Guns & Talks (2001) User Reviews (24)

I can't kill him with lung cancer !!

[zhixiong · 8/10 · 12 March 2005]

This story is about 4 assassins who only kill when someone wants another person dead. They do not kill unnecessarily because you realized in the movie they don't go around gunning everyone down just to kill the main target.

There are many funny scenes in the movie. Some people don't find it funny because its not visual slapstick comedy. The humor is contained in the dialogues.

For example Jae-yeong (sniper) goes to the church regularly to confess his sins. He told the priest that he killed 5 people this week and the priest was speechless for a while.. then he consoled the sniper, saying 5 is only a team of basketball players.

Jung-woo (demolition man) always gets the difficult assassination jobs. He can't bring himself to kill a pregnant woman. In the ending of the movie, he was tasked to kill a man only by lung cancer and not bullets. The argument between Sang-yeon (big brother of the group) and him on killing someone with lung cancer is very funny.

In case you didn't understand why the cop did not arrest the 4 assassins. The cop made use of them to kill the villain of the movie. Earlier in the movie, the cop sneaked into the assassins' house and stole some bullets. The cop also used the villain's confiscated car to let them copy down the suspicious license plate number. The stolen bullet was used to shoot Sang-yeon. While Sang-yeon was unconscious, the rest of the 3 assassins assumed it was the job of that suspicious car that followed them earlier. They went out to gun down the people driving the car and the main villain happened to be inside the car. The main villain escaped legal punishment many times and the law cannot do anything to him. The cop therefore made use of the assassins in the name of 'justice'.

The 'matrix slow motion' style of the sniper's bullet may look cheesy or insignificant now because we have seen so many such effects in movies these days. However please bear in mind that this movie was made in 2001. During that time, this matrix bullet effect is considered very cool and well done.

The music tracks are very fitting in the scenes. Well done by the sounds department.

Mao points: 8/10

Truth in name.

[Ky-D · 6/10 · 14 May 2005]

Never has a title so accurately captured the essence of the film it is attached to. These guys have guns, and they sure do like to talk...at great length, whether or not you care what they have to say.

The story concerns a group of fiends and flat-mates who outwardly seem like a regular bunch of youthful Korean males. Unknown to those around them, they are in fact assassins at large. After a particular assignment, they stop for a little self reflection and life analysis. By 'little', I mean almost the whole movie. Things pick-up again when they are offered a hit that they (for their own male-ish reasons) can't refuse.

The film is set firmly in the post-modern ideology of a gangster, with the characters being presented as regular 'joes' who happen to kill for a living. So when they aren't killing anyone, they talk about crushes, job satisfaction, modern trends, just about all the same things everyone else talks about. At first it's quirky and amusing, but all too quickly the semi-witty banter grows wearisome and the audience is left hoping they will get back to the killing as soon as possible.

Technically speaking the film is better than average. Acting, filming, editing, all pretty good, but the script is a sore-eye. Not that the writing is bad, just that is doesn't really go anywhere or do anything; these guys won't stop talking, but they never really say anything.

One can only watch these guys slumming and acting cool just so much before it grows dull...which it does, long before the film ends I'm afraid.

6/10

unimaginative

[quinolas · 6/10 · 28 May 2002]

Funny but rather forgettable film centred in the lives of 4 hired killers. We know about their domestic habits, their shared platonic love, their difficulties in carrying a normal life when not working and also their difficulties in doing their job... sometimes... sometimes they would do their job for love rather than money .... but what is new?. It is quite interesting how this format (mix of comedy and violence featuring similar characters such as gangsters & hitmen and so on) has shifted from one side of the globe to another. The starting point being possibly USA with Tarantino & co, then followed UK with Ritchie & co and some appearances in Spain (Airbag and so on) and France (Doberman...). The Korean audience (specially the young one) loved it. You know is their own language, own charismatic actors and drawing on their own cultural themes. Maybe for foreign audiences like me much will get lost in the subtitles and some cultural subtleties unnoticed. But I've got to say I had enough of these sort films so it's just come a bit too late for me to fully appreciate. Don't misunderstand me... it's quite entertaining... Something that did picked up just as a curiosity, and after seeing quite a lot of South Korean films recently, is how similar in many aspects Korean and Japanese culture are, they like or not. Here I am talking about the joke on blood types.

