The Outlaws (2017 film)

The Outlaws
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
범죄도시
Hanja
犯罪都市
Literal meaningCrime City
Revised RomanizationBeomjoedosi
McCune–ReischauerPŏmjoedoshi
Directed byKang Yun-seong
Written byKang Yun-seong
Produced byYoo Yeong-chae
Starring
CinematographyJu Sung-lim
Kim Yong-seong
Edited byKim Sun-min
Hwang Eun-ju
Production
companies
Hong Film
B.A. Entertainment
Distributed byMegabox Plus M
Release date
  • October 3, 2017 (2017-10-03) (South Korea)
Running time
121 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$52.9 million[1]

The Outlaws (Korean범죄도시; lit. Crime City) is a 2017 South Korean crime action film written and directed by Kang Yoon-sung, and starring Ma Dong-seok, and Yoon Kye-sang.[2] It was released on October 3, 2017.[3][4] Set in 2004, the film revolves around Detective Ma Seok-do, who tries to control the gang-wars between Chinese-Korean gangs while also dealing with a ruthless loan shark named Jang-Chen.

The film is based on a May 2004 incident in the Chinatown of Garibong-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul when 14 Chinese-Koreans from the "Wang Geon-i faction" were arrested on charges of attempted murder, and an April 2007 incident in which 7 members of the Yanbian organization "Heuksa-pa", also based in the Garibong-dong, were arrested and 26 were indicted without detention.[5][6]

The Outlaws is the first installment of The Roundup series. It was followed by three sequels: The Roundup (2022), The Roundup: No Way Out (2023), and The Roundup: Punishment (2024).

Plot

Ma Suk-Do is a detective in Geumcheon, Guro District, Seoul. Ma and his Captain Jeon Il-man, try to keep the peace while two local Chinese-Korean gangs battle over control of Chinatown: the Venom Gang headed by Ahn Sung-Tae and the Cobra Gang headed by Jang-I-Soo.

Jang Chen, bloodthirsty leader of the Chinese loansharking Black Dragon Gang, makes his own brutal moves to take over Chinatown along with his henchmen Sung-Rak and Yang-Tae. They kill Sung-Tae and take over Jang-I-Soo's casino. Enraged, Jang-I-Soo attacks the casino. Sung-Rak and Yung-Tae fight with Jang-I-Soo and his henchmen, but are interrupted by Ma, who arrests Sung-Rak. Yang-Tae escapes and informs Jang-Chen.

Ma and Jeon learn about Jang Chen's crimes and plan to arrest him. Jang Chen and Yang-Tae attack Jang-I-soo and his henchmen and kill them at Jang-I-Soo's mother's birthday party. Later, Jang Chen's location is revealed to hotelier and CEO Hwang. Jang Chen had killed Hwang's men in his hotel. Hwang's men try to kill Jang Chen in revenge but, he manages to escape. Hwang is later killed by Jang Chen, who learned of Hwang's attempt on his life. Detective Ma seeks the help of Chinatown citizens for help to catch the Chinese loansharks. They agree and start taking photos of the gang members.

Ma and his fellow police officers arrest all of them, including Yang-Tae. One of the police officers named Kang Hong-seok, sees Jang Chen and pursues him. However, he gets trapped and Jang Chen tries to run him over with a car. Ma saves him by crashing into Jang Chen's car. But, Jang Chen escapes. Ma chases after him but, loses sight of him after a while. Jang Chen reaches the airport to fly back to China. Ma finds Chen in the airport restroom and they fight. Ma manages to knock down Jang Chen and leaves him handcuffed in the restroom. The gang leaders are arrested and Jeon is congratulated by the commissioner where Ma and his team celebrate for solving the case. Just then, Ma is called by the commissioner to investigate another case.

Cast

Special appearances

Production

Filming

Principal photography began on February 27, 2017 and ended on July 19, 2017.[9]

Original soundtrack

Released on September 7, 2017[10]
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Dirty Dog"KillagramzBig BananaKillagramz3:04
2."Dirty Dog" (Inst.) Big Banana 3:04
Total length:6:08

Reception

The Outlaws opened in South Korea on October 3, 2017. By October 23, it grossed US$36.3 million from more than 5 million admissions.[11] One month after it was released, the film marked 6.05 million admissions, with US$44.1 million gross. By December 1, the film had reached 6.87 million admissions with a gross of US$51.8 million, making it the 3rd highest-grossing domestic film of the year in South Korea and the third best-selling R-rated Korean film of all time.[12][13][14]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2017 37th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Top 10 Films The Outlaws Won [15]
Best New Director Kang Yoon-sung Won
38th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Director Nominated [16]
Best Technical Achievement-Stunts The Outlaws Nominated
Best Film Editing Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Jin Seon-kyu Won
2018 9th Korea Film Reporters Association Film Awards (KOFRA) Won [17]
54th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor Ma Dong-seok Nominated [18][19]
Best Supporting Actor Jin Seon-kyu Nominated
Best New Actor Kim Sung-kyu Nominated
Heo Sung-tae Nominated
Best New Director Kim Yoon-sung Won
Best Screenplay Nominated
23rd Chunsa Film Art Awards Nominated [20][21]
Best New Director Won
Best Actor Ma Dong-seok Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Jin Seon-kyu Nominated
27th Buil Film Awards Best New Director Kang Yoon-sung Nominated [22]
55th Grand Bell Awards Best New Director Nominated [23]
Best Supporting Actor Jin Seon-kyu Nominated
Best Planning The Outlaws Nominated
2nd The Seoul Awards Best Supporting Actor Jin Seon-kyu Nominated [24]
Best New Actor Kim Sung-kyu Nominated
18th Director's Cut Awards Best New Director Kang Yoon-sung Won

