The Man From Nowhere

The Man From Nowhere Synopsis: (from AsianMediaWiki)
A heroin deal is set to occur at a nightclub. Undercover police are also in the nightclub waiting to make their move. A nightclub employee takes the heroin into the locker room. While the nightclub employee changes out of his uniform he is tazered from behind. Hyo-Jeong (Kim Hyo-Seo), a dancer at the nightclub, walks off with the heroin.

Cha Tae-Sik (Won Bin), known only as "ajusshi" in his neighborhood, runs a dilapidated pawn shop in a seedy part of town. He associates little with those around him except a young girl named So-Mi (Kim Se-Ron). So-Mi lives near Cha Tae-Sik's pawn shop and often comes over when her junkie mother Hyo-Jeong has men over. One day, So-Mi's mother Hyo-Jeong comes into the pawn shop. She pawns off to Cha Tae-Sik a bag with a camera, which he will hold until she pays him back. Cha Tae-Sik is unaware that in the bag is the heroin she stole from the nightclub.

In a few days vicious mafia men come looking for So-Mi's mother knowing she stole the drugs. In the process they break into Cha Tae-Sik's pawn shop and holds him up. He hears on a cellphone young So-Mi's screaming voice and then gives the gangsters the bag that was brought to him by So-Mi's mother. The gangsters leave the pawn shop, but before they leave they shoot one of their own men dead. The gangsters also drive off with So-Mi and her mother.

Cha Tae-Sik must now go after the dangerous mobsters who stole So-Mi. In the process, Cha Tae-Sik must also face off against the police and his own mysterious past...


My comments:
I didn’t see an action movie that was as good as The Man From Nowhere since maybe Taken. Both movies have similar plot/concept in which Taken was about a dad saving his daughter but for me, The Man From Nowhere had greater emotional impact about a lonely guy saving a little girl, his neighbor, his only friend.

Won Bin was pretty impressive as the Tae Shik, his connection with little So Mi, although subtle but was powerful. So Mi didn’t have a dad and Tae Shik lost his unborn child so they found comfort with each other. I’m actually surprised to see Kim Sung Oh in over-the-top evil mode in this movie. He was delightful as Secretary Kim in Secret Garden, creepy in Sign and an ordinary dude in the little that I saw in Midas. Overall great movie with nice fight scenes.