“Hard Hit” (발신제한)

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
February 28, 2022

☆☆☆☆
Lee Seung-Gyu (played by Jo Woo-Jin)
Jin-Woo (played by Ji Chang-Wook)
Lee Hye-In (played by Lee Jae-In)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

My son described “Hard Hit” as “Speed,” except instead of being set on a bus that might explode in Los Angeles, the action takes place in a car that might explode in Busan.

Seung-Gyu (played by Jo Woo-Jin from “Happiness“) is an upper middle class bank manager. The day starts off routinely enough. As he drives his children to school, the kids bicker in the backseat. A phone he doesn’t recognize rings incessantly.

At first, he assumes it’s his wife’s hand phone and that the caller who professes to have installed a bomb in his car is just a troll. But as the calls increase in regularity, Seung-Gyu worries about the what ifs. What if the caller isn’t lying? What if a bomb really will explode if he gets out of his car? What if he and his children really are in danger?

When he witnesses his colleague’s car explode, Seung-Gyu tries to remain calm, while his children understandably freak out. (His youngest child has been impaled by debris from the explosion.)

This goes on for an hour and a half, with Seung-Gyu trying to figure out how he’s supposed to get millions of dollars in cash to pay off this man, who has created a hostage situation within the family car.

Director Kim Chang-ju does a fine job of maintaining the suspense even after the bomber’s identity has been revealed. And by the way, it’s not a spoiler to note that the actor who portrays the bomber, Jin-Woo, is Ji Chang-Wook. K-drama fans will recognize his voice sight unseen.

The film moves quickly and has an intriguing backstory that explains why Jin-Woo chose Seung-Gyu as one of his two targets. Exploring that aspect a bit more would’ve given this movie a stronger, more cohesive feel.

Theatrical release: The 94-minute film was released in South Korean on June 23, 2021.

Spoiler Alert: Seung-Gyu’s bank screwed over clients, which resulted in the latter losing their savings. Jin-Woo’s pregnant wife died after this financial bloodbath. Unable to live without her, and wanting to find justice for people like him who lost everything, he wanted Seung-Gyu to pay for their crimes. The film ends with Seung-Gyu testifying against his bank and trying to right the wrongs he had contributed to.

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