No Tears for the Dead (2014) User Reviews

A very good crime drama with some explosive action sequences

[bbickley13-921-58664 · 7/10 · 23 June 2014]

The movie is about a hit man from America's mid-west who is of Korean decent. When he botches what was supposed to be his last job by killing an innocent kid, he is sent to Korea to fix what he screwed up by killing the kid's mother.

It sounds a bit like a fish out of water story, but the movie only proves that the crime world is the crime world no matter what country you are from. Some of the criminals were speaking up to three different languages, but in the crime game there are only two languages in you really need to know …money and guns.

The gun part was not as much as the money part but when the gun part was done it was violent, like Chow Yun Fat 80's style violent. The action sequences were stylish and bloody, just how I like it

The money part is where all the crime Drama comes in as it's about a Korean gang uses a legit network to launder Triad money, The plot tries to be complex with the an everyone is not who they seem kind of situation. They film also tries to give some depth to the main character showing us why a harden hit man would allow an accidentally killing to melt his heart like it did. For me the story was not as complex as the action sequences.

Some of the midsection could use more gun play, but overall it was a great seeing it.

Tragic drama meets blistering action

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 17 March 2015]

NO TEARS FOR THE DEAD is yet another addition to an exemplary list of South Korean action thrillers made in the last decade; such titles include THE BERLIN FILE, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE, A BITTERSWEET LIFE, A COMPANY MAN, and THE SUSPECT. I was long excited for this film as soon as I found out it was a follow-up to the same director's THE MAN FROM NOWHERE, which is one of my all-time favourites.

NO TEARS FOR THE DEAD isn't quite up there with the standard of the earlier film, but it has its moments. This is an exciting story that mixes superbly-shot, hard-hitting action sequences with a tragic human drama at the core. It's dark indeed, featuring heartfelt performances from the central actors who are inevitably playing broken characters, and it's fun to see how the tone shifts from adrenaline-pumping action to gut-wrenching emotion and back again.

The storyline is predictable for the genre: an assassin screws up by failing to take out his intended victim, only to face the wrath of his former employers. The action is blistering, with lightning fast editing and gobbets of grisly violence. But the human drama also draws you in, building to a moving but expected ending. The South Koreans have come up trumps again with this one.

Another enjoyable entry from the director of "The Man From Nowhere"

[youngster50 · 8/10 · 6 July 2014]

If you enjoyed "The Man From Nowhere", you will most likely enjoy this as well. It's not nearly as flawless as "The Man From Nowhere" which I will explain shortly.

The reason I bring up the "The Man From Nowhere" is that "No Tears For the Dead" (or "Crying Man" in Korean) is a very similar movie but shot on an entirely different canvas. What I mean is you have the typical protagonist or anti-hero with a vague background that gets slowly revealed and starts developing a conscience after botching his last assignment when he accidentally kills an innocent child. He is then hired to go after the child's mother but can't bring himself to do it after he starts developing feelings for her and races to save her from his and her employers.

"No Tears For the Dead" is in no way original and the story is almost forgettable since it's been done to death but the action sequences are what makes it stand apart. The bloody and brutal fight/shooting scenes gets your adrenaline going throughout the movie. The night shots of Los Angeles are especially gorgeous which reminded me of Michael Mann's signature visual shots of Los Angeles in his flawless crime thrillers, "Heat" and "Collateral".

The lack of character development in "No Tears For the Dead" is what makes "The Man From Nowhere" so much better. In "The Man From Nowhere", you actually cared about the characters and what the protagonist goes through to save his neighbor's child. Here, it is almost nonexistent since the action sequences leave no time for them to get acquainted. However, both use the exact same format of revealing the protagonists' past that made them become who they were and it is also effectively done in "No Tears For the Dead". I came to care about the protagonist but there should've been more between the killer and mother.

The ending was also disappointing since it wasn't clear what really happens to everyone. But the final scene was a good way to end the movie on a tragic note which pretty much explains the title of the movie.