Fun and silly movie *Highly Recommended*

[Zhongchao · 28 April 2004]

*Highly Recommended*

To me this movie was meant to be purely comedy even though its categorized differently.

I felt the actors/actresses were PERFECT and had great chemistry going on between them. After I saw this movie once, I went back and re-watched some parts and couldn't stop laughing inside when I saw some of the people (especially the detective and the older brother, they are hilarious!!)

The story isn't perfect nor does it try to be - the director just wants us to enjoy it and get a few good laughs. From the many South Korean films I've seen, the budget and quality of this film is definitely up there along with films like Tube and My Sassy Girl.

If you want to just loosen up and enjoy a relaxing flick, this is definitely for you.

Amusing light comedy about assassins

[refresh_daemon · 7/10 · 27 June 2008]

Guns & Talks is the third feature by multi-hyphenate Jang Jin, who wrote/directed Someone Special, an off-kilter romantic comedy that I really liked. Like Someone Special, Guns & Talks is a rather off-kilter film, being a genre hybrid between comedy and crime film, with comedy winning in the end.

The story deals with four assassins, bachelors and friends that live together in a rather simple existence when not going around murdering people for money. Of course, eventually, their lifestyle leads to complications with the police as well as their targets. That said, the film's story is rather scattered and it's hard to figure out what the story is about in a larger sense. The characters (at least three of them) do undergo growth and development and the story does move forward as their jobs take them into the aforementioned conflicts, but I guess my issue with the story is that there is no real overarching themes.

There are two points where this film is impressive:

1. Style: When this film decides to flex its stylistic muscles, it can be quite stylish. In fact, part of the joy of the film is watching how genre styles can be upturned as crime collides with comedy. But when the film is trying to pull cool, it does. There are a few amusing and enjoyable applications of split screen and some amusing use of alternate reality scenes as well.

2. Comedy: I really found myself quite amused during this film, actually breaking out into laughter on many occasions. Even though the overall story is a little unfocused the comedy is tight and appreciable. The setups are great, the payoffs are amusing and everything is rooted in the situation and the characters.

So, the film does have some considerable overall story issues, due to the unfocused script, but the film does well enough in comedy and in putting together some suspense that it still remains surprisingly enjoyable, despite its obvious flaws. As such, I can recommend it as an enjoyable film, but can't really compare it to similar hybrids by Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino. You should think of it more as a comedy featuring four assassins. Good stuff. 8/10.

Guns and Talking Is The Concept And It Delivers

[t-d-t-m82 · 7/10 · 2 August 2023]

The story is there. It's all summed-up in the movie's headline. It's a group of assassins who; after a hit; have decided to talk-out their problems and deep-analyse their entire prospects and lifestyle and love.

Except they're not as good as this as they are shooting. The opening hit is brilliant; through the window is a lovely-executed John Woo-style slow-mo cam-shot which I really loved.

The rest of the narrative is about leading up to the big hit and their purpose in life. It appears that hitmen do have a conscious even though it appears to be "arrested in development".

They attend a big Hamlet theatre play along with South Korean high-society. It's a very technical play and they have to do something truly special to get the attention of the police who really respects them at another level after the stunt.

It's got some wonderful moments in the movie but the dialogue is very heavy and sometimes too drawn-out. It could be a bit more focussed on how they became hitman and a comedic sketch on their training would be a nice adaption.

The ending is fun and humorous but the middle is a bit too long-handed for me. Three's some excellent filming techniques and it's aged pretty well. It's way before the golden era of Korean new wave and before Oldboy so refreshing to see how far Korean cinema has come since this.

It's a nice movie and another excellent addition on the aspiring Third Windows' films' label.

Enjoyable but if you want all out action it's probably not for you.

An unexpected delight!

[ETCmodel02 · 9/10 · 9 July 2002]

Brilliant yarn about four hitmen who act more like a dysfunctional and often naive family of brothers than crew of killers. Of course they have the heart of gold, but the journey is dashing, the resolution is aesthetically splendid, and the ride is often genuinely hilarious. I love this film! Brilliant, needs to be released in North America immediately, then remade in English for all the cats unwilling to read subtitles! Casting is top notch in this one as well!

