New World

New World is a 2013 crime film starring Lee Jung Jae, Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jungmin and Park Sungwoong. Rumors have claimed that Park Hoon-jung, director of this amazing plot, has two more installations in store to finish up a trilogy.

Plot

Recruited by a corrupt chief, undercover cop Lee Ja-sung finds himself in the barracks of one of Asia's most notorious crime syndicates, Goldmoon. When the chairman is killed in a shady car accident, two successors on opposing sides of the spectrum start war against one another in hopes of claiming the open position. Lee Joong-gu and Jung Chung are in a heated battle to rule over Goldmoon, and Ja-sung is caught right in the center of it.

Ja-sung and Chung are brothers in arms, or so, that's what Chung assumes. When promoting Ja-sung to become his right-hand deputy, trust, honor and loyalty is shared extensively between the two. Operating as an undercover affiliate for eight years, Ja-sung is exhausted and finding himself losing track of the potential goal Chief Kang has set him up to. With a child on the way, Ja-sung is pushing not only his time, but his limits.

While Chief Kang begins to throw undercover individuals under the bus in hopes of destroying Goldmoon from the inside out, Ja-sung begins to waver in his stance for justice. Walking eight years in the shoes of a gangster, and a gangster he's bound to become. While Jung Chung ponders how the police are continuously gaining evidence against him and Joong-gu, Kang starts a war from the inside out which is bound to cripple the infamous syndicate while also jeopardizing Ja-sung's life.

Overall

This is the first movie I've seen with Lee Jung Jae and Park Sungwoong and it's also my most favorite movie to the date. Park Hoon-jung has gained quite a large amount of respect points from me. He earned quite the attention after screenwriting Kim Ji-woon's I Saw the Devil and directing New World just shows how amazing one could put together such a mind blowing piece.

A close affiliate of mine on Twitter recommended this movie to me. I didn't think anything of it and put it on my extraordinarily long to-watch list. That same day, I was looking up a little information on Jung Woosung and found a link straight to Lee Jung Jae as they happen to be best friends and business partners while also starring in City of the Rising Sun together. So it was sort of love at first sight when I fell upon Jung Jae's Wiki picture. And then I made the connection that he was also the hottie who played Lee Ja-sung in New World and I couldn't have pounced on it any faster than I had.

While it seems as if the Korean crime and action-thriller trend includes violence with bloody messes, out of all of them, I think Hoon-jung has constructed it in the most fanciest way possible, that is if you can consider crime syndicates and gangsters fancy.

The relationship between Jung Chung and Lee Ja-sung expresses their tight-knit friendship turned bromance. Being next in line for succession, Chung is seen as naive and playful. In the beginning parts, Ja-sung is ten times more of a serious leader than Chung would ever be in a lifetime, that is until the tide starts to shift and the police are getting private intel that leads Chung to believe a rat is hidden within his gang of loyal cronies. Chief Kang doesn't care about anything or anyone. He's intent on bringing down Goldmoon's syndicate.

I think the most scariest scene of watching Jung Chung's true colors bubble to the surface was when he brought in Chinese hackers to find every bit of information on every man and woman that worked behind his legacy. Uncovering the true identity of Ja-sung as an undercover cop along with a few others, Chung expresses this brand of psychosis while openly torturing and inevitably killing both affiliates Ja-sung had worked with, but leaving his right-hand man alive.

In that second I knew that Chung loved and trusted Ja-sung to an extent that was in his favor. Perhaps that was the initial death of him, but even with this brand of information processed in his last moments, Chung simply didn't have it in him to kill Ja-sung, but trust his instincts and his conflicting emotions while serving Chief Kang.

Also, Ja-sung's character was inspiring. Taking so much abuse and being stepped on for eight years had him wavering. Still, he stood strong even though he was absolutely miserable for the time being. Having found solace in Chung's presence and being exposed to this whole new world inside another, Ja-sung found acceptance against the law, but succeeded after his fallen friend and took over to start Operation: New World.

And, of course, the moment we've all been waiting for. Yes, my synopsis of yet another evil villain. Park Sungwoong...oh Park Sungwoong. I feel like he's such an underrated actor. I've realized he's been a supporting character in quite a few movies and dramas and I've put them all on my watch list.

Portraying a power-hungry psycho better known as Lee Joong-gu, Sungwoong perfectly executes a form of madness as this well dressed successor in line. From the start when the whole clan under Goldmoon is brought to the hospital awaiting news of their chairman, Joong-gu is already having breakdown after breakdown which only heightens as the plot progresses.

Now, while Joong-gu is portrayed as a supporting character in this, I personally see him as a main character as he's one that is caught in Ja-sung's wrath when he rises the ladder to nab the throne.

I'm so captivated by Joong-gu's being. He's a handsome man with a cocky smirk and a sick taste in humor. Scaring Chung and Ja-sung by almost running them over. Slamming hands upon tables and glasses while shrieking curses due to his inability to control emotions. Talk about sexy and scary all the same. To be honest, Sungwoong probably plays a lot of villain roles (like Lee Byunghun) because of his serious and intimidating features. Sungwoong furrows his brows and always has this non-interested look scattered about his face that reflects in his eyes. When he talks, his lips barely move and when he really gets into an argument or conflict (especially in New World), all this emotion is reflected not only through his face but his actions.

Prime example, the jail scene. Jung Chung throws Joong-gu under Kang's knife and he's arrested and put right behind bars until further evidence can be extracted. Joong-gu is glowering through this glass panel as a petty officer is standing around monitoring him. Chung is running his mouth and trying to claim certain things and as each word falls from his tongue, you see Joong-gu losing his patience. And he's trying so hard to keep it in before he just snaps.

Slamming his hand against the glass while before throwing an F-bomb surely woke me up. I actually jumped because I felt like there wasn't anything I hadn't seen come from him especially through such outbursts.

From another point, I can concur that Joong-gu plays an "I'm invincible" role just like Byunghun had in The Good, The Bad, The Weird. And in this sense, it too leads to his demise. When Chief Kang goes to visit Joong-gu while also selling out Chung all-in-all, Jong-gu snaps before claiming, "Do you know who I am? I'm Jong-gu. The great Lee Jong-gu!", before trying to come back with a vengeance. Being a gangster and sitting behind bars really isn't a stressful feat. Joong-gu goes out and passes along an order that starts war against both of Goldmoon's clans.

Of course, the whole thing backfires as Ja-sung's henchmen are awaiting Joong-gu as he's released from prison due to lack of evidence. Even as they approach him in his barren lounge found in an unfinished apartment building, Joong-gu seems to have no sense of fear though he knows very well that he'll be murdered in the most painful way possible. He just sits there claiming one of my most favored quotes in the history of mankind: "What a beautiful day to die" and then coolly asking for one last smoke.

If you're a fan of gangster movies, New World will leave you hungry for more.