Days of Wrath (2013)

The Punisher (also known as the more striking “Days of Wrath”) takes a pessimistic stab at the aftermath of bullying. It is a violent and disturbing tale, relentless in its depictions of physical and emotional abuse, rape, and sexual harassment. For those sensitive to these subjects, please take care in moving forward. As someone who rarely is, I still found myself quite affected by what was shown.

We start with a strong premise, and the initial twenty minutes are particularly promising. A good chunk of the emotional foundation is established after that point. From here, the story primarily deals with the troubled lead character and his actions once fate brings before his high school bully as an adult. What I enjoyed most about this film how human Joon Seok was; he was no mastermind or powerfully connected avenging knight. His pain was real and easy to connect with. There are also real instances of suspense, though mostly near the end; most of the intensity comes from the disturbing nature of the content.

Unfortunately, the middle sections of The Punisher are somewhat meandering and reliant on coincidence; certain events rely on the character knowing just how an event will play out. All but the lead actors play bare shadows. Several actors and actresses come and go in the narrative, serving more expositional purpose than anything else. As such, it’s hard to get a real feel for their talents, or even the real importance of their characters.

Joo Sang Wook often portrays dapper authoritarians, a fact he has frequently lamented in the media. Perhaps some of that irritation will now subside, because his Joon Seok is a wholly different animal. Of hollow eye and haunted expression, this character has barely held it together since his hellish teenage years. He is anything but suave here, barely recognizable; of particular note must be the scene in which Joon Seok first sees his tormentor again as an adult. The pure fear and honest trauma is just flooring. Our other lead, Yang Dong Geun, portrays the utterly despicable Chang Sik. Unfortunately, The Punisher marks the first time I've seen this actor; the frightening portrayal will not be soon forgotten.

A quick honorable mention to Kim Kwon as the young Joon Seok: he single-handedly set the atmosphere for the entire film with a nervous laugh. His is a career to watch.

While watching the music is noticeable, in a good way. Heart-thumping tracks, others which will keep the viewer on the edge of their seats, tragic and wordless vocals. My favorite is the ballad covering the credits; after the effects of the film, the results were chilling. Otherwise, nothing to add to the old MP3 player.

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As my adrenalin continues to be revved up after the completion of this movie, all I can say is, I cannot conscious recommend this to ANYONE!! Why? The beginning of the movie that features the conflict between the two male leads is so hard to watch, so raw with anguish and disgusting behavior, no sane person would say watch this. Again, I am always awed and amazed at the depiction of bullying in Korean schools. It is unimaginable to think that anyone who is a victim survives with their sanity. And that is the crux of the story.

Yang Dong Geun as Chang Sik was superb, as usual. Joo Sang Wook as the tortured and never to have recovered Joon Seok was utterly amazing! The story is SUPER raw and an emotional roller coaster. Not too often you can watch a movie and say "Kill them ALL".

So can I say this movie was good? Not good, AMAZINGLY GOOD. Can I recommend? Unless you have the stomach to watch severe levels of abuse, rape, beatings, and few other things, you might want to skip this; however, if you can handle those subject matters, this is an well-acted and amazing story whereby the ending is exactly as you expected.

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