''A Man of Reason'' () is a 2022 South Korean

action thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Jung Woo-sung Jung Woo-sung (; born April 22, 1973) is a South Korean actor. Jung started his career as a fashion model, rising to stardom with the gangster film ''Beat'' (1997). He went on to establish himself as a versatile actor, playing leading roles in a ...

, in his feature directorial debut. It stars Jung,

Kim Nam-gil Kim Nam-gil (; born March 13, 1980) is a South Korean actor, producer, director, singer and philanthropist. He is best known from leading roles in period drama ''Portrait of a Beauty'' (2008); adventure film ''The Pirates (2014 film), The Pirate ...

Park Sung-woong Park Sung-woong (; born January 9, 1973) is a South Korean actor. Following his acting debut in ''No. 3'' in 1997, Park has starred in several movies and Korean drama, television series, notably as a gangster in ''New World (2013 film), New Wo ...

Kim Jun-han Kim Jun-han (; born March 29, 1983) is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter, and former musician. Kim embarked on his acting journey with director Jang Kwon-ho's film ''Navigation'' (2014). He fully committed himself to an acting c ...

and Park Yoo-na. The film had its world premiere at the

2022 Toronto International Film Festival The 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 8 to 18, 2022. The 2022 festival was staged primarily in-person; a small selection of films were offered on the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform, but this represente ...

on September 13, 2022, and was released theatrically in South Korea on August 15, 2023.

Plot

After being released from prison after 10 years, Soo-hyuk learns that he has a daughter and decides to leave the gang to live an ordinary life. However, Eung-guk, the boss who had been waiting for Soo-hyuk's release, feels betrayed by his decision. He orders Seong-joon, his right-hand man and the gang's

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...

, to keep an eye on Soo-hyuk. Consumed by his inferiority complex toward Soo-hyuk, Seong-joon hires a deadly duo of enforcers, Woo-jin and Jin-ah, to eliminate Soo-hyuk. Ruthless in their own brutal way, the pair approaches Soo-hyuk with deadly intentions.

Cast

as Soo-hyuk *

as Woo-jin *

as Eung-guk *

as Seong-joon * Park Yoo-na as Jin-ah *

Lee Elijah Lee Elijah (; born February 19, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She debuted with leading role in TVN (South Korean TV channel), tvN's ''Basketball (TV series), Basketball'' (2013). After several years in major supporting roles, she was cast a ...

as Min-seo *

Kim Joo-hun Kim Joo-hun (; born March 1, 1980) is a South Korean theater, television and film actor. He debuted in 2007 in play ''Gangster Number 1''. He was a member of Alleyway Theater Company from 2009 until 2014. He is best known for his roles in the t ...

as Jun-ho

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on February 10, 2020.

Release

The film was invited to the Special Presentations section at

where it had its world premiere on September 13, 2022. It was screened at Orivita section at the 55th

Sitges Film Festival SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy film, fantasy, Horror film, horror and Cult film, cult films. Established in 1968, the festiva ...

in October 2022. It was also invited at the

28th Busan International Film Festival The 28th Busan International Film Festival () opened on October 4 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. Song Kang-ho of ''Parasite (2019 film), Parasite'' fame welcomed filmmakers as host of the festival, while Park Eun-bin acted as ...

in 'Korean Cinema Today - Panorama' section and will be screened on October 5, 2023. The film was released theatrically in South Korea on August 15, 2023.

Reception

As of October 9, 2023, the film has grossed at the local box office and accumulated 128,485 admissions.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Man of Reason, A 2022 films 2020s South Korean films 2020s Korean-language films South Korean action thriller films 2022 directorial debut films