Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers show, I’m your host Deffinition and this episode we’re breaking down the new Netflix movie Time to Hunt.
The Korean Film follows in the footsteps of some amazing properties released recently by the country such as Kingdom, Train To Busan and of course Best Picture winner Parasite.
That’s a big list to live up to and throughout this video we’ll be giving our thoughts on the film as well as what we took from the ending.
There will be Heavy Spoilers here so if you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet then I highly recommend that you turn off now. If you enjoy the video then please drop a thumbs up and make sure you subscribe to the channel to never miss a breakdown.
With that out the way thank you for clicking this, now let’s get into our review of Time To Hunt!
Time To Hunt
Time To Hunt opens in South Korea’s dystopian future that filled with civil unrest, national debt, inequality and fog that fills the air due to the effects of global warming.
The country is a mess and though it’s clearly decayed due to mass amounts of poverty, the film is shot beautifully.
From the off we take a trip through the streets of Korea and even though it’s filled with little dialogue we instantly get the impression of how the world currently stands.
Life is hell.
It’s here we’re introduced to our protagonist Jun-Seok who has just been released from prison due to a heist that happened three years prior.
Left with little else to think about in jail he spent the majority of his time fantasising about his #bestLife and getting to this is the main driving force for the character.
With his friends he wants to plan one last heist that will make them enough money to escape the city but as I’m sure you can guess, it isn’t going to be easy.
Now heist movies are often carried on the back of their core team and Time To Hunt really feels like it’s pulled together a group of actors that really complement one another.
You can instantly see why Jun was the leader and why in his absence the other members have pretty much lived a lowly existence.
They too were criminals that carried out the heist that Jun was arrested for and they only managed to escape because he sacrificed himself to the police.
The cash they managed to make from the job is now effectively worthless due to the Korean Won crashing and thus they have to take US dollars in order to make enough money to get away.
Jun proposes one last heist on an illegal gambling den that stores millions of dollars and though it seems like a simple job, it soon brings massive repercussion with it.
Using an insider named Sang-Soo that works there they raid the operation but end up becoming targets themselves.
It’s a brilliant premise to centre the film around and though heist movies are a dime a dozen, Time To Hunt elevates itself by the hope within the characters.
Each one feels like they’re at their lowest point and for people that should be in the prime of their lives they’re stuck to constantly being considered vermin that are forced to live day to day.
The Central Characters
That’s one of Time to Hunts biggest takeaways I think and similar to Parasite, even though the central characters operate through lies and deception we still gravitate towards them because we’re able to see how back they have it.
We all know it’s not going to go well but Jun wistfully thinks about the future, a better life in paradise that sounds too good to be true…probably because we know deep down that it is.
It’s often stated that the wealth divide between the rich and poor is built upon the idea that the poor allow it to happen due to a belief that one day they can be wealthy too if they just work for it.
You really get that feeling with Jun too and because of it the character becomes easy to relate to.
Here is a man that spent his entire time in prison thinking about what he would do when he gets out and it finally seems within his grasps.
Due to the failings of society he finds himself trapped in a prison of his own making in which he believes that crime is the only way that he can get out of it and he constantly lives in a state of planning this quote unquote one last heist that will allow them to live a life of luxury.
Jun reunites with the rest of the group that were part of the initial heist and together they pull off the job due to Sang-Soo who currently works within the casino.
The other two are named Ki-Hoon and Jang-Ho and I really Hope I haven’t butchered their names but we need to know them to talk about things later in the film.
It’s clear they’re in over their heads and are all amateurs that inadvertently open Pandora’s Box upon carrying out the job.
Along with the money they various hard drives that all contain surveillance on the businesses criminal activities.
The gangsters obviously aren’t happy about this and they send a killer policeman known as Han after them.
This is where the titular hunt comes into play and Han mercilessly tracks the group down gleefully stalking and playing games with them.
He kills Sang Soo and slowly tracks them across the city.
Han
No matter how much of a five-minute head start you get this Guy will catch you. He’s as intimidating as hell and watching the cat and mouse game he plays with the group makes reminded me a lot of Anton from No Country For Old Men.
What Han represents is the authoritarian state and how the rules don’t apply to them. He regularly breaks the law much in the same way that the group do but there are no real repercussions for him. Even after getting arrested, he’s set free by the chief of Police and the rules of both the government and the gangsters don’t hamper him in anyway.
A lot of the Korean films I’ve watched recently have been based around the notion that the lower class don’t really have the rights that those in power do and this is reflected here in the antagonist.
The poor are stamped down by those higher up even when they operate in a similar manner and Han to me represents the fallacy of trying to rise above one’s station.
They have an opportunity to escape on a boat at a harbor but Ki-hoon returns to his family and Jun goes with him, returning to their hideout to see that Han has arrived.
It leads to one of the tensest action scenes in the film and it’s a nailbiting showdown for both sides.
Jang-ho is hit multiple times and he dies which leaves Jun to go head to head with Han at the docks. Jun is wearing an incredibly strong bulletproof vest but Han still manages to down him and he goes in for an execution shot.
Luckily Bong-Sik’s twin brother Bong-Soo arrives seeking revenge for the death of his brother when Han was trying to learn the whereabouts of them. It turns out that he’s the chief of Police and he actually released Han after he was arrested so that he could kill him outside of the law.
They shoot Han several times and he is seemingly killed, falling into the water on the outskirts of the location.
Time To Hunt Ending Explained
Jun finally gets his wish to go to Kenting and he seemingly gets the life he always dreamed about.
However, he is still haunted by the deaths of his friends as well as Ji-Hoon’s fate. The paradise he was seeking had to be shared with others and living there with no one to actually enjoy it with clearly dampens the experience.
What Jun really wanted deep down was a better life for him and his friends but his actions not only robbed them of it but also himself.
Throughout the movie, Jun was constantly given nightmares and it’s clear that no matter how far away he will forever be tormented by them. Running away from things doesn’t actually deal with them and his hopes of escaping will always be a pipe dream if he cannot get away from that which haunts him the most.
He learns that Han has survived but rather than running once more he decides that for once in his life he will tackle the problem head on rather than fleeing from it.
Very little is known about Han even his real name but deep down Jun knows that he won’t stop coming for him.
The movie ends with us seeing him practicing his firearms skill and we also get lip service paid to Ki-Hoon surviving.
This was one of the loose ends that though heavily hinted at, we never actually got any resolution towards.
We know that the gangs were slowly being wiped out and it is possible that the police took out the ones surrounding his home before they went after Han. This is likely how they learned of his location and were able to find where he was.
Jun has to end what he started and instead of trying to constantly get away from the problem he must go head to head with it in order to truly find the peace that he has been seeking all this time.
Whilst it does set things up for a sequel, personally I’m not sure if it needs one but if we do I am hyped to see Jun and Han going head to head once more.
Time To Hunt Review
But what did I think of the film overall?
Well, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and Netflix have continued to be a lifesaver through the lockdown. Over this weekend they’ve released Time To Hunt, Extraction and After Life Season 2 and all have been brilliant.
Time To Hunt is a tense action film that also has a lot of social commentary and escapism literally laced throughout it and I think this makes it a really engaging watch.
I don’t know if it’s for everyone but at the moment I’m struggling to think of a film or tv show that the country has put out recently that I haven’t enjoyed.
Time To Hunt is a really heartfelt and human heist story that is beautifully shot and well-acted.
You definitely should check this out if you’re looking for more entertainment this week and it gets an…
8.5/10
Your Thoughts
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