When detective Tae-Su (Doo-hong Jung) returns to his old home town for the funeral of one childhood friend, he discovers a connection to another of their old gang, whose path up the corporate ladder has been dodgily swift. The cop teams up with yet another high-school chum (Seung-wan Ryoo) to investigate, and things only get more deeply suspicious.
Despite pinching from every well-known crime flick, The City Of Violence’s deft humour and strong double-act in its two leads sets it above the usual schtick-by-numbers, while the action is occasionally spectacular. And hoodies take note: breakdancing someone’s face in is the new happy-slapping.