In the tradition of those"Post-offbeat-gangster" films

[frereloupe9 · 6/10 · 6 August 2002]

Not that there is anything wrong with it, i really do appreciate such genre, starting with Reservoir dogs(1992), all the way to the recent Snatch(2000). This is one Asian version of it, less off beat more to the mild side and violence is not glorified (however candy flossed). My only mistake is that i actually purchased this film on DVD,believing that this film is as good as its rave, i set an extremely high expectation , take Sharkskin man and peach hip girl (1998) , i was expecting heaps too out of that one , and boy i wasnt the least dissapointed, that film rocks the boat! OK so i was giving a ball park estimation that this film gonna go in the tradition of Sharkskin man; lots of wacky characters with killer suits, a rocking fast and furious action and off beat dialogues.... hmmm... i guess it doesnt work that way. This views more like those Hongkong films , where every people under 30 are at their peak of hipness and being a killer doesnt stop you from having a well groomed haircut.... anyway....yeah. I'll cut it short, this film goes around 100 minutes or so , i haven't manage to finish the whole film but i'm up to the 90 minutes something and i'm guessing that there won't be any twist or a major resolution whatsoever, here we are presented with 4 pretty boy type dudes, who seems having quite alot of fun on doing their job "offing" people, naturally with this kind of film, the characters have to be unique, one have to play the mysterious sniper, whilst theres the usual wild but wacky lad, and then theres the leader, ah yes, lastly but not least , the youngest pretty boy who isn't allowed to handle guns yet , he also acts as the narrator of the story. Two of the characters the Leader of the quartet and his younger brother, the junior, are played by Korean leading Music video models, i forgot whats his name , but he plays the killer in Bi Chun Mo(1999) and the youngest played by Teen heart Throb Won Bin. You get the usual bullet time scene, and some slow mo running, and others that you wont be too surprised off if you seen the movies i mentioned above. This is an ok film, more well produced than your average straight to VCD hong kong films , a neat scene of an assasination act within the parrarels of Shakespeare's Hamlet occurs here. 3 out of 5 stars.

A unique look at the lives of people whose job it is to end it.

[roboncrak · 10/10 · 20 March 2002]

This movie is about four professional assassins living under the same roof and their tribulations with some of their clients, targets and run-abouts with the police.

This movie deserves to be seen since it is very well made and conveys a lot of emotion from all of the actors. It'll make you laugh, shed a tear and think. Although it never uses excessive gore or violence, it still has a very real feel to it. I recommend this movie to every action fan who has a sensible cord!

Good

[manitobaman81 · 7/10 · 22 August 2014]

The metaphors in this movie are abundant as Jang Jin's wit is the star. Here's a story of assassins who only kill when another person is wanted dead. There are some funny scenes here, though some people don't find it laugh-worthy. Sometimes it makes you laugh, sometimes it moves you. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. This film was nearly perfect, but sadly still not made for everyone. It's an important film, as well as very entertaining. Great costumes and dialog move it all along. Remember, the trains of righteousness can't be stopped and their movement brings about reactive forces in the people they affect.

Confusing Story

[niaz_islam · 3/10 · 29 January 2017]

I was a little bit surprised with all the excellent reviews. One of the review is suggesting that you need to watch the film twice to fully understand it. To that person I only want to say is 'Once' is more than enough, never is better.

Now the film is about four assassins and their assignments. But the way they execute their tasks are pretty sloppy. Their work was supposed to impress you but it did not. They tried to use the comedy angle in film to make it a bit more interesting and that was not successful either. The comedy scenes were a bit of stale and most cases not properly executed.

The story is a confusing one because the role of the assassins and the main cop is totally eccentric. Both party in times tries a code of their respective work and some others times does something complete opposite.

Bottom line: NOT RECOMMENDED.

You have to watch it at least twice to understand...

[jemima_ · 10/10 · 2 September 2005]

When I first watched this film about two years ago, the first impression I got was 'silly rubbish'. However, I now think this is the best Korean film ever. I can understand people who say this film is rubbish because I once thought that too. You think this film is totally inconsistent. Sometimes it tries to make you laugh, sometimes it tries to make you touched, and sometimes it turns into action film. People who think a film has to stick to one genre might hate this film. Yet you have to know that this film didn't fail in anything. Sometimes this film makes you laugh, sometimes this film makes you touched, and sometimes it does turn into action film when it's needed. So, what I want to say is that if you want to know why some people are so unsparing of their praise towards this film while you think it's real rubbish, just watch one more time. Jang Jin's unique wit cannot be fully understood by watching it only once.

awful

[toclement · 1/10 · 21 August 2002]

What a terrible film. It tries to be funny... it's not. It tries to be touching... it's not. It tries to be an action film.... it fails. This film is all over the place and nothing works. The editing is possibly the worst I've ever seen, and the plot is ludicrous. The acting isn't particularly bad, but basically you have what could be a Korean boy-band trying to pass themselves off as a 4-man professional assassin organization. I sat there dumbfounded as people all around me were laughing at the most inane attempts at humour. Total dud.

