'Phantom Detective,' action thriller full of laughs

Lee Je-hoon, center, as modern-day Hong Gil-dong in a scene from “Phantom Detective” / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment

By Yun Suh-young

Hong Gil-dong is often known as the rugged, macho and big-framed butcher who, as the legendary tale has it, was the hero of the laypeople by punishing the greedy and corrupted ― much like Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest.

In a new film, the character turns into a chic, sleek and handsome modern-day gentleman in a smart suit and fedora who resembles Sherlock Holmes in many aspects, especially in attire. Lacking the physical shape or strength of the stereotyped legendary hero of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), the new Hong Gil-dong is armed with intelligence, slyness and can quickly adapt himself to situations -- matching his job title, “detective.”

"Phantom Detective," released Wednesday, is a comic action thriller about a modern-day version of Hong Gil-dong who is now a private detective and team leader of an illegal detective agency hired to do the wrong things for the right reasons. The twisted modern interpretation of Hong Gil-dong adds imagination to the anonymous and secretive character whose tales have been passed down through history orally.

Director Jo Sung-hee created a dark, anti-social hero who lacks empathy due to the destruction of his hippocampus on the left side of his brain from the shock of witnessing his mother get murdered at the age of eight. Hong Gil-dong punishes the villains in a more villainous way than they could imagine and lacks the perfectness of the stereotypical superheroes. But the director tries to show how such an emotionally and physically deficient hero could change over time and through experiencing friendship, thus transforming himself into the attractive character he became.

Along the way to find his long-sought enemy and target of revenge Kim Byeong-deok (Park Geun-hyung) who killed his mother, Hong Gil-dong (Lee Je-hoon) meets two young girls Dong-yi (Roh Jeong-eui) and Mal-soon (Kim Ha-na) who turn out to be the granddaughters of Kim who tag along with him on his journey of revenge.

At first using them as a tool to accomplish his mission, Hong slowly opens his heart to his two young "unwanted" helpers or nuisances and ends up protecting them from becoming victims of an organized crime group Gwangeunhoe.

The charm of this movie is the appropriate and balanced mixture of thrills and comedy. At times the film is belly-laughingly funny and at other times chair-grippingly intense. The comic aspects are much attributed to the superb work of the two young actresses who play Dong-yi and Mal-soon, especially the latter who lights up the movie. Kim Ha-na, who plays Mal-soon, adorably caramelizes a stiff and awkward situation inducing laughter from the audience and successfully penetrates into the heart of Hong Gil-dong as well as the audience. By the end of the film, the audience will leave the theater touched with warm hearts and with the image of the sweet little girl lingering in their minds.