The Childe Blu Ray Review (Well Go USA)

The Childe (귀공자, 貴公子, MR: Gwigongja, Chase of Madness, and Nobleman) is a 2023 neo-noir action thriller film written, produced, and directed by Park Hoon-jung (I Saw The Devil, The Showdown, New World, The Tiger, V.I.P, The Witch franchise, and Night in Paradise). It was nominated and won several awards overseas. It grossed $6 million worldwide at the box office!!!! In a desperate attempt to secure funds for his mother’s (played by: Caroline Magbojos from This Indie Thing and Ladies Like Us) surgery. The amateur boxer Marco (played by: Kang Tae-Ju from Hello, Me!) searches for the wealthy estranged father he’s never met. But after a lead takes him from the Philippines to Korea, he is relentlessly pursued by a quirky yet highly dangerous hitman known as Nobleman (played by: Kim Seon-ho from Start-Up, You Drive Me Crazy, Good Manager, Catch The Ghost, Two Cops, and Strongest Deliveryman). As additional interested criminal entities lead by the vicious Director Han (played by: Kim Kang-woo from The Gifted Hands, The Treacherous, Sabotage City, Recalled, Birth, Item, and A Better Tomorrow) join in his pursuit and cause chaos, he will be forced to confront a shocking truth that may cost him his own life!!!! The Childe took me by surprise! I wasn’t expecting to be blown away like that with this dark Korean crime thriller. I’ve seen director Park Hoon-jung work a few different times and I was always impressed but he just keeps getting better at his craft when it comes to film making. The script is loaded with violence, thrills, action, drama, and twists. It’s one of the most impressive screenplays coming out of Korean cinema in awhile. Newcomer Kang Tae-Ju gives a good performance as a desperate boxer trying to help his mother out and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish that difficult goal. After a 2 year break of acting, veteran Kim Seon-ho steals the show and he gives his best performance in his entire career as the charismatic killer looking for an easy payday. Kim Kang-woo plays the ruthless and ambitious gangster that’s trying to save his crime boss father from dying. He doesn’t hold back and he’s willing to kill anyone that’s in his way from saving his future and his crime family. It has a solid supporting cast that includes Caroline Magbojos, Go Ara (Sharp), Justin John Harvey (The Witch 2), Jeong Ra-el, and Hyuk-Hyun Kwon (Chimera), The Childe is very violent and it’s loaded with action during it’s crazy finale. Like I said above, there’s more than a few twists and turns in this neo noir. The Childe delivers all the goods, it’s beyond entertaining and super fun especially the 2nd half. The replay value is very strong here. It’s one of the highest quality Korean features in recent years. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Well Go USA! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks amazing in HD. The Childe has quality cinemtopgraphy, production design, locations, and fx which helps this Korean crime movie shine when it comes to the picture. It has a few different audio options which includes Korean: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Korean: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. There’s no English dub for this home video release. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the violence is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English subtitles. The only extras included are a “Trailer” for The Childe and a variety of Well Go USA “Trailers”. This is a must own and it should be in every collection especially if you are into Asian Cinema. It comes with a slipcover. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!