Open City (2008) User Reviews

Nothing outstanding here...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 18 February 2023]

I will say that the synopsis for the 2008 South Korean crime action movie "Mubangbi-Dosi" (aka "Open City") definitely sounded interesting. And with this being an Asian movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I had to watch it.

Writer and director Sang-Gi Lee managed to put together a fair enough script here. However, "Mubangbi-Dosi" wasn't exactly an outstanding movie experience. Sure, it was watchable enough for what it was, but it was hardly a memorable movie.

The movie starts out well enough, but somewhere after the midway point it starts to stagnate a bit. And the ending of the movie just felt forced and rushed, and it made very little sense that the main character would just up and do such a drastic change. It didn't really follow the tone of the movie up to that point.

The acting performances in "Mubangbi-Dosi" were fair enough. They had some interesting and good talents on the cast list, with the likes of Son Ye-Jin and Kim Byeong-Ok.

I didn't feel that I had been missing out on a particular gem in the South Korean cinema here, as I only got to watch "Mubangbi-Dosi" for the first time here in 2023. I had actually never heard about the movie prior to sitting down and watching it.

My rating of "Mubangbi-Dosi" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

Good story and Son Ye Jin is a superb femme fatale

[phd_travel · 8/10 · 9 April 2020]

This is an interesting movie about a police trying to take down a pickpocketing ring with a blend of a thriller with a melodramatic background for the cop and his mother which makes it involving. Son Ye Jin shows she can do the femme fatale thing convincingly. She is beautiful and seductive. Liked the way the plot came together.

A unique and strange movie

[abas_ikbal · 9/10 · 29 December 2009]

As a previous user said , there is not too many movies about pickpockets. But for my case this is not the most important thing. This movie shows a very strange story where each character is related to another one in a city where all seems great but only in appearance. The story has this particularity to give you a show where the main character , a police officer know how to fight crime but is unable to accept it in a way that it is presented toward him. There are fights , there is a plot but no super hero or happy end , only a character who has to accept the reality and to struggle against his past which will influence his future. The main plot is centered on pickpocket ; and this idea gives the scenario credibility. Add to this movie a very good soundtrack , and a very good acting , and even if you do not like Asiatic movies , this one has to be seen like these rare Korean movies which are exported in Europe or in the USA some years laters. Very cool movie.

A compelling movie on a relatively unexplored subject

[vdubgolf96 · 8/10 · 28 April 2009]

What turned me on to Open City in the first place was the compelling plot. When was the last time you saw a movie about pickpocketing? There are very few movies in between K-Dramas and Korean thriller movies, so I was happy to find this movie. The characters are well developed and unique; many crime movies have very similar characters to each other, but Open City has many memorable ones. The plot is very well developed, keeping the viewer on their feet, but at the same time is easy to follow. I recommend this movie even if you don't know Korean. I was able to follow the plot fine even by just reading the subtitles. I look forward to see what Sang-ki Lee will come up with next...