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Saturday, March 23, 2024

Capsule Review: MISSON: POSSIBLE, Slapdash Spy Action-Comedy Lacks Spark


By Pierce Conran

Mission: Possible is a third-rate spy action-comedy starring Kim Young-kwang and Lee Sun-bin as a mismatched duo who both pretend to be NIS spies as they hunt down a group of gun smugglers. Despite threatening to, the film never quite edges into romcom territory, but given the lack of sparks between the leads, perhaps this was for the best.

I was having some harsh thoughts about this film during most of its running time. Partly due to the dodgy script, definitely owing to the weak cast, but especially since it looks so damn cheap.

While this is a mainstream film, it’s clearly near the bottom end of what qualifies as one. In the right hands, limitations are obstacles to be overcome. They are opportunities to show off creativity. Yet various elements of the production here, from the blocky and unimaginative camerawork to the slapdash costumes, made it clear that visual ingenuity wasn’t really on the cards today.

I will, however, concede that in its final third, when the film indulges in several bouts of comedy-infused martial arts, a modicum of life is finally breathed into the proceedings. Kudos to the props department, I guess. Did that save it? No. But it did make for a softer landing and went a long way towards alleviating the ill will I’d been fostering for it.


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