Movie Review – Cold Eyes (감시자들)

Cold Eyes (감시자들) is a 2013 South Korean film starring Sol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, Han Hyo-joo and Lee Junho (2pm). It is a remake of 2007 Hong King film, Eye in the Sky (跟踪). The film is about detectives from the surveillance team of a special crime unit who work together to take down a bank robbing organization.

The film did well in South Korea, dominating the local box office since its release on July 3, 2013.

I watched it at the MasterCards Theatre at Marina Bay Sands last Friday at the international gala. Key members of the cast were present to promote the movie:

My expectations were high as I have seen the original Eye in the Sky and enjoyed it very much. Cold Eyes has high standards to live up to and it did not disappoint.

The movie makes a boring job like surveillance appears really cool and exciting.

The story is relatively simple and can be summarised as below:

Ha Yoon-ju (played by Han Hyo-joo) becomes the newest member to join a unit within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Department that specializes in surveillance activities on high profile criminals. She teams up with Hwang Won-jin (Sol Kyung-gu), the veteran leader of the unit, and tries to track down James (Jung Woo-sung) who is the cold-hearted leader of an armed criminal organization.

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What is captivating to the audience is the twist and turn of the plot and the realistically portrayed, voyeuristic experience of surveillance work.

One almost feel like a stalker in some scenes where the surveillance team close in on their suspects.

The film is now showing in Singapore cinemas and is worth a watch for those who like action, suspense and drama. Go catch it. For k-pop fans, this is the first movie appearance for Lee Junhao from 2PM and I think his role was quite memorable, considering his limited screen time. For fans of the original, Hong Kong actor Simon Yam (任达华) appeared in a cameo role right at the end.