Sequels

The Roundup (2022)

A sequel of the film titled The Roundup directed by Lee Sang-yong was released on May 18, 2022.[25] Ma Dong-seok, Choi Gwi-hwa, Park Ji-hwan, Heo Dong-won, and Ha Jun reprised their roles. The film became the highest-grossing film of the year surpassing 10 million ticket sales on the 25th day since its release.[26] It also became the 3rd highest-grossing film and 9th most viewed film in South Korean cinema history.[27]

The Roundup: No Way Out (2023)

The second sequel, The Roundup: No Way Out, released in 2023.[27]

The Roundup: Punishment (2024)

The third sequel, The Roundup: Punishment, released in 2024.[27]

Remake

It was remade in India as Radhe by Prabhu Deva, starring Salman Khan in the title role.

References

  1. ^ "The Outlaws". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  2. ^ "[INTERVIEW] Ma Dong-seok to rise as new hero in crime action genre". The Korea Times. 1 October 2017. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "'The Outlaws' actors shine in crime action film". 1 October 2017.
  4. ^ Jin Min-ji (September 21, 2017). "Ma Dong-seok fights crime in 'The Outlaws'". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  5. ^ "Chinese criminal gangs battle for Seoul turf". JoongAng Ilbo. April 27, 2007.
  6. ^ Kim Ji-hye (8 October 2017). "범죄도시' 진실의 방 어떻게 탄생했나" [How the Truth Room of 'Crime City' was born]. SBS funE.
  7. ^ "'범죄도시' 마동석 범죄오락 액션 히어로물이라 평 받은 이유는?". 국제신문. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  8. ^ "[영화콕!]'범죄도시' 마동석X윤계상, 중국에서 온 조직의 실화…카리스마의 격돌". 뉴스컬처 (in Korean). 2019-05-05. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  9. ^ "KoBiz - Global Film Biz Zone". www.kobiz.or.kr. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  10. ^ Jeong, Hui-chae (September 7, 2017). 킬라그램, 영화 ‘범죄도시’ OST 타이틀곡 ‘Dirty Dog’ 오늘 정오 발매 [Killagramz to release the title song 'Dirty Dog' for the film 'The Outlaws' OST today (7th) at noon]. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  11. ^ "'범죄도시' 마동석, "더욱 겸손하고 묵묵하게 연기하겠다"..500만 소감". 20 July 2020.
  12. ^ "'범죄도시' 개봉 한 달 만에 600만명↑…올해 네 번째" (in Korean). Chosun. November 2, 2017.
  13. ^ Jin Min-ji (2017-10-31). "[Korean Box Office] 'Thor' crushes the competition in debut weekend". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  14. ^ "'The Fortress' wins big at Film Critics Awards". Korea JoongAng Daily. 9 November 2017.
  15. ^ "THE FORTRESS Dominates 37th Korean Film Critics Association Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. 30 October 2017.
  16. ^ "[공식입장] '제38회 청룡영화상' 후보 공개, '불한당'vs'택시' 대격돌" (in Korean). Sports Chosun. 2017-11-06.
  17. ^ "'1987' chosen by film reporters as the best film of 2017". Yonhap News Agency. January 30, 2018.
  18. ^ "제54회 백상예술대상, TV·영화 각 부문별 수상 후보자 공개". JTBC (in Korean). April 6, 2018.
  19. ^ "[2018 백상예술대상 종합] tvN '비밀의 숲'·영화 '1987' 대상 영예+3·4관왕". Osen (in Korean). May 4, 2018.
  20. ^ "제23회 춘사영화제 5월18일 개최..홍상수·김민희 참석하나". Newsen (in Korean). May 3, 2018.
  21. ^ "[23rd 춘사영화제 종합]'남한산성' 최우수감독상 수상…최희서 11관왕 달성". Herald Corporation (in Korean). May 18, 2018.
  22. ^ "[23회 부산국제영화제] 부일영화상". Busan Ilbo (in Korean). 20 September 2018.
  23. ^ "제55회 대종상, 각 부문 후보 공개…'공작' 12개 최다부문 노미네이트". Seoul Sports (in Korean). 21 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  24. ^ "'제2회 더 서울어워즈' 10월27일 개최, 드라마-영화 각 부문별 후보공개". iMBC (in Korean). September 28, 2018.
  25. ^ Jang Ah-reum (April 7, 2022). "'범죄도시2' 괴물형사 마동석vs빌런 손석구…리얼 맨몸액션 티저 공개" ['Crime City 2' Monster Detective Ma Dong-seok vs Villain Son Seok-gu... Real naked action teaser released]. News 1 (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  26. ^ "Korean action comedy 'The Roundup' tops 10 million ticket sales". Korea JoongAng Daily. June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  27. ^ a b c Patrick Frater (July 25, 2014). "Don Lee's 'The Roundup' Gets Sequel 'No Way Out'". Variety. Retrieved July 26, 2022.