Overall, it's not as good as "The Man From Nowhere" in terms of plot and character development, but "No Tears for the Dead" is nevertheless another enjoyable entry from its director.

Another great Korean action thriller.

[paulclaassen · 7/10 · 6 April 2019]

Another great action thriller from South Korea!

For an action film, the first half might be considered slow, but this is an effective depiction of guilt and we get a very clear idea of the emotions our hero Gon (Dong-Gun Jang) is going through. The film is also a good study of how simple events lead to a scenario of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dong-Gun Jang is good as a hitman overcome by guilt, and is every bit believable during the intense action scenes and the emotional scenes. The second half of the film is full-on action in a cat and mouse game as the protagonist outwit the antagonists. The action scenes are brutal, fast-paced, and thrilling!

As with most Korean films, this one is also very unpredictable.

The writing had issues.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 7/10 · 30 December 2022]

This wasn't nearly as tightly written as Jeong-beom Lee's hit The Man from Nowhere 2010, as it was riddled with convoluted scenes and plot holes. The entire almost two-hour runtime didn't flow smoothly, even with the somewhat decent pacing. There was much clarity missing in many scenes, of which some of those could've been omitted. The narrative wasn't as engaging as it should've been. There were also many shake-your-head moments that were either too overdramatic, and/or unbelievable nonsense. It did have amazing action and gore scenes, with enough blood to make even the audience slip on it. The casting and performances were decent - although some cliched. The cinematography and score were on point. Nevertheless, it's not as bad as the critics say, and it's a fun one-time watch. Just don't expect this to be as great as Lee's 2010 gem of a film.

great action, but terribly slow paced and drawn out; powerful ending saves

[jdring2007 · 7/10 · 28 May 2021]

The first half of this movie is rough to get through, with the exception of the initial scene, which sinks its hooks into you as any first scene of a movie should. But then it drags, painfully, and hits you with waves of cliches, the helpless damsel in distress being the most tiring for me. The action scenes are brutal and well filmed though, which in addition to the great acting saves this from damnation. The emotional ending I also have to applaud, and the climactic scene that precedes it.

Geat action shots

[0U · 12 February 2020]

Absolutely a fantastic film. The action might be a standard affair but the story and the emotion that this film evokes is insane. It is brutal in not only the action but the real feeling of a mother who just lost her child now dragged into another fiasco. Definitely give this movie a shot

A good thriller is "No Tears for the Dead"

[dhaufrect-1 · 6/10 · 3 May 2015]

"No Tears for the Dead" is a modern day thriller set in Korea. It is partly in English and the rest is in Korean with subtitles. The film is from 2014 and it is currently on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. It is written and directed by Jeong-beom Lee. The actors include Dong- gun Jang, Min-hee Kim, Brian Tee, Hee-won Kim, Jun Sung Kim, Jennifer Buttell, Yo-han Byeon, Alessandro Cuomo, Darell M. Davie, Anthony Diio, Christopher Hackney, Alexander Stephen Kabel, Dana Lee, Sung-wok Min, Kang Han Na, Tich Ting, Alex Wrath. The movie is about a hit man from America's mid-west who is of Korean decent. When he botches what was supposed to be his last job by killing an innocent kid, he is sent to Korea to fix what he screwed up by killing the kid's mother. It sounds a bit like a fish out of water story, but the movie only proves that the crime world is the crime world no matter what country you are from. Some of the criminals were speaking up to three different languages, but in the crime game there are only two languages in you really need to know …money and guns. I gave it a score of 6 stars. Dale Haufrect

Yet Again Another Superb Korean film!!!!!

