Officer Black Belt (Korean: 무도실무관) is a South Korean action comedy film directed and written by Jason Kim, and starring Kim Woo-bin and Kim Sung-kyun. It was released on Netflix on September 13, 2024.
| Officer Black Belt | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 무도실무관 |
| Literal meaning | The Martial Arts Practitioner |
| Revised Romanization | Mudosilmugwan |
| McCune–Reischauer | Mudoshilmugwan |
| Directed by | Jason Kim |
| Written by | Jason Kim |
| Starring | |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Plot
editLee Jung-do is a black belt in taekwondo, kendo, and judo who spends his days playing video games with his nerdy friends when not working as a delivery rider for his father's fried chicken restaurant. After one such delivery, Jung-do helps probation officer Cho Min-jo in subduing a violent parolee who was caught violating his probation. After receiving a commendation for his help, probation department manager Kim Sun-min persuades Jung-do to join up as a "martial arts officer", who use their skills to handle aggressive probation violators, with Sun-min serving as his partner and mentor. After taking on the job, the two become fast friends and Jung-do soon considers Sun-min to be like an older brother to him. Their work also instils a strong sense of justice in Jung-do.
Notorious child molester Kang Ki-jung is released from prison on parole and Sun-min and Jung-do are assigned to keep tabs on him. Despite their constant surveillance, Ki-jung manages to reunite with his friend and accomplice Han Byung-soon and meets with dark web pornographer Kim Min-wook who requests Ki-jung film child exploitation material for him. A young girl is kidnapped by them and Sun-min, Min-jo and Jung-do are tricked into going to different locations as a distraction where they are ambushed by former parolees seeking revenge. Min-jo is killed and Sun-min is left with a serious neck injury in the ambush but Jung-do manages to escape his attackers. He races to Ki-Jung's apartment building, where he realizes that Ki-jung and Byung-soon are hiding in the basement and confronts them. He fights Ki-Jung, who leaves Jung-do seriously injured and manages to escape with Byung-soon, but the girl is rescued unharmed.
With Sun-min recovering in hospital, Jung-do enlists his friends to track down Ki-jung and Byung-soon. They find Min-wook, who reveals that the two have been using a debit card he had given them. Using this information, Jung-do and his friends tracks Ki-jung and Byung-soon to a restaurant. In the subsequent melee, Jung-do takes down Byung-Soon and beats Ki-Jung in a one-on-one fight. Jung-do and his friends are commended for their actions, and he and Sun-min return to duty as probation officers.
Cast
edit- Kim Woo-bin as Lee Jung-do, a young man who is a skilled martial artist with black belts in taekwondo, kendo, and judo, with a total of nine, three in each discipline.[1]
- Kim Sung-kyun as Kim Sun-min, a probation officer who manages violent criminals wearing electronic ankle bracelets.[1]
Production
editThe action comedy film was directed and written by Jason Kim, who worked on Midnight Runners (2017), The Divine Fury (2019), and Bloodhounds (2023–present) and would schedule to began filming in the latter half of 2023.[2] Climax Studio and Seven O Six managed the production.[3]
Kim Woo-bin and Kim Sung-kyun were confirmed as the lead actors of the film which would be released through Netflix.[4]
Release
editIn August 2024, Netflix announced that Officer Black Belt would be released exclusively on its platform on September 13, 2024.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Lee, Si-jin (July 28, 2024). "Kim Woo-bin to star in Netflix film 'Officer Black Belt'". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Kang, Hyo-jin (June 13, 2023). [단독]김우빈, 영화 '무도실무관' 주연...김주환 감독 만난다 [[Exclusive] Kim Woo-bin to star in movie 'The Martial Arts Practitioner'...Meets Director Kim Joo-hwan] (in Korean). SPOTV News. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Omotade, Lade (August 13, 2024). "Kim Woo-bin Keeps Watch Over Us All In Netflix's 'Officer Black Belt' Teaser". Collider. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Kim, Sun-woo (July 26, 2023). 김우빈·김성균, 넷플릭스 영화 '무도실무관' 캐스팅 [Kim Woo-bin and Kim Sung-kyun cast in Netflix film 'The Martial Arts Practitioner'] (in Korean). JTBC. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Yeo, Gladys (August 29, 2024). "Watch the new trailer for Netflix's 'Officer Black Belt', starring Kim Woo-bin". NME. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
External links
edit- Officer Black Belt on Netflix
- Officer Black Belt at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
- Officer Black Belt at IMDb
- Officer Black Belt at HanCinema
