Director: Jang
Chang-won
Notable Cast: Hyun
Bin, Yoo Ji-tae, Bae Seong-woo, Park Sung-woong, Nana, Ahn Se-ha, Choi
Deok-moon, Choi Il-hwa, Heo Sung-tae, Kim Tae-hoon, Jung Jin-young, Oh Tae-kyung,
Cha Soon-bae, Jin Seon-kyu
With the popularity of heist films reaching some seriously
outrageous heights at this moment, it’s hard to be truly surprised by any of
them. Whether it’s the espionage slants of films like Mission: Impossible and The
Adventurers or sleight of hand con-films like Bitcoin Heist and Now You See
Me, the films all have a tendency to be fairly predictable in their
unpredictability. Audiences know that the film is going to trick them, through
visuals, narrative, or out of left field spins and they automatically look for
how the film is going to do so. This is the mindset that I went in with into
South Korea’s next ‘rogue team of con men and women,’ The Swindlers. While the film certainly plays up its strengths of
charm with its substantially effective casting and visually appealing look, The Swindlers takes the sleight of hand
motives to whole new levels. This is a film built on tricking its audience,
along with many of the characters in the film itself, but the layers upon
layers of different angles and illusions make it something to admire. The Swindlers is a film that takes its
title to heart and sprints with it to the finish unveiling one of the most fascinatingly
complex and entertaining cinematic con films to experience.