[bear_adam · 10/10 · 30 April 2015]

Holy Smokes I just finished watching this movie and I absolutely loved it. I'm a huge fan of Korean films and they are my favorite films off all time. I will say that I haven't seen a ton of them but I'm working on it. I loved the setting and also the story plot while unoriginal kept the plot moving forward. The actors and actresses all did an Amazing job especially the main protagonist "Gon" played by Jang Dong-gun which was the first Korean movie I have seen him in and what a tremendous actor. I will move forward with the action and Man O Man was it Insane. The one thing Korean films do better then any other films from around the world are to choreograph wonderful firefight scenes and jaw dropping Brutal fight scenes. I have seen a ton of movies in my 25 years of existence lol and being from America I will also say that these films put to shame what America comes out with in terms of action. Well anyways this is a must watch movie and you will not regret it I guarantee you that and you will want to watch more Korean films afterwards but understand that if you can't or are to lazy to read subtitles you might not enjoy it as much but the action scenes might just alleviate that feeling.

Decent, but doesn't even come near Raid 2

[subratjain1 · 6/10 · 1 March 2015]

To start, I would say that the movie was well made with good acting and above par choreography. The story was somewhat believable and pretty simple. So no plot holes as such.

The thing that's bugging me is that a lot of promotional posters said that the action sequences rival Raid 2. In my opinion that's a utterly false comparison. And someone who feels its true needs to watch Raid 2 again. The action is zero in the 1st hour of the film. There are some very good sequences but very few in number.The final fight was a let down too. The hero doesn't fight even 1 of the bad guys properly through out the film.

The raid franchise consists of 2 epic films with unmatched action choreography ever, IMHO. Comparing a movie with that is going to generate interest nonetheless.

To sum it up this was a little below my expectations as The Man form nowhere features in my all time favorite action flicks and i was expecting it to at least live up to the expectation.

Watch it as a decent action flick and don't expect too much form it.

It looked better from the trailers

[KineticSeoul · 5/10 · 2 October 2014]

I was actually looking forward to this movie mainly because it's done by the director that directed "The Man From Nowhere", which is actually a pretty cool movie. However this one just lacked that flow of enticement. I just got quickly bored after the first action sequence. The director was probably trying to make a smart action movie, that involves hit men, gang and corrupt businessmen. But it just isn't combined all that well. In fact sometimes, the story seems to lose focus by going all over the place. I know this movie is sort of a adaptation from the "Crying Freeman" manga, but it's very subtle in that area. There was hardly even any bonding moment between the hit- man and the woman. When it comes to the core of this movie, it's basically a hit-man's conscience and redemption story. Overall, it's a alright watch but nothing really memorable and that includes the action sequences. I didn't even think the cinematography was all that good and it just sort of reminded me of the movie "A Company Man".

5.9/10

The rooftop shoot-out is one of the best action sequence.

[Fella_shibby · 9/10 · 26 March 2017]

Saw this recently on a rented dvd. It's an amazing action flick. The plot - A hit-man is traumatized after an accidental killing of a small girl. He is assigned by his contractors to then eliminate the young girl's mother, causing further conflict for the broken hit-man. Expectations were high as this is from the same director, Lee Jeong-beom who gav us The Man from Nowhere. Jang Dong-gun (My Way) gav a stunning performance as the haunted and complex hit-man. His action choreography is awesome. Action scenes are well executed. It's a high octane action flick. There is tons of blazing shootouts, brutal hand combat n some knife play. Most of the action is towards the second half of the film. The rooftop shoot-out is one of the best action sequence. Fans of Michael Mann n John Woo will love the gun action scenes. Fans of Heat, Miami vice, The Getaway (Steve Mcqueen one), Hard boiled, The Killer, Tombstone, etc will definitely enjoy this.

Again, A Great Korean Film Tainted With Over-Sentimental Nonsense.

[redrobin62-321-207311 · 7/10 · 21 September 2018]

Why, oh why, do these South Korean filmmakers INSIST on having over-sentimental, crying, syrupy scenes in their otherwise nice and tense thrillers? I'd give this movie an 8, or even 9, if they exorcised those ridiculous bits which, to be, drags the film to an abysmal low.

