in this movie.

Plot

Revolving the use of baduk (more so known as GO) and the underground gambling syndicates, professional player Tae-seok loses a high-stake game and is framed for his brother's murder by the baddest gambler GO players have ever seen — Sal-soo. During his sentencing, Tae-seok meets with affiliates within prison whose obsession over baduk drives him to play and prove that he's one of the best ever seen.

After serving his seven year sentence, Tae-seok gets out with a vengeance and finds his brother's former accomplice. Meeting with Tricks, Tae-seok vents his plan to infiltrate Sal-soo's group of gambling thugs in hopes of destroying them from the inside. Tricks, wishing to honor his fallen friend, agrees to help Tae-seok and together, they recruit the most skilled baduk players all in favor of destroying Sal-soo's reign.

Overall

Jung Woosung never fails in making me swoon. His acting is so brilliantly portrayed in the beginning scenes and the character development he undergoes is captivating.

Taken out of the comfort of his surroundings and thrown into a setting where he has to play for his brother, Tae-seok is seen as a weak, fragile and is a seemingly outcasted individual. In all honesty, when I first saw Woosung in this scene, I couldn't even recognize him. Talk about appearance. With a full beard, shaggy hair and glasses, he was a walking giant. Thank god his voice is so heavenly or I wouldn't have realized it was him anytime soon.

Woosung can act in almost every genre I've seen him in. From A Moment to Remember, Daisy, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, and much more, Woosung is talented to a feat. But The Divine Move was absolutely captivating. Bless the storyline as well as Woosung's acting.

When helping his brother cheat, Tae-seok is found by the group of gambling thugs and pulled into the scene of where his brother is being beaten senselessly. Now, while I'm normally used to seeing Woosung act out as the hero from the start, I was so taken aback by watching him portray this fragile blob of life that can't stand up for himself or his brother against these heinous individuals. And I loved every second of it.

Being exposed to Lee Beom-soo and Choi Jinhyuk as the bad boy characters had my heart fluttering. I've seen Jinhyuk play in Heirs and I've caught sight of Beom-soo in a few cameos, but seeing them portray individuals you never want to meddle with had me rooted to my spot.

Jinhyuk's character, Player, is more of a follower after Sal-soo's footsteps. He helps run rigged games against opponents for large sums of cash and profits the business Sal-soo seems to have gained the upper hand in. Beom-soo couldn't have been a better actor for Sal-soo's role. This seemingly well dressed man with spectacles and brushed back hair should not have frightened me as he did so intricately. But exposing his true nature as this demonic, power-hungry monster was something I fawned over until the end. And how can I not talk about his full-body tattoos? Not only was it the hottest thing I've ever seen, but it also had me thinking about how — doing what he does best in the business — probably earned every signature mark upon his skin.

While I wasn't a total fan of the execution of events that went through The Divine Move, I have to praise the character development Tae-seok befalls. From this frail shell of a man to a revenge seeking hero, the twist was absolutely perfect. You can tell he's not one to back down especially after serving his seven years in prison. Playing baduk and gaining respect from his cellmates, Tae-seok confided in men to help him train rigorously not only with his mastering eye for GO but skills regarding hand-to-hand combat.

You really see the tide turn for Tae-seok who was on his knees begging for his brother's life in the beginning to this ruthless individual passing judgement over the criminals who ruined his life.

The highlight of this movie had to be the well formulated action scenes. There is nothing better than watching a shirtless Jung Woosung face off with a shirtless Choi Jinhyuk in a freezer induced setting where the temperature continues to drop until both are exposed to a hypothermic state of mind. Torturous, yes. Ways to introduce an intricate and brutal fight? Double yes.

From Lee Beom-soo's evil eyed alter ego Sal-soo to Jung Woosung's psychologically developed Tae-seok, The Divine Move is fast paced, heart-breaking and thrilling.