Review | Berlin 2023: Kill Boksoon movie review – Jeon Do-yeon plays assassin in Korean action thriller straight out of the John Wick playbook
- Jeon is rock solid as an assassin who hides her ruthless profession from her teenaged daughter and who decides to retire, causing her employers to turn on her
- There are shades of Keanu Reeves’ character John Wick in her character and in the betrayals and bloodbaths she endures. There’s not a lot of emotion, though
3/5 stars
The story of a female assassin who hides her professional life from her school-age daughter, Kill Boksoon is a Korean action film with more than a splash of John Wick about it.
Set around MK Ent., a covert organisation with strict rules (such as not murdering children), the film offers a series of betrayals and bloodbaths that will feel all too familiar to anyone who has seen Keanu Reeves’ killer in action.
Still, Kill Boksoon is written and directed by Byun Sung-hyun (The Beat Goes On, The Merciless), and there’s a visceral quality to the fight scenes and a rock-solid performance at its core from Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine, The Housemaid), who plays the one and only Gil Boksoon.
Premiering out of competition at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, Byun’s movie will surely find a late-night audience thirsty for high-octane kills.