That said, "No Tears for the Dead" is still a movie worth seeing if you're into fast-paced thrillers with buckets of blood to spare. In that department, this film is spot on. It's one of the goriest thrillers I've seen in a while, at least since "John Wick" anyway. I'm glad I did see this flick even though I have this nagging feeling that I might forget about it tomorrow. Yeah, it was kinda generic in its many kill scenes, and that's probably why.

Couldn't get through it.

[jordan2240 · 4/10 · 6 April 2022]

If the ending is worth suffering through this snoozer, I'll never know, because I couldn't stay awake to get there. Tediously boring after some initial action that failed to set the pace. Not sure why this is rated as high as it is.

Unequal pacing, good movie overall

[rucipi · 7/10 · 13 January 2016]

I saw this movie had the same director as "The Man From Nowhere", which was such a blast I couldn't NOT try it.

Those who expected the same type of movie may find it quite different.

1.) Yes it's a Korean action/thriller movie. 2.) Yes it revolves around a protagonist who's rather on the silent side 3.) Yes the protagonist is protecting a female character against many individuals who want to harm her.

Now, the issue I have with this movie is two-fold : A. the pace. One short action scene in the beginning. Then there's a lot of downtime until something else happens. Is it bad or boring? Not necessarily, but the characters speak 4 different languages in the movie (Korean, English, Spanish, Mandarin) which can make it confusing, even with the subtitles.

We're then given some more action in the middle and a lot more towards the end, so you will be entertained.

B. The tone. Some of the villains were too ridiculous in the way they acted, in contrast to the overall serious tone reflected by the main actors.

Still, it was a satisfying movie, with great action scenes. Would recommend

Expertly crafted action scenes dragged down by the plot...........

[nikhilraj1990 · 6/10 · 19 September 2015]

Lee Jung-beom became one of my favorite directors, when I watched his debut crime feature "Cruel Winter Blues" and his revenge thriller "The Man from Nowhere".

What I really like about his movies is attention to detail and expertly filmed action sequences.

This movie continues these features, but this time Lee failed to ignite an interesting engaging and a convincing story.

But Lee is all about execution!!!!!!!! I believe that even his previous feature had a totally unbelievable plot it was his execution which shined the screenplay.

But this time plot of the movie is undeniably, the culprit for the negative reviews.

But on the positive, you are really going to like the action scenes. For the preparation of action scenes, Jang Dong-Gun underwent physical training for months.

Final Verdict: Just don't compare it with "The Man from Nowhere" and you will enjoy it.

Good but not great

[jvazquez-76014 · 6/10 · 24 December 2019]

It's a good movie. The ending was great but this Korean movie feels like they are wanting so bad to make it American like it. So they water it down with all the boring dialogue instead of putting that bad asss Asian fighting action. Unfortunately the fighting cinematography is no where close to other Korean action flicks. Let's just say the trailer is very misleading.

Despite being as Equally Entertaining as 'The Man from Nowhere', More is Needed to Heighten the Impact and Depth of the Narrative

[totalovrdose · 8/10 · 15 June 2015]

Ironically, No Tears for the Dead, a film with themes concerning honor, power and greed, is strongly focused on mourning the deceased, conveyed emotionally through the plot, which concerns death and suicide. This subsequently reveals how simple it is to take a life, and how pointless it can often appear, while suggesting that the execution of an individual goes much deeper, the impact killing their closest friends and family who must suffer the pain, and the consequences, of their passing.

When we first meet Mo-Kyung (Kim Min-Hee), it is difficult to discern if she is aware of the tragic loss she has suffered, the professional climate she inhabits forcing her to work as she hides much of her pain, after having lost both her daughter, the adorable Yoo-Mi (Kang Ji-Woo) and husband, while the two were overseas. The use of contextualization over the duration of the feature layers the emotional depth over time, Ms. Min-Hee being responsible for one of the film's most poignantly incredible scenes, that is especially due to her exceptional talent.

