In a genre where it truly feels like everything has been done before, The Childe exceeds regular expectations.

It’s not particularly fresh, but the Korean thriller does offer intense performances, a gleeful B-movie subtext, and a rollicking good time.

Kang Tae-Ju stars as Marco, an aspiring boxer whose life is filled with shame. Born to a Korean father and Filipino mother, he’s considered a “mutt”, and as an adult he searches day and night for the father who left him. He seeks help to get his mother life-saving surgery only he can offer.

He’s brought to Korea by associates of his father, but soon finds himself in peril when a number of different groups attempt to kidnap or kill him, each for their own nefarious reasons. There are plenty of twists and turns, even if you see most of them coming.

The acting is great, and Kim Seon-Ho, Go Ara, and Kim Kang-woo are all fantastic, and they really go for broke here.

Director Park Hoon-jung — best known for writing classic I Saw The Devil — makes a serviceable, fun crime movie, even if it aspires to be nothing more than that.

3.5/5 Stars