Milsu

Smugglers is an entertaining action thriller with a lot of exaggeration, combining proven formulas and motifs known from Bond films, numerous heist movies and South Korean hits. This lightweight story about professional divers who make the switch from harvesting mussels off the sea floor to smuggling goods, and then having to learn the ropes of the black market among gangsters, the coast guard and trade inspectors, touches on the social issue of exploitation of female workers, but it is primarily a popcorn genre spectacle in which scheming and dirty tricks are ever present. An undemanding, stylish flick whose highlights are two action sequences in the second half of the film – a bloody brawl in a hotel corridor and the heroines’ underwater battle with divers and sharks. (2023.11.30)

Ocean’s Eleven at sea and South Korea! Director Ryoo Seung-wan is one of Korea's elite; Veteran, The Berlin File and The Battleship Island are all very popular and well-loved films, so every new work of his is always highly anticipated. Smugglers is such a nice light-hearted heist flick that explores smuggling from a different angle. The story follows a group of women who are excellent divers and make a living collecting shells, but their work is becoming scarce due to the increasing number of factories, and so they take to the path of crime – smuggling, catching crates of gold from the sea and things like that. The women are likeable, there are some nice underwater shots, the film has a fun pace and it has that feel-good vibe. The craftsmanship, of course, is excellent. Things speed up in the last forty and my enthusiasm started to increase. The amazing action sequence in the hallway with axes and knives is a real treat. Great cinematography and choreography, properly uncompromising action, well I felt the vibe of the gritty action thrillers made a few years back. There were some nice twists and turns and then a breathtaking finale with divers, knives and sharks! I really enjoyed that, as I had never seen such a chase underwater, where the ladies intelligently disposed of the scum and there were some nicely made sharks. Definitely one of the more interesting films from South Korea this year. 75% (2023.12.25)