Who's Got the Tape?

Who's Got the Tape? is a silly, funny and entertaining film about three low level gangsters who in trying to make easy money get in way over their heads. Yoo Dong-geun plays Tae-sik, who comes across a video tape with his two buddies, Bonehead (Lee Moon-sik) and Fencer (Choi Ryung), that shows an illegal transaction between a corporate president and a crooked politician. He knows that this with lead to a rich payoff if given to the right people. They blackmail the official for its return. But while visiting his girlfriend, who runs a video rental store, he accidentally leaves it behind, and it is stolen by Dong-moo (Lee Sung-jin), thinking it was a dirty movie. But he loses it when his brother, who happens to be a district attourney, takes it along with a pile of other tapes to his office. Tae-sik and and the others find Dong-moo and try to intimidate him to give them the tape by pretending to be undercover cops. When Tae-sik realizes that Dong-moo does not know where the tape is, he and the others take the boy and roam throughout the city, falling into one situation after another, in search for the tape. During the search Tae-sik and Dong-moo form a bond -- Tae-sik being the kind of man of action that Dong-moo has always dreamed about, especially when it comes to women. Dong-moo has a crush on a girl who works at a convenience store, but she has a boyfriend, who intimidates him. Tae-sik's girlfriend, an ex-stripper before going into the video rental business, wants to marry him, but he is not willing to commit. Plus, he is a low life gangster with no future. During their search, Tae-sik actually has to pretend to be a police detective, first coming across a murder scene, then helping out another detective. Because of his crooked background, his insights on the crime scenes cause the other policemen to admire him. Finally, he helps Dong-moo, who becomes involved in a hostage situation, originally meant to be a staged robbery where Dong-moo would win the convenience girl's heart by acting manly and saving her. Instead, a real crook comes to rob the store. Tae-sik apprehends the man in front of a huge crowd of police and civilians, and is seen as a hero. But the video tape is still missing! Dong-moo finds the video tape at his brother's office, and brings it to the others. They all celebrate, and dream of the riches that will come their way. They meet the official in a warehouse, and give them the tape. Instead of giving them money, the official unleashes a gang of thugs against them, resulting in a huge battle royale where Bonehead and Fencer are almost left for dead. But Tae-sik manages to escape, and stumbles across a group of officers. He organizes a cavalry, and a huge battle ensues in the warehouse, and all the criminals are captured. The movie ends with Tae-sik marrying his girlfriend and Dong-moo finally getting the girl.

The film blends action, pseudo machismo, and slapstick perfectly, into an enjoyable two hour mismash. Sure, like most Korean films, it could have been trimmed down by fifteen minutes -- there are a few scenes that could have been left on the cutting room floor, like Tae-sik going out to the countryside to bring his girlfriend back to the city. It explains little, and slows the movie down, but the chemistry between the four main leads are what sells this film. Yoo Dong-geun is just great, and Lee Moon-sik and Choi Ryung are a great pair, providing most of the laughs. Mi-ryeung Cho makes the most of her role as the girlfriend -- really, except for her and Dong-moo's love interest, there are no other women in the film. The action scenes are well done -- they remind me of the insane fights from the classic Nowhere to Run. Who's Got the Tape? is a watchable delight, a fun comedy from 2004. Rent it!