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.
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.
