‘Officer Black Belt’ review: action-packed thriller that’s entertaining but predictable

“Three months ago, I didn’t know anything about this job. Now I know too much. How can I not do anything?” an aggrieved Lee Jung-do (Kim Woo-bin) asks his father in Officer Black Belt as he faces the call of duty. It might be easy to dismiss Netflix’s new Korea film as a cookie-cutter action-packed thriller, but the key conflict in Officer Black Belt is as surprising and earnest as its protagonist, and incredibly relevant to anyone following the news cycle. If you knew something wrong was happening right under your nose, would you do anything to change things or feign ignorance simply because it’s not your job?

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Officer Black Belt follows the tale of Lee Jung-do, a sincere young man who only pursues things that truly interest him – sports and online gaming. His carefree life takes an interesting turn when his martial skills save a probation officer from being stabbed by a reforming convict. Impressed by his physique and athleticism, Officer Kim Sun-min (Kim Sung-kyun) offers Jung-do a temporary position monitoring violent criminals wearing ankle bracelets. At first, it’s just enough to keep Jung-do engaged. The more criminals he handcuffs, however, the more his sense of duty reinforces itself, solidifying into a moral code of conduct.

Kim Woo-bin plays Lee Jung-do with a grounded sincerity that is bound to endear him to viewers almost immediately. His dynamic with Kim Sung-kyun – the dutiful probation team lead whom he calls “Hyung” – is easily the most enjoyable aspect of the film. The experienced, world-weary Sun-min is the voice of reason to Jung-do’s naivete and brute strength. He guides Jung-do with a genteel hand, egging on his humanity while also imparting tactical wisdom, exemplified in scenes where Sun-min helps Jung-do talk down a reformed convict from taking his own life.

While he does lean into theatrics, Kim Woo-bin does an admirable job of keeping viewers on their toes about his true intentions. Viewers might find themselves sharing Sun-min’s jaded worldview when it comes to Jung-do: he almost feels too honest and involved in a temporary job at some points, until one realises that he simply is a decent man. Writer and director Jason Kim fleshes out his growth naturally – instead of epiphanies, he shepherds viewers towards this reveal.

As with previous works, such as Midnight Runners and Bloodhounds, Kim’s everyman saviour comes with a unique brand of listlessness, finding purpose slowly and piece-by-piece rather than in a major incident that throws them off course. While the stakes for Officer Black Belt could be a higher – perhaps making it personal early enough for Jung-do to be involved – regular viewers of Kim’s work won’t be surprised.

Even if it does make for an easy, highly entertaining watch, Officer Black Belt though the movie does fall prey to predictability in the latter half. After watching Jung-do’s renewed sense of purpose come through, watching the story go down the path of a typical action-thriller is a letdown. However, if you’re only going into Officer Black Belt to watch Kim Woo-bin deliver some killer moves, however, you won’t be disappointed.

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