The Roundup: No Way Out

Don Lee is back and it's back to the big time. As before, the teddy bear tornado has the endearing charisma of a Bud Spencer and the methods of a Dirty Harry, two fists instead of a Magnum. So everything is the same, which in this case is a quality feature rather than a shortcoming. Tough violence meets humorous interludes, both in the right proportions and underpinned by almost constant (thrashing) action. This time, fortunately, the background rock music has been toned down considerably. Oh yes, there is also a story, a solid means to an end. As always, the salt in the soup is the use of finely scattered political incorrectness. Thank you Roundup Saga, you rarely if ever see anything like this anymore. Another aspect worth mentioning is the consistently fantastic cast throughout the trilogy. Not only Ma Dong-seok, but also his police force are simply endearing. The villains are always charismatic, and this time the enemies of South Korean law and order come from the Chinese triads, the Japanese yakuza and their own corrupt ranks of officials. It can go on like this, there is still a lot of energy in this series.

No pun intended - Space Jam has got nothing on Don Lee ... or rather the character Ma he is portraying once again. And at least another time next year ... the yearly event. Someone told me the character name lends itself to make this his own "MCU" ... which he also was a part in (Eternals) - even if not many have seen that movie. But back to part 3 of the Roundup movies (international title) ... Don Lee channeling Bud Spencer once again - maybe a bit less comedy in the fight scenes, though they were always quite painful. And another interrogation scene that is just ... amazing! Let's clean up ... you can see how this was only a lead up to another movie. At the end it even tells us, that they will be back! Something that the other movies did not really do - they seemed to be standalone. The stories were done - this ... well let's just say you could say it has loose ends. You may also get ... I dare to say bored with the superhuman punches (I don't even think his MCU character had such power in his fists) ... but only if you do not appreciate the great way it is shot! You can feel every punch .. full power! Sound wise but also visually! Don Lee - introduced again with his back to the camera .. but we get to see his face way faster than in the previous movies. What I did miss a little bit: the other movies had a few more character beats ... the dry humor (not for the sensitive people amongst us) hits its target with the same precision Ma (Don Lee) does ... looking forward to next year!