The Man from Nowhere Movie Review

The Man from Nowhere [Ajeossi] (2010)

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Written by: Lee Jeong-beom
Directed by: Lee Jeong-beom
Starring: Won Bin, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Tae-hoon
Rated: R
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Plot
A quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.

Verdict
It's a brutal tale of revenge, but it also manages to be touching. A man with a dark past and few prospects in the present is compelled to save a girl and murder a lot of criminals in the process. It's nearly the epitome of an on the rails action movie. It's efficient and effective in equal measure, providing just enough story to make the premise plausible and enough emotion to make you care.
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Review
The original title Ajeossi translates to "Mister." This has similarities to Léon: The Professional and Taken while providing a distinct offering in the genre. It influenced John Wick.

Tae-sik (Won Bin) lives alone, running a pawn shop. He seems to be a former gangster type that's now a recluse, but he's friends with a girl in the same complex, So-Mi (Kim Sae-ron). She's lonely, looking for an adult that will give her attention. You can surmise she just wants a friend. She needs somebody, and Tae-sik is probably one of the few people that doesn't neglect her. That's confirmed when we see her mom.

Won Bin plays Tae-sik

The mom steals drugs and uses Tae-sik to hide them by pawning a camera, though he doesn't know it. That's the premise for the movie. Tae-sik is attacked by thugs looking for the drugs who have kidnapped the girl and her mother. That's also when we discover what's different about Tae-sik. He can fight and how. He's on a mission to save So-Mi as she didn't deserve any of this.

Tae-sik starts at the bottom, working his way through the criminal organization. This gang is the dregs of society, into drugs, organ harvesting, and worse. We've seen he can handle himself, but he's on the run from the cops and making himself a target to this gang. Two brothers in the organization try to use Tae-sik's disruption to their advantage in a power play.

Won Bin plays Tae-sik

While Tae-sik is vicious, but it's easy to root for him due to how bad this gang is and his mission to save a kid. This is brutal and graphic, something for which a lot of the 2000s and 2010s Korean revenge movies were known. This manages to provide enough story for a credible basis and the ensuing action. The conclusion manages to be brutal and emotional, a culmination of all the themes in this movie. Tae-sik leaves a wake of destruction as he fights his way through the crime organization, selflessly sacrificing to save a friend.