The Swindlers (2017)
Kkun (original title)
High stakes and fast talk are the game in this crime
caper that brings together an all-star cast as unlikely allies from
different sides of the law. Each member of the team has their own ...
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Director:
Chang Won JangWriter:
Chang Won JangStars:
Storyline
High stakes and fast talk are the game in this crime caper that brings
together an all-star cast as unlikely allies from different sides of the
law. Each member of the team has their own motives, but they'll have to
work together to achieve their common goal-trapping the world's most
legendary con man. Written by
Well GO USA Entertainment
Genres:
CrimeCertificate:
See all certifications »Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »Details
Country:
South KoreaLanguage:
KoreanRelease Date:
1 December 2017 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Ggoon See more »Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Color:
Color
One can't help but wonder just how much of the charm of the Korean
con man thriller "The Swindlers" wore off in translation. I readily
admit that, as someone unfamiliar with the Korean language (beyond a
couple of key phrases), the appeal of the film's more dialogue-intensive
scenes were probably lost on me thanks to English subtitles that were
often distractingly blocky.
Then again, much of this thriller's
unbelievably formulaic plot—a group of con men go on a quest to hustle a
Bernie Madoff-style scam artist—is already flat-footed. Sure, overly
literal translations of colloquialisms, like "swindlers," are one thing.
But there are also, generally speaking, too many scenes that are so
contrived that I sometimes wondered if a living script template for an "Ocean's Eleven"-style
heist movie had come to life, and left no cliche behind in its hapless
quest to deliver superficially topical thrills. There's a small
chance that the subtitles of this film simply aren't apparent because of
an insurmountable cultural barrier. But it's more likely that "The
Swindlers" was always DOA.
Take for example the laborious half-hour set-up that quickly, and
unconvincingly establishes big fish antagonist Joo-chil Jang (Sung-tae
Heo) as a heartless criminal who, according to a news reporter, is
responsible for "the biggest Ponzi scheme in history," and the suicides
of several financially destitute victims. Everybody wants a piece of
Jang, including square-jawed lawyer Heeo-soo Park (Ji-tae Yoo), sexy
lady pickpocket Choon-ja (Nana), and cocky young con man Ji-sung Hwang
(Bin Hyun). So, a super-coalition of pretty-looking thieves, almost all
played by popular Korean actors, forms with the express purpose of
taking down Jang.
Unfortunately, there's not much to Hwang's
maverick leadership skills, nor his colleagues pseudo-twisty attempts at
disarming Jang's many go-betweens, and colleagues. Every major story,
and stylistic beat in "The Swindlers" was borrowed from better films,
especially Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven" trilogy.
Well-dressed characters watch gigantic TVs, and monitor each other's
progress through seemingly omnipresent closed-security televisions. They
record phone calls and in-office negotiations, hoping to stumble upon
incriminating evidence they can use for the next part of their elaborate
confidence tricks.
They also frequently exclaim key plot points as if they were characters in a really bad "Dick Tracy"
cartoon, like when multiple protagonists address Hwang's father Yoo-suk
(Jin-young Jung) by his con-man nick-name of "London Fog." Lines like
"Good old London Fog," and "What are you thinking, London Fog" isn't
just tin-eared: it's embarrassingly corny. Then again, the real nadir of
this method of intelligence-degrading expository dialogue comes
during Hwang's first scene, when one of Park's men identifies Hwang by
exclaiming "That's the guy who only cons the swindlers!" I'm sure this
line sounds relatively better in the original Korean. But this already
tacky line is especially abysmal when nothing else in "The Swindlers"
seems to come together.
Then again, lame dialogue would be bearable if the film's cast were
more than just generally adequate. Sadly, these actors frequently
over-play their characters' hands so that we always know when Park's
crew are performing. They also usually lack chemistry, which sinks any
scene where Nana has to seduce already wary subjects. Nana plays a
naive babe in the woods well enough, but her mannerisms are
expressed mostly through tics, like pouting, eyelash-batting, and
crying. There's never a moment where you can see in her what her
interchangeable targets should be drooling over. It's bad enough that
Nana is stuck with pseudo-flirty baby talk like "Don't I look like a
girl to you?" What's worse is that Nana doesn't even nail a
physical-comedy-centric scene like the one where she plays drunk, and
tries to convince one of Jang's intermediaries to lower his guard. If I
were in this guy's position, I would sprint away as fast as I could.
It's
especially unfortunate that "The Swindlers" is exclusively populated by
characters and performers who appear to always be acting since the
movie's central theme is, as (sigh) Night Fog explains the notion that
"doubts" are all a good con artist needs to persuade a mark since
"Doubts become assurances once they're dispelled." Again, a klutzy line
of dialogue, but one that could have revealed something about the
psychology of scammers, and their victims. No such insight can be found
here though since every potential source for good popcorn entertainment
is thrice warmed-over, and poorly executed. You may think that you, the
viewer, have it bad by the sixty minute mark, at which
point you probably won't care who is inevitably going to backstab who.
But just think of the poor subtitle translator who had to agonize over
dialogue so leaden that it took the joy out of a word that's as joyfully
outdated as "swindler." To that unsung translator: you deserve a
substantial raise, a major award, and a stiff drink.
FINAL RATING: 2/10 FOR THE GENRE AND 2/10 OVERALL. No even worth to think about it afterwards.
Thanks for reading and have fun watching movies.
