Explosive
Summary
The Old Woman with the Knife has enough brutal fight scenes to keep things moving up to its bullet laced finale. It never loses its heart giving a surprisingly emotional story and memorable characters to make this one of the better action movies I’ve seen this year.
Plot: Aging assassin Hornclaw (Hyeyeong Lee) has seen it all, but she never expected to mentor a reckless rookie like Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol). As their unlikely bond deepens, cracks form in the underworld they navigate together. When Hornclaw discovers someone wants her dead, she’s thrust into a deadly game of deception. With enemies closing in and trust in short supply, survival means staying sharp—both blade and mind.
Review: Age is nothing but a number in the Old Woman with a Knife which is also one of the best action movies of the year. Lee Hye-yeong plays our lead Hornclaw, a woman who was abused in her younger days but was taken in a man named Ryu who trained her to become a ruthless killer. In her twilight years Hornclaw may be older, but she’s still every bit as deadly and not to be underestimated.
When she is saved by a vet, a young rookie assassin called Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol) appears and wants to make her life difficult, but I won’t go into any more detail as to why.
What surprised me about this movie is not just the awesome fight scenes, but the genuine heart the story has. It explores the challenges of growing older and trying not to be cast aside when you can still be useful.
There are enough bloody fight scenes to keep the pacing tight, plenty of violence and a bullet riddled finale too. Although it is a tad long The Old Woman with the Knife is compelling with fascinating characters to go alongside the bodycount.
Lee Hye-yeong plays Hornclaw perfectly as she is cold hearted killer but will still protect the innocent. Kim Sung-cheol is wonderfully arrogant as Bullfight who thinks he is better than anyone, but is there more to him than meets the eye?
Overall, The Old Woman with the Knife is one of the year’s best action pictures as it balances story and characters alongside the brutal fight scenes. The characters are memorable, and it never loses its heart making it a movie I will happily return to in the future.