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| From left, actor Kim Young-kwang, director Kim Hyeong-ju and actress Lee Sun-bin pose during a press event for the film "Mission Possible" in Seoul, Monday. /Courtesy of Merry Christmas |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Action comedy film "Mission Possible" tells the story of a private detective teaming up with a secret agent to complete a secret mission.
In the upcoming film, Kim Young-kwang plays Woo Soo-han, who runs a private detective agency and gets embroiled in a dangerous operation after partnering with spy Yoo Da-hee (Lee Sun-bin).
Director Kim Hyeong-ju explained that the upcoming film has nothing to do with Hollywood's "Mission Impossible" series.
"I could have chosen a simpler title, but I thought Mission Possible best represents the genre and tone of the film. It would cost a lot of money to make something similar to Mission Impossible. I'd like the audience to understand that it's a separate creation," he said during a press event for the film, Monday.
On choosing action comedy for his debut feature, Kim said, "I've always liked fun movies with interesting premises such as Back to the Future and Indiana Jones. That's why I decided to make an entertaining movie that's fun to watch."
Actor Kim said he loved the script and thought it would be a great opportunity to combine goofy comedic moments and spectacular action sequences.
"I always act while reading the whole script from beginning to the end. What resonated with me was the fact that I could be part of the action and laughs. The script was fun and I really enjoyed acting out Woo Soo-han's character," he said.
The model-turned-actor revealed that he frequently used improvisation in the film while shooting comedic scenes, and performed action sequences without a stunt double.
"I ad-libbed a lot while shooting the comedic scenes, but the director wasn't too happy about it," he said. He also explained his decision to perform his own stunts, saying, "I performed stunts without a body double because the character's face kept showing and we didn't look similar at all."
The director added that it was hard to find a double body of similar height and body type to the model-turned-actor.
Actress Lee, who has performed impressive action sequences in her previous works such as "Okay! Madam" (2020) and "Rampant" (2018), said she enjoyed the crazy fight scenes and constantly worked on the nuances in her performance.
"I feel like a lot of the work I've done has been physically challenging. For this film, I performed action scenes with fresh props such as plastic bottles. I also wore a dress and heels when doing action scenes."
Director Kim said he chose Lee for the role of Da-hee because he was impressed with her filmography. "Lee has shown she has a wide spectrum of acting skills. There are scenes where an actress may feel embarrassed, but she was really cool about it. She has all the potential to become an action hero given that she's a great dancer."
"Mission Possible" will hit local theaters in February.
