The Film: 4.5/5

After impressing the South Korean film industry for years with his scripts for acclaimed features such as Kim Jee-woon’s thriller I Saw the Devil, Park Hoon-jung tried his hand at directing with 2011’s The Showdown. He followed that up two years later with New World, a multi-layered crime epic as complex, haunting, and fearless as William Friedkin’s To Live & Die in L.A. and Michael Mann’s Heat.

The death of its chairman Seok in a shocking car accident leaves open the top leadership position at Goldmoon, the most powerful criminal organization in South Korea. A special police unit lead by the weary, stone-faced Section Chief Kang (Choi Min-sik), devises a strategy to keep Goldmoon contained and unable to expand its influence any more by helping Jang Su-ki (Choi Il-hwa), the weakest of three candidates in line to take over as chairman, succeed to the throne. Their plan involves turning the top two men in the line of succession – the brash, mouthy Jung Chung (Hwang Jung-min), and the cold-blooded schemer Lee Joong-gu (Park Sung-woong) – against each other through intimidation and disinformation, paving the way for Jang to ascend to the chairman position.

The outcome of this risky strategy is contingent upon whether Kang can get Lee Ja-sung (Lee Jung-jae), a cop who has been undercover in Goldmoon for nearly a decade and serves as Jung’s second-in-command, to maintain his cover longer than he had anticipated. But Lee’s loyalty is torn between the gangsters who trust and respect him as one of their own and the cops he has long worked with but are no longer sure if they can trust him to perform his duties as a police officer with the time comes.

There are no clear-cut heroes and villains in New World, which takes its title from the ambitious undercover operation mounted by the cops against Goldmoon in the story. The line separating good and evil, police officer and bloodthirsty gangster, has been erased. Working from his own screenplay, director Hoon-jung crafted an unpredictable tale of misguided intentions, shifting alliances, and broken spirits. Best of all, he never shies from taking his narrative to its logical conclusion. If what you want out of a film like New World is a simple, stylish action yarn with a happy ending that reinforces the hoary old nonsense that crime doesn’t pay, you’ve come to the wrong place.

New World was cast extraordinarily well, with Jung-jae on top form as the protagonist with much to hide and lose and little to gain. The story of the undercover cop torn between worlds is hardly a new one, but the performance from Jung-jae is key to making it seem fresh again. Best known for his blisteringly brilliant star turn in the modern classic Oldboy, Min-sik impresses as Ja-sung’s world-weary superior who is only concerned with the bigger picture in taking down Goldmoon from the very top, even if that means maneuvering his primary undercover asset into the position of assuming control over the South Korean underworld.

Jung-min bursts with manic intensity and quiet soul as the impulsive Jung, while Sung-woong brings reptilian charisma and simmering brutality to the part of Jung’s number one challenge for Goldmoon’s chairman slot and complete control over the nation’s criminal landscape. In this male-dominated world, the film’s female characters are not given much to do, but Park Seo-yeon makes the much of her limited role with intricacy and warmth as Ja-sung’s pregnant wife Han Joo-kyung, who is forced by Kang to spy on her husband, giving our hero no escape from the darkness even in his own home.

Hoon-jung’s film is more concerned with juggling its multitude of characters and plot threads than it is with drowning everything in pointless stylistic touches, though it certainly does look gorgeous. He takes his time building his world of the law and the lawless and giving each of the important players in the story the proper development and motivations. Violence is a way of life for these people, but the director doesn’t overwhelm the proceedings with gratuitous blood and gun battles, outside of the occasional outburst of torture or death that ends as soon as it begins.

Understanding the emotional staying power of a strong and effective action set-piece, Hoon-jung keeps his violence sparse (yet brutal and downright horrific at times) until a third act brawl between rival gangs in a parking garage where the chaos is beautifully choreographed and relentless. The massive battle ultimately breaks down into a close quarter free-for-all inside an elevator. Blood flows, knives slash, bats fly, it’s a magnificent sequence that earns its place in the film and you won’t forget for a long time once it ends.

Audio/Video: 4.5/5

Eureka Entertainment presents New World on Region B Blu-ray in a near-flawless 1080p high-definition transfer framed in its original 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio. The film was shot on Red One digital cameras by cinematographers Chung-hoon Chung (Oldboy, Stoker) and Eok Yu, and the widescreen compositions and detail-rich environments are preserved immaculately in the HD photography. The color timing favors Michael Mann-esque cool blues and deep, visible blacks, while character faces reveal the strongest improvement in the quality of texture. Eureka’s transfer is so crisp and vibrant that you can see every drop of rain and the hue chosen for the stage blood is a delightfully queasy red-orange blend. Two Korean listening options are provided to supplement the transfer in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo, but it’s the 5.1 track that will immerse you in the film’s sonic tapestry of thundering gunfire, screeching tires, and savage gang battles with terrific clarity and depth. Dialogue is very clear and audible, and the moody original music score composed by Yeong-wook Jo (The Handmaiden) is integrated into the mix with careful arrangement and consistent volume control. English subtitles have also been provided.

Extras: 1/5

The only bonus feature is the theatrical trailer (2 minutes). Eureka has also included a Region 2 DVD copy.

Overall: 3.5/5

New World is supposed to be the first chapter of an epic trilogy that I hope filmmaker Park Hoon-jung is permitted to complete one day because the saga he must be envisioning is off to a gripping start. Despite it’s glaring lack of bonus features. Eureka Entertainment’s Region B Blu-ray edition earns high marks for the outstanding picture and sound quality, and of course, the film itself, a bracing, unforgiving minor classic that pulls no punches and offers no easy answers. It’s a refreshing take on the undercover cop tale that leaves one hell of an impact on the open-minded, adventurous viewer. Highly recommended.