A good intro to Korean films

[spamqill · 3 November 2002]

If you listen to all the promos and previews, you'll be told to expect a "Reservoir Dogs" clone. And you'll be disappointed. This movie is meant for people who like their violence semi-realistic and totally screwball. Fans of "Buckaroo Banzai", "Six String Samurai" or "High Risk" will love this. (I'm *not* saying it's wrong not to like "Guns and Talks"; I'm saying it's the wrong movie for you.)

The film is a lot of fun, with characters of varying morality that you never hope to be, but sometimes want to be. Leader Sang-yeon (Hyeon-jun Shin) is likeable and charismatic, a good moral opposite of the Detective (Jin-yeong Jeong). The rest of the cast are funny and well acted. The only flaw with how people are used is the strong and silent assassin, Ha-yeon (Bin Won) who is horribly underdeveloped.

Humourous bit worth watching: of the two men hiring the group at the end of the film, the man with glasses is the director in an uncredited cameo appearances (his imitation/homage to Alfred Hitchcock, who made cameos in all his films). ("How do I kill a man from cancer? Make him smoke?") Some bits are implausible (the escape, for example) but this is comedy, not high art.

A note on the Korean movie scene: prior to 2001, foreign films revenues were used to subsidize the Korea movie industry. But in 2001, Korean-made films *outgrossed* Hollywood and other foreign films. The quality of story, acting, direction, action, and effects have equalled European and Hong Kong films, and I think are worth watching, having seen a few.

Absolutely hilarious film about hitmen

[dildq · 9/10 · 21 March 2003]

This is an extremely funny movie that parodies some of the ubiquitous filmmaking cliches in asian action movies. /very minor spoilers below/

Hilarious jabs are dealt to:

* Hitmen turning sentimental when ordered to murder a girl they fall in love with ("She was pregnant!")

* Overzealous moviecops ("Know why I want him killed so much? I just don't like him.")

* Use of advanced weaponry and technology ("You're not James Bond so what's all these gadgets for?")

* Convoluted complex plans ("I can't kill him with lung cancer!")

* Strict professionalism and secrecy of assassins ("We're not people who kill for someone, and we've never done it.")

* Sudden cheesy exclamations of love ("As they embraced my lesson on true love, they couldn't say anything, and our living room was a melting pot of emotions.")

* Conflicts between brothers

* Cool camera angles

* Standard gentleman rivalvry between cop and robber ("I know you won't shoot me unless you're hired to.")

All in all, an excellent film for those who enjoy the genre. Highly recommended. Especially notice the scene where they can't help but laughing themselves when supposed to be crying, it's a killer (no pun intended).

Peace

Exciting Comic Relief

[ccarrillo · 9/10 · 11 February 2003]

Plot brilliantly sequenced. Action scenes violent enough without being sickening. A story well told. Well worth watching if you are tired out of Weley Snipes and Co. Cast are supposed to be Korean superstars and you can see why. Shooting at Hamlet performance truly exceptional.

Kill Kill Kill

[lil_pip · 10/10 · 8 March 2003]

When i wander through the asian video store, i wanted to get a VCD. Being a stupid A-B-C (American Born Chinese), i picked the VCD just for their covers and whatever chinese characters i can interpret/reconize. SOOo.... i come across a cover with 4 cute guys (that's a good start) and they are assassins (ooo.. bad boys another plus), neat guns... in for a night of blood, gore and death (insert evil laugh). O man was I in for a surprise!! I was so shocked when i watched it... the scenes just blew me away. On one hand, they were blowing buildings up, shooting a guy in the head... but at the same time, there were making monologues on love and killing (hummmm... actually, i was wondering if he was going to break out into a interprative dance..heheh). This is a definite must-see movie. Even though it's in Korean; there are lots of eye candy (cute guys AND hot girls), guns, bombs, blood galore but lots of funny jokes. Love the cinematography.. just brilliant!!

