The Point Men, released in 2023, is a Korean action thriller movie, one movie that I went for because of the expected action packed in it(as I thought), but unfortunately, it has less action than I expected. However, that didn't stop me from watching because the storyline is good and the movie is very realistic and relatable.
Some Korean Christians travelling on a missionary journey in Afghanistan, despite the restriction from the Korean government against such a journey at the time, got kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and they published the news on air, mainly directing it to the Korean government and also the Afghan government, sticking to one request, which was to force the Afghanistan government to release the 23 Taliban members they had as prisoners. The Korean government reaches out to the Taliban, and they agree and give the Koreans 24 hours to plead with the Afghanistan government to release the Taliban members; otherwise, the Koreans in their custody will be killed.
With less than 24 hours, the Korean government sends a team of diplomats, with Mr Jeong as the head negotiator, to Afghanistan to strike a deal in order for the Taliban members to be released while the Koreans held hostage could also be released. What looks like it's going to be an easy-peasy agreement turns out to be an elongated one, with tensions increasing every now and then.
The storyline portrays what most times, goes on in the government sector whenever such a crisis is happening in a country. While some will be wholeheartedly involved, wanting to rescue the hostages and avoid any killings, some will politicise the situation, wanting to get more benefits from it, while someone else, despite lives being in danger, will want to protect the reputation of the country over the lives of the captives. Exactly what happens in my country every now and then.
This movie has a blend of Korean, American and Islamic nations in it, and the blend is perfectly carried on with regard to the languages and movie locations. The Koreans speaking English didn't fake it; it appears very natural, and that's a good one. The desert locations and the villages of Afghanistan added a good vibe to the movie. Not to forget, the movie takes the lifestyle of the late Nineties, where old car models, office telephones and old GSM phones were used. One would assume the movie was shot in the late Nineties.
The only thing that I feel was missing in the movie is the action. With the heavy guns, scary Taliban customs and armies with guns at every corner, the movie only has just a few scenes of gunshots.
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Other photos are screenshots from the movie app
Rating: 70/100
