Brief Story Line
Jang Tae-young (Byun Yo-han - Following, Mr. Sunshine TV series etc) and his best friend from high school Park Tae-young (Roh Jae-won - Ditto, Squid Game season 2 etc) had built a very successful online casino business. When they got info on possible business venture in Vietnam, Jang was assigned to handle the lobbying. Unfortunately he got into trouble and was fortunate to get away and become apprentice of former professional gambler Kwak Dong-wook (Jo Woo-jin - Mantis, Hard Hit etc). Jang who realized what had happened was hell bent to return to South Korea for vengeance.
Meanwhile Park took over the business and tried to get funding from Sasaki corporation backed by Yakuza led by their leader (Tsuyoshi Ihara - Letters from Iwo Jima, The Naked Director season 2 etc) & his daughter Kaneko (Ayaka Miyoshi - Alice in Borderland TV series, Knuckle Girl etc) to expand the business. However his plan was disrupted by the return of Jang.
So what would happen to them and how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
Well that was interesting. I know that in the past there were movies with the word Tazza in the titles but I never once saw them, though my wife had done it before. Usually I would not want to see film that had been made in the past before watching the previous ones first, but somehow I did not bother about it. Lucky for me, though this one was also adapted from the same comic (manhwa) of Tazza series, it had an independent story and did not have any relation to the prior movies. Otherwise I would probably be having difficulty in understanding the reference.
Anyway, I only found out that Tazza movies were focusing on gambling. From what I read, the previous 3 films and TV series adapted from that manhwa were all involving Korean card game, while this one was Poker instead which I more or less had a general idea. In fact looking at the gambling plot made me reminiscing the times I saw those famous Hong Kong God of Gamblers movies, although that one got a little bit more action. This movie had plenty of drama and the story was quite OK with the very distinct different between the protagonist and the villain. The premise of fallen hero who arose to do revenge had been told countless times, and this one pretty much used the same basics. It was pretty fun looking at these parts and obviously the climax.
The movie was co-written by Kim-hyun and Choi Kook-hee who was also the director. His previous works included Life is Beautiful and Split that won an award back in 2017. The story telling was quite good, although the supposed twists were not hard to guess and rather predictable, so there was no surprises at all. Both of us could even foresee the final scene. The duration of the film was long with 129 minutes including closing credits, but no mid or post end credit scene. I also found out later that this fourth installment of the Tazza film was the final one, although you can never predict the future.
The cast in general did decent job. Byun Yo-han and Roh Jae-won were convincing in their roles and their English were generally OK (not exceptional but could still understood them). Jo Woo-jin also provided a bit of lighter moments in this dark film classified for 17+ in Indonesia and 19+ in South Korea due to few disturbing images of the psychotic killings. There were some support cast here too such as Yoon Kyung-ho ( Agent Kim Reactivated TV series, Husbands in Action etc) as the Vietnamese gangster Jo Jung-hwan, Im Se-mi (Hijack 1971, My Dearest Nemesis TV series etc) as Jang's older sister Tae-hee, Stephanie Lee (Homeward Bound, Start-Up TV series etc) as the lobbyist Linda Park and few others in minor roles.
In the end, this is an interesting movie about revenge with emphasis on using Poker game as media for vengeance. It did not focus on action but instead on the dramatic effect from complete opposite of the two lead characters and the issues they faced. It was rightfully classified as Crime Thriller. However I think that Poker games might not be for everyone's taste as it could be challenging to understand for people who do not have knowledge. Nevertheless, it was quite successful in South Korea, already reaching 1 million viewers in its 8th day of release. In Indonesia though, it did not make a splash with less and less studios playing the movie. So if you are fans of Tazza movies, this one can quench your thirst after last one 6 years ago. You could also enjoy different kind of Poker instead of the Korean card game. For those who have not seen the previous movies, you could still enjoy this one too as it did not have any relation with them. My wife and I enjoyed this one due to its story, even if we were able to predict the outcome and all the plots.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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