However, she is not the only person suffering from this loss. Gon (Jang Dong-Gun), the hit-man responsible for inadvertently snatching away Yoo-Mi's life, a character who often appears stoic and emotionally impotent, is plagued by the trauma of his wrongdoing, while also suffering the pain of his past, the consequences of which inevitably formed his character's views and values. This pain only grows stronger as the narrative progresses, though the motivations that inspire this are largely conveyed visually, rather than being further scaffolded through dialogue, the feature, at one point, reducing this sub-plot to little more than a stereotypical cliché. Gon's inability to hide his regret is largely caused by the order he receives to terminate Mo-Kyung, to ensure she does not ask unwanted questions, in an attempt to shelter other antagonists involved in the corruption and money laundering schemes, including the vile John Lee (Kim Joon-Sung), from being apprehended by police.

Originally beginning in Los Angeles, before moving to South Korea, at least half the script is presented in English, and not only is this written in an exemplary fashion (which, unfortunately, isn't always the case with Asian movies - I'm looking at you The Viral Factor), the actors speak their lines of dialogue with educated professionalism.

As Gon fights his personal moral battles, those giving the orders begin to doubt his resolve, leading them to send his brother in arms, Charles (Brian Tee), and his proficient team, to complete his assignment, friendship and loyalty being major themes that begin to be contended. The battles that ensue are absolutely outstanding, not only being incredibly violent, sometimes hilariously so, but being intelligently thought out, as the characters attempt to out-think each other, rather than simply using brutality. In many of these instances, characters are horrifically wounded, and yet unrealistically survive, this tactic seemingly granting the plot further longevity, which may cause some viewer's to question the necessity of this action.

Occasionally, the directionality of the plot and character progression can become predictable, though that doesn't mean the film is not without its surprises. The characters, especially the villains, are capable of making dialogue reflective of black humor, though at the same time, enemies, despite exhibiting recognizable influences, can appear a little two-dimensional.

Despite the ending been quite a surprise, while beneficially fitting the narrative, the conclusion raises additional questions that are unresolved, providing limited closure, while the fate of one of the leads is entirely uncertain. Audiences throughout the story may be hoping for Gon's character to find redemption or forgiveness, and in the end, a question worth asking is: are we satisfied?

Although No Tears for the Dead is viciously entertaining, emotionally poignant, and efficaciously acted and directed, more depth could have been provided to truly resolve some of the film's most impacting story-lines.

Reaches too far too connect

[grandmastersik · 5/10 · 26 September 2016]

A simple plot: a hit-man accidentally kills a little girl and is then sent to put the mother out of her misery.

So, how can this possibly go wrong? After the explosive beginning, the pace drops off almost to the point of tedium as we're supposed to feel the agony of characters we never quite connect with. There's something about Triad bank accounts worth around $100 million thrown in to motivate the gangsters and throw some cops into the mix, but it's so poorly put together that - if it couldn't have been fixed via a couple of rewrites - really should have been taken out.

Fortunately, 40 minutes or so in, the action kicks off again and it's the excellence we all sat down to watch in the first place.

Now, I'm all for catering for genre fans, just as I'm all for making deep, meaningful thrillers, but unfortunately, the plotting doesn't quite have the plausibility or pacing to be the powerful action-thriller the director was hoping it would be and in the end, despite all the great action scenes, No Tears For the Dead left me feeling detached and out in the cold.

Very underappreciated

[Nazz86 · 8/10 · 17 January 2019]

This was a great movie, good plot, good acting, lots of action, with a good story.

Worth a watch for sure.

Poor

[Aries_Primal · 1/10 · 20 December 2017]

Poor american action with korean actors, a lot of violence and unrealistic scenes. Koreans speaking english and swearing at italian, still can't understand that. "Our guy" is beaten, shooted, stabbed, but he is keep fighting like samurai. Bad guys are ugly and disgusting, good guys are pretty, there is a crying woman of course which "bad guys" tried to kill but when they captured her they did nothing. This movie was a waste of time.

No Tears for the Dead Review: Top notch action & production values make it more than memorable.

