Review Korean Movie "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations"

Apr 10, 2022

We are introduced to Kang-in (played by Sol Kyung-gu) as he charges down the streets of Hong Kong to capture a double agent. Following the conclusion of this opening, we jump ahead four years later to prosecutor Ji-hoon (played by Park Hae-soo) who is trying and failing to make a case against a major corporate criminal. So, Ji-hoon extremely logically sent to Shenyang to check in on the status of Kang-in's intelligence operation, since apparently he's been faking reports.

My first question when we were told that Kang-in was writing fake reports was how Ji-hoon's superiors at the National Intelligence Service knew they were fake, and what incorrect information Kang-in was sending. This question is never answered, despite the fake reports being the entire purpose of Ji-hoon's fact-finding mission. But that plot hook is mostly irrelevant, since it was just an excuse to get Ji-hoon into Shenyang so he could see how tough, cool spies like Kang-in who don't play by the rules operate.

Despite one character being dismissive at Ji-hoon's apparent expectations of spy wackiness, that's pretty much exactly what "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" does for most of its runtime. There's constant gunfights and chase scenes as Kang-in attempts to hunt down the North Korean operator of Kim Jong-un's slush fund. Kang-in's main rivals in this goal are the Japanese, with the Chinese being mostly indifferent to all the urban warfare going on in their city in broad nightlight.

I was impressed with how "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" manages be condescending to every other country in Northeast Asia. North Koreans are eager to defect. The Japanese want to sabotage Korean reunification because they fear a united Korea's power. The Chinese are eager to steal vital organs for the black market. I don't think I'd heard any of these stereotypes sincerely in at least a decade. For a movie about real, tough spies, the political talking points of "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" are weirdly out of date.

But the main plot isn't any more dynamic. I've already mentioned how Ji-hoon's position in Shenyang is highly contrived. The closest thing he has to an arc is that, having witnessed Kang-in lead an incredibly cool spy mission, Ji-hoon goes home to South Korea and...I guess is now a better prosecutor somehow. The case that fell apart on a technicality before is now successful on the second try. And then, Ji-hoon gets a call for a new mission.

The plot in "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" is quite weak, and the characters rather boring. Be that as it may, the movie's main selling point is the spy action stuff. Those parts are mostly all right. Still, the plot's so predictable I couldn't even feign surprise at the latest turnabout. Of course Kang-in is a good guy, through and through, despite the fact that he murders and tortures people at the slightest provocation. I'd try to criticize "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" on the ethics of this but honestly? The movie is so clichéd I don't think it really warrants that level of critical thought.

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