A different kind of killer movie

[cacky · 27 February 2003]

I watched this movie with a preconception of it being filled with gory scenes of people being killed by these 4 professional killers. BUT I was so wrong!!! This is one of those professional killer movies not just for the gung-ho guys, but also for the artistic folks out there and gals who just wanna oggle at the good-looking killers.

I must say that the cinematography is good. And boy, am I impressed by the story plot. The writer's just so good to depict various ways to kill someone.

And the movie makes you accept killing like an everyday affair, just like eating or bathing. A must-see movie for those of you who are keen on watching movie with plots that are out-of-the-ordinary!

Highly recommended

[simon_booth · 10/10 · 7 December 2002]

This movie was so much better than I expected - and I expected it to be pretty good.

It's a comedy about killers, whose number is four. More talks than guns, but that proves to be no bad thing. It's basically a character study - the four killers, a couple of their clients, a couple of their victims and a couple of cops on their tail all get pieces of screen and script time, and prove to be a likeable and interesting bunch of characters.

The comedy is subtle, the script very intelligent, the acting flawless. The movie is cleverly structured (vaguely reminiscent of Korean classic MY SASSY GIRL) and beautifully filmed. At times funny, sweet, smart, stylish and poignant, it's another fine example of why Korean cinema is currently taking the world by storm.

Highly recommended!

Wonderful

[MienaiKizu · 10/10 · 18 August 2005]

This movie was just absolutely wonderful. I saw it at Best Buy for only 7 bucks, and it was the best 7 bucks I spent in my life. Just to tell you all, I have never giggled out loud, but this movie made me do it over and over again. The characters are just great, especially when they have those blank expressions on their faces. I haven't watched the dubbing yet, but I love the subtitles. Plainly wonderful, absolutely amazing.

How the 4 main characters care for each other is unbelievable, especially the relationship between Sang-yun and Ha-yun is just too adorable. I just cannot believe how great this movie is. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

An Excellent Crime-Comedy

[clarioncall · 10/10 · 31 January 2008]

Killerdeului suda is a story of four friends, who are professional killers. The story is not a masterpiece but it is "unbelievable" and funny. There is no way one does not enjoy this kind of script.

The movie is not like any other crime movies. Those four guys are really unique. They always whine about being professional but in fact they are friendly and kind more than professional.

The play of the other actors/actresses in the movie worth mentioning, they really fit the four guys and the background. Also, the music -especially theme song-, camera techniques and anything i forgot to mention is flawless.

This movie is so good! Please watch it if you have not, i still can't believe I missed it since 2001.

Excellent Movie

[chrishowitt · 9/10 · 10 November 2002]

When I bought this movie on DVD, I thought it was going to be some hard action movie. But it wasn't, however the movie was excellent.

A combination of Quentin Tarantino meets Guy Ritchie. The Dialogues where excellent and sometimes funny. And one of the coolest special effects I've seen (For the people how saw the movie: Bullet in the parking garage.....). The movie also has some funny moments. But I don't think the subtitles are as funny as the spoken language (at least that's what I was told)

I really enjoyed the movie, and for people that enjoy tarantino (without most of the violence) will enjoy this movie.

Unintelligent comedy, but works in it's own way

[vze32kxa · 9 February 2004]

This oddly toned movie runs entirely on silly comedy bits that some may find hilarious. However the movie does have some serious moments, which really makes it seem out of context to the rest of the movie. If you take it for what it is, then I'll say it's light hearted comedy about hitmen. Some of the more witty bits I found to be very funny, while others I felt they tried to hard.

6.8/10 Not recommended

a genre of its own but not a comedy

[c_waddle · 28 February 2004]

It'd be the best idea if you don't start watching it thinking it's going to be another 'Attack the Gas Station' because it isn't. This doesn't mean that the film is not entertaining, plus this film is full of jokes many people will enjoy. It simply reflects on the human side of the professional killers and it mellows your heart out if you are a diehard fan of violence or a gore fan. The hamlet scene is quite original i think and although the thriller part of the film is less than abundant, there is enough to keep it entertaining.

7.4 because the killers are humans after all.