Bloody Ties (2006) | DVD Review

There is a trend developing in Korean cinema, and that is to make crime movies dripping with atmosphere, stylishly evoking Hong Kong’s ’80s action films while maintaining a connection to the macho attitude of Korean criminal culture. A current version of Hollywood’s film-noir heyday, if you will. Bloody Ties fits this mold.

2005’s classic A Bittersweet Life kicked off this trend and has yet to be matched, but Bloody Ties stands out among the imitators, thanks in large part to its visual style and light sense of humor. The plot is pretty standard fare, with Busan-based crystal meth dealer and police informant Lee Sangdo (Seung-beom Ryu, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) teaming up with detective Doh Jingwang (Jeong-min Hwang, A Bittersweet Life) to topple crimelord Jangchul (Do-gyung Lee, My Captain Mr. Underground)). They both have their reasons: Sangdo wants to take over Jangchul’s clientele while Doh has made it his life’s mission to bring Jangchul to justice ever since he sanctioned the execution of Doh’s partner many years ago. Among the top Korean box office draws of 2006, Bloody Ties also features newcomer Ja-Hyeon Chu, winner of the best new actress award at 2006’s Dae Jong Award Festival for her role as Ji-young, a meth-addict who becomes involved with Sangdo after he helps Doh in a sting operation of her boyfriend.

As uninventive as the plot is, the film is a visual stunner. With most of the action taking place in the after hours world of drug dealers and the officers charged with apprehending them, the lighting plays a huge role in setting the tone, with the muted and dull colors evoking a sense of grit and grime. Writer-director Ho Choi (Who Are You) has made quite an interesting feature here. Stylistically, Bloody Ties comes across as a combination of Michael Mann’s visual style in such films as Heat and Manhunter and Richard Donner’s levity-infused Lethal Weapon franchise. Just when you feel like the the intense brooding and darkness are going over the edge, Ho cuts the tension with a well-timed light-hearted moment, normally involving the good onscreen chmistry between Sangdo and Doh.

Ho Choi includes a few scenes in Bloody Ties that remind the viewer of other films from similar genres. In one memorable scene, Ji-young goes through a detoxification that is totally reminiscent of a scene from Trainspotting. There was no baby crawling on the ceiling or anything, but there might as well have been. Whether this is seen as a blatant rip-off of or a straight homage to Danny Boyle’s film depends on how the viewer feels about Bloody Ties as a whole.

As with pretty much all Tartan Video releases, the disc is visually and aurally impressive, including a 5.1 DTS Surround track. The subtitles are timely and for the most part easily understood. Where the disc falters is in the special features offered. There is no feature commentary, and apart from the usual previews of other Tartan releases and an original trailer for Bloody Ties, the only other feature to speak of is a fifteen minute “making of” that could more accurately be called an “art direction featurette”. It consists of a detailed account from the film’s sound and visual effects editor about how they attained a certain atmosphere using music, lighting, and color. Interesting, but not nearly enough to satisfy fans of this type of film.

While not the most original of crime thrillers, Bloody Ties manages to not seem derivative. It is an atmospheric action film that manages to hold your attention throughout and combines decent acting with good action sequences and some genuinely funny scenes.

Movie rating – 2.5

Disc Rating – 2