Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE ROUNDUP [Fantasia International Film Festival 2022 - Virtual]
Creating a visceral action comedy that moves and yet is extremely violent and action oriented is hard to pull off without losing itself. “The Villainess” at Cannes a couple years ago worked in this texture but angled a bit too dark and times while never losing its pace. “The Roundup” (Official Selection) from South Korea makes itself move because of an almost Laurel & Hardy progression that understands when to move head first in your face but also get the almost Martin Riggs comedy of the moment. Ma Dong-Seok as Detective Ma is a barreling bulldozer of a cop that is half teddy bear/half ass-kicker but with a heart and gentleness when needed. But he has a punch that stops walls and a sense of humor that is razor sharp without resorting to being an “asshole”. That is a very delicate balance. His young, loyal and fun loving detective support team understands what he needs. They make mistakes but they go 100% and seeing that onscreen is awesome in many respects.
“The Roundup” doesn't have to show that it is bad-ass. It just is. The Laurel character is Yang (Eurn Moon-soek) who is just the right amount of wuss, inevitable sidekick and, like the audience, a witness to Ma's shenanigans. It also helps that the bad guy in Kang (Seok Koo-son) is just as visceral as Ma is a house of bricks. One apartment sequence is fantastic and brings to mind “The Raid” but in a closed apartment space...and that is before Ma gets there. There is also a slick highway sequence that can rival certain blockbusters while keeping practical and action tight to the end. “The Roundup” never lets up, and never loses its fun or its sense of humor even as the brutal body count piles up. And these guys don't use guns except as a last resort. It is all about knives, machetes and fists and that is a welcome, brutal and visceral approach to this kind of action movie with a bit of fun. A
By Tim Wassberg