[Achyut_Prashast_Singh · 9/10 · 18 July 2017]

Movie: No Tears for the Dead (18)

Rating: 4.5/5

South Korean action films are often engaging and entertaining. When I watch an action film, I don't think of finding any logical loopholes. Why should one? Action films are always meant to draw attention towards impressive action and emotions set in visually stunning backdrops. So is this South Korean action film NO TEARS FOR THE DEAD. It has all the elements a perfect action film should have and is extremely impressive and wholly engaging.

NO TEARS FOR THE DEAD has not just impressive action, but impressive visuals, performances and BGM too. This is Jang Dong-gun's first film I've seen and he's just excellent! It's difficult to take eyes off the screen when he's either acting, emoting or fighting: he does every part so well. Kim Min-hee delivers a strong performance. Other actors manage to leave a mark with their respective memorable performances.

The story and screenplay are like never seen or heard before. The film looks extremely stylish and this is another reason why you should catch this one on Blu-ray. It has all the things that make it a perfect watch for action lovers. But not just for action lovers. It has elements which work with lovers of drama and thriller genres too. The VFX, locations and cinematography too are excellent and production values are top notch.

Overall, NO TEARS FOR THE DEAD is a memorable action film that will definitely be liked by action fans and South Korean cinema lovers.

Not very good action movie

[tenshi_ippikiookami · 3/10 · 23 November 2016]

Gon is a killer whose new mission is to get some data and then kill the woman that has it, a woman that happens to be the mother of a little child he killed by accident on his last mission. Of course, Gon grows a conscience and decides to betray his bosses and safe the woman.

"No Tears for the Dead" is not the most original movie in the basket. It is predictable, lame and you will see any plot development from a mile away. It doesn't help that the pace and direction are not very good, and the action scenes are shrouded in darkness making everything quite difficult (and boring) to follow. The acting ranges from B-movie level to okeish to I-don't-know-I-was-an-actor level, and the lead actor, Dong-gun Jang, fails miserably in bringing any charisma to Gon. Min-hee Kim as Mo-kyeong, the woman who may or may not have the data the triads are searching for, fares better, as does also Brian Tee with a paper-thin character that is just there to allow him to look cool.

An action movie should at least have some cool action, and action scenes that make sense and are entertaining. "No Tears for the Dead" forgot the action rule-book home and offers neither of them.

Excellent film. Not as gory as some make it out.

[Mike_T-Little_Mtn_Sound_Archive · 8/10 · 31 January 2020]

Excellent action movie all the way around. Solid in every facet of the movie -acting, directing, production, etc.

There are some good reviews below, and I'll say unequivocally that a full film review of mine would read like the better reviews. I wanted to comment on what others have written, that I believe to be wrong.

First and foremost, this movie is NOT gory. There is 1, maybe 2 scenes that have what MIGHT be considered gore, and the camera moves so quickly it almost can't be seen. Don't mistake blood and gore. There is a fair amount of blood in this, though less than some its Korean counterparts (eg Train To Busan et al). So really, while the parental guide comments multiple times about the non-stop gore, I'm guessing the reviewer either a) lumps blood and gore in to the same category, b) doesn't actually know what gore is in a movie, or c) has a really weak stomach. Like I said...lots of blood, little gore.

Secondly, several comments about the slow pace. I did not find that at all. I mean, the movie opens with action and blood! It sets the tone for the entire movie. There are parts (which are needed) that show conversations taking place or other non-killing scenes but that doesn't make the pace any less than free flowing.

All in all, a very fun movie. A bit on the dark side, but in a good way. If you like Korean/Asian action flicks, this is one you should see. It won't change your life but it's well worth the 1 hour & 50 minutes.

Waste of time, exhausted!

[arjun-tkalathil · 3/10 · 21 June 2020]

What is this??? Is this a movie! Such a horrible attempt.First hour was dull and after that, many gun scenes, irritating so much.If you want to save your time, dont watch this!!!