Consider this image: A woman singing a song while a man looks on with a note of recognition, suggesting that the two share a history. An emotion-driven situation like this in an action movie is rare — and rarely done well, without appearing awkward — unless directed by John Woo. And it's been a long time since the Hong Kong action auteur did anything like that. I didn't expect a Korean action thriller to do it, and do it well.
But that's not the only Woo tribute — if it was intended as one — from director Ryoo Seung-wan, who considers "Humint" (short for Human Intelligence) as the third of an international trilogy that comprises "The Berlin File" and "Escape from Mogadishu". You'll find at least a reference from the former in a dinner table scene in "Humint" between two North Korean agents. It's not necessary to watch the other two films to appreciate "Humint", but it would help get an idea of the filmmaker's sensibilities.
Seung-wan isn't someone who believes in carrying an entire film on action alone. "Humint", for instance, has long stretches that depict surveillance operations — most of them at night, in dimly lit, snowy alleys or hotel rooms where briefings are conducted, during which information and devices are passed. One individual observes another while the second person is being observed by a third, and the third might be observed by a fourth... You get the picture.
After all, it's an espionage movie involving ruthless North Korean agents and relatively likeable South Korean ones. But one North Korean character, Park Geon (Park Jeong-min), presented as a daredevil in his introduction action sequence, begins to show signs of vulnerability and the promise of redemption. It's his presence that gives the film its emotional undertones when it slowly becomes apparent that there is a soft romantic type beneath that tough, cold demeanour, considering the involvement of a female asset. It's also where the film’s John Woo influence becomes apparent — one high-voltage gunfight has two men pointing guns at each other's necks.
This character, though revealed as the second leading man, could've been Chow Yun-fat in an 1980s John Woo classic. In the same John Woo film, the South Korean character, Manager Zo, played by Zo In-sung, would be the cop/second lead. But in "Humint", he is the leading man. The situation is personal for Zo as well, owing to a past tragedy — a tense rescue sequence that the film opens with.
There is very little action in "Humint" (streaming on Netflix), and I don't mean this as a complaint, because the moment they appear, it's basically John Wick/Jason Bourne mode, especially the climactic 30-minute stretch, which involves everything from bone-breaking jumps to three-way gunfights to car chases to stabbings... One shootout, which makes use of a bulletproof glass "human containers", is one of the most innovative action sequences ever put to film.
Film: Humint
Director: Ryoo Seung-wan
Cast: Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min, Park Hae-joon, Shin Se-kyung, Jung Yoo-jin
Rating: 4/5