''Master'' (, also stylized as MA$TER) is a 2016 South Korean

action crime 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

Cho Ui-seok Cho Ui-seok (; born January 1, 1976) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Career Cho made his debut with the action comedy ''Make It Big'' (2002). His third feature is the thriller '' Cold Eyes'' (2013). His fourth film was the ...

. Written jointly by Cho Ui-seok and Kim Hyun-duk, it stars

Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably '' Joint Security Area'' (2000); '' A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); '' The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' (2008) ...

, Gang Dong-won and Kim Woo-bin in the lead roles. The narrative centers around the manhunt for a conman launched by South Korea's financial crime unit after he absconds with the money and assumes a new identity, causing a cop to team up with the conman's mastermind partner in order to crack the case involving a nationwide financial fraud leads to the Southeast Asian haven for scam artists, thieves, and criminals: Metro Manila. The film opened theatrically in South Korea on 21 December 2016, and received more than 7 million admissions nationwide. It grossed more than $48 million at the South Korean box office.

Plot

Chairman Jin of One Network has been scamming tens of thousands of members with his eloquent speeches, charm, and powerful connections in both politics and government. His schemes have been highly successful. Kim Jae-myung, the head of the intelligent crime investigation team, has been tracking him for over six months. To tighten the net around Jin, Jae-myung pressures General Park, Jin's closest aide, to reveal the location of One Network’s computer room and the chairman's lobbying ledger. Park, the mastermind behind the company's growth thanks to his outstanding exceptional programming skills and sharp intellect, realizes his plan is in jeopardy and quickly begins to strategize. As Jae-myung closes in on Jin and the hidden forces supporting him, he sees an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and escape the increasing police pressure. Meanwhile, Jin becomes aware of a traitor among his inner circle and swiftly implements a new plan.

Cast

Production

Filming began on 23 April 2016. Filming took around 2 months time in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, including

Binondo Binondo (; ) is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Manila, Quiapo, Santa Cruz, Manila, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas, Manila, San Nicolas and Tondo, Manila, Tondo. ...

Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

, and

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

Marketing

The film was showcased at the

American Film Market The American Film Market (AFM) is a film industry event held annually in early November. Historically, more than 7,000 people attend the eight-day annual event to network and to sell, finance, and acquire films. Participants come from more than 7 ...

held in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

from November 2–9. It has been sold to 31 countries including the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the

and other countries.

Release and box office

The VIP Premiere of ''Master'' was held on 19 December 2016 at CGV Yeongdeungpo in Seoul. ''Master'' was initially released in South Korea and was screened at 1,448 theatres. As per the Korea Box Office Information System (KOBIS) tallied by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on the first day of the release 393,247 viewers were attracted and took 66.3 percent of the total box office sales that day. According to the Korean Film Council, ''Master'' topped the box office charts and became the most watched movie during the Christmas weekend of 2016 in South Korea. It was reported an audience of about 2.2 million viewed the movie. In the first five days since its opening on 21 December, the film has reached three million mark in ticket sales, earning 24.8 billion won (Approx: USD 20.5 million) in total. As of early February 2017, ''Master'' has grossed US$49.81 million in South Korean box office and has sold 7.14 million tickets according to the Korean Film Council. ''Master'' ended up as the No. 11 bestselling film for 2016 in Korea.

Plot

Cast

Production

Marketing

Release and box office

Awards and nominations

References

External links