An undercover cop is trying to get closer to the king of the jail before the king is released from prison. Will he succeed before the king is released, or will the undercover cop die at the hands of the prison king?
The Merciless doesn’t offer anything you haven’t seen before: a young cop is sent to jail to get closer to the prison leader, played by my favorite Asian actor, Sol Kyung-gu. Sol Kyung-gu portrays a relentless gangster who trusts no one after being betrayed too many times. The young cop, however, has a tough boss—a hard, almost equally ruthless woman—who promises to help his dying mother if he goes undercover. But betrayal looms, as his boss ultimately stabs him in the back. The lesson? Never trust a boss, especially if she’s a South Korean woman who is more manly than South Korean men. That doesn’t take much, though.
The movie is well-acted, particularly with Sol Kyung-gu in one of the leading roles. There’s nothing more to add about him—he’s always good. However, his new friend in jail wears lipstick, which I found disgusting. The actor does a decent job, but I can’t take a prison character seriously when he’s wearing lipstick. It’s sickening! Seriously! What’s next, Ma Dong-seok in red lipstick?
The story is thin, but the movie is dark and brutal in some scenes. This isn’t a movie with deep character development; it’s an entertaining crime movie with simple characters and a dark plot.
The undercover cop and his brutal gangster friend seem closer than the cop and his cold, fish of a female boss. She’s one nasty, cold woman from hell—and I liked her since she has balls. No, no! Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying, you sick fish! I also loved the dark ending. It was perfectly executed, with the chilling sound of church bells ringing. Oh yeah!
If you enjoy dark South Korean crime movies, check out The Merciless. As mentioned, the story is thin, but the cold, dark atmosphere and great acting make it entertaining. Just turn off your brain and let this hard-hitting gangster crime movie take you in—though you might want to have a bucket ready when you see a flower boy with red lipstick trying to act like a tough prison inmate. Seriously! The first thing he’d do in real life is drop the soap and bend over slowly to pick it up in the shower. Jesus, I’m not going to get any sleep tonight with that image in my head.