''The Policeman's Lineage'' () is a 2022 South Korean

action thriller 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 ...

film, directed by Lee Kyoo-man and starring Cho Jin-woong and

Choi Woo-shik Choi Woo-shik (; born March 26, 1990) is a Canadian actor based in South Korea. He first gained recognition for starring in the film ''Set Me Free (2014 film), Set Me Free'' (2014) and the Korean drama, television series ''Hogu's Love'' (2015) ...

. The film, based on Japanese novel ''Blood of the Policeman'' by Joh Sasaki, is about two cops with different methods forming a team to investigate a case that turns the police force upside down. The film was released theatrically on January 5, 2022.

Cast

* Cho Jin-woong as Park Kang-yoon, head of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit *

as Choi Min-jae, an undercover honest police officer ** Park Sang-hoon as young Choi Min-jae * Park Hee-soon as Hwang In-ho * Kwon Yul as Na Young-bin, a criminal who deals only with the top 1% *

Park Myung-hoon Park Myung-hoon (; born May 28, 1975), is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut as a stage actor in the 1999 play ''Class''. He is best known internationally for his role as Geun-sae in the 92nd Academy Awards, Academy Award winning fi ...

as Cha Dong-cheol, a criminal who survived a deal with the police *

Lee El Kim Ji-hyun (; born June 26, 1982), known professionally as Lee El () is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her Supporting character, supporting roles in the film ''Inside Men (film), Inside Men'' (2015), the television series ''It's ...

* Lee Hyun-wook as Kim Jeong-gyun, the President of Daeho Group and successor to the group * Jang Seo-kyung * Lee Sung-woo as Team leader Han, (Narcotic investigation) * Son In-yong as detective * Lim Chul-hyung as Sun Woo-bum, a senior official at the Seoul Government Gwangsu University and helps Kang Yoon in his near-death investigation

Production

In July 2019 Cho Jin-woong and

were confirmed to appear in the film based on Japanese novel ''Blood of the Policeman'' by Joh Sasaki. They have worked together before in 2011 historical TV series ''

Deep Rooted Tree ''Deep Rooted Tree'' () is a 2011 South Korean television series starring Han Suk-kyu, Jang Hyuk and Shin Se-kyung. Based on the novel of the same name by Lee Jung-myung, it aired on SBS from 5 October to 22 December 2011 on Wednesdays and ...

''. Park Myung-hoon joined the cast in January 2020. Choi Woo-shik and Park Hee-soon worked together in 2018 horror film '' The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion''. The film was shot in Ulsan in February 2020. The last leg of shooting was completed in the

Nam District, Ulsan Nam District () is a district of Ulsan, South Korea. Its name means "South District". As of 2023, the district's population was 314,301. History Nam District was established on July 15, 1985. On January 1, 1995, the district was consolidated after ...

courthouse.

Release

The film was released theatrically on January 5, 2022. It made it to 'Korean Cinema Today - Panorama' section of

27th Busan International Film Festival The 27th Busan International Film Festival () was held from October 5 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea till October 14. This year, the festival restarted events and program sections which were not conducted due to COVID-19 for l ...

and was screened on October 6, 2022.

Reception

Box office

The film was released on 1,184 screens on January 5, 2022. As per Korean Film Council (Kofic) integrated computer network, the film ranked at no. 2 at the Korean box office in the opening weekend with 374,432 cumulative admissions. it is at 13th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2022, with gross of US$5.56 million and 679,503 admissions.

Critical response

Kim Mi-hwa of Star News praising the lead cast stated, " Cho Jin-woong and

, who are diametrically opposite in terms of appearance and character, brings joy to the viewers." She also praised the performances of supporting cast of Park Hee-soon, Kwon Yul, and

and wrote, "savory performances of various supporting actors breathe life into the film." Kim felt that the film "is a mix of stories of police, gangsters, and drugs familiar to Korean audiences." But she stated that "the new chemistry that comes out of them mixes with flavor like a seasoning." She criticised the sound quality, writing, "not being able to hear the lines well in some scenes even though the actors utter the lines clearly." Concluding she wondered, " hether the filmwill be able to captivate the audience with a delicious movie made with familiar ingredients."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Policeman's Lineage, The 2022 films 2020s South Korean films 2020s Korean-language films 2022 action thriller films South Korean action thriller films Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Police procedural films Films based on Japanese novels South Korean police films Acemaker Movieworks films