The life of a court clever police officer, Ja-Seoung, who has been undercovered, has been changed completely, when he receives an order to participate in the conspiracy that held against the Gold Man, run by Jeon Cheng, whose best friend, who is loyal to him, the thing that makes him struggle.
Reverse-engineered from several gangster classics, New World is like the knockoff shades and counterfeit wristwatches its antihero complains about: flashy but ultimately cheap.
While Park Hoon-jeong's gangster film seems to celebrate the genre rather than adding a whole lot, it's reflective of a self-conscious style that's helping South Korean directors turn a few heads.
"New World" is both less bloody and more thoughtful than most of its genre, the shifting-alliances plot becoming more engrossing as it progresses.
The Playlist
March 25, 2013
Smart, sharp entertainment that meets expectations dead on...if you've been looking for another The Departed-esque movie to keep you guessing, this would be a good place to start.
Park's direction is sleek and assured, but lacking the dynamism that might help energize a film that-its title notwithstanding-comes off as dully old-school.
Living up to the core of the noir tradition, New World takes a long view of the human species and dissects us with the cold, surgical blade of a laboratory scientist.
Los Angeles Times
March 21, 2013
Writer-director Hoon-jung Park tells this twisty story of internecine warfare within a Korean corporate crime syndicate with patience, elegance and no small amount of bloodshed.
Like many of his SK-action peers, director Park Hoon-jung has a knack for staging violent set pieces but comes up lacking in terms of character development, narrative clarity, etc.
Tense, dark, violent and brilliantly acted, if New World is any indication of what's in store for the future of the Asian cop drama; harder, sharper, yet finessed and even elegant, then carry on Korea.
New World tries to expand the genre with nods to The Godfather but can't escape the over-the-top acting, expansive violence and overdone story typical of Seoul-made crime dramas.
