Ch.193Aftershocks come crashing in

Among movie enthusiasts, there are those who are particularly obsessed with color palettes.

How to direct a film with specific colors.

Bright films stand out with pastel tones.

Dark films appropriately mix navy and black.

The way colors are expressed can be seen as the very essence of a film.

In that sense, when watching “The Real Hero.”

‘Overall dark, but… parts with police show sunlight, while the protagonist extinguishes what little light remains.’

As if to emphasize the brutal aspects.

Black and navy harmonize appropriately as they paint the hero’s body.

The glimpses of dark red aren’t the hero’s natural color.

Colors stolen from others.

‘…They really sharpened their knife.’

Audiences marveled at the director’s clearly visible intentions.

Meanwhile, the film continued to progress.

<“W-why are you doing this?!”>

<“Do I need a reason to kill criminals?”>

The human trafficking boss with a gun was subdued too easily.

How could an untrained shooter with trembling hands possibly aim properly?

The bullet grazed empty air.

In that moment, the hero shattered the knees of the trafficking boss, Ji Hyuntae.

Ugh!

<“Aaaaargh! Aaaah!”>

<“Exaggerating.”>

To call it exaggeration after destroying someone’s knee.

The most frightening aspect was that the protagonist’s expression barely changed.

To portray a psychopath, one should either smile midway.

Or show some expression of delight or specific behavior.

<“Y-you think you’re any different? You’re just the same! This is murder!”>

<“I know.”>

The protagonist, Hero, had none of that.

Like taking a morning walk.

That expression of doing something so obvious is terrifying.

Calmly stating he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Silently continuing his task.

With the expression of a butcher slaughtering meat.

Hero calmly examined Ji Hyuntae’s face.

Using that brief moment, Ji Hyuntae begged for his life.

<“P-please spare me… please…”>

<“In the end, everyone says the same thing when facing death.”>

I don’t understand why they do that.

The conversation ends there.

Again, he kills Ji Hyuntae by breaking his cervical spine with his fist.

Afterward, silently picking up the gun.

Ring ring ring.

We see Hero’s back as he reports to the police and leaves.

But the one-take scene isn’t over yet.

Through a zoom-out, we see the entire tragedy of the warehouse centered around Hero.

“…Holy shit.”

So horrific that an audience member involuntarily cursed.

All the casualties in the warehouse died terribly with broken necks.

The miserable end of criminals.

What people call poetic justice.

But people were shocked by the realistic portrayal.

Is it right to praise the act of one person killing another?

Just from a distance.

Through news, articles, or the internet.

People say from a step away that vigilante justice is good, that criminals should just die.

But seeing the process, result, and corpses left them speechless.

Simultaneously, the audience realized:

‘This… isn’t a cathartic genre.’

It wasn’t simply a film about bad guys beating up bad guys.

Not the kind that delivers satisfying catharsis.

<Beeeeeeeep!>

Dozens of police cars can be seen approaching from afar.

By the time they arrived, Hero was already gone.

<“What the hell, how many people did he kill?”>

They received a report and arrived at the scene, but the reporter was nowhere to be found.

It was obvious who the reporter was.

<“He beat them all to death.”>

Police officer Jo Yongsu entered the warehouse to examine the scene.

The smell of fresh corpses and metal.

And the sticky blood that clung to his shoes with each step.

<“….”>

The police were speechless at the horrific tragedy before them.

People twisted grotesquely as if struck with a sledgehammer.

Among them, some corpses had died with their eyes open.

<“He even confirmed the kills.”>

Afterward, the police analyzed the warehouse scene and discovered several facts.

Someone had fired a gun, and that gun was now missing.

After continuing their focused analysis for a while.

<“Still… the criminals he caught were major ones.”>

<“What? Caught? Hey, you bastard, is that what a police officer should say?”>

Yongsu flares up at his junior’s nonsense.

<“So what.”>

<“Pardon?”>

<“So what are we supposed to do, give him a medal? A brave citizen award?”>

He expresses his anger while pushing his junior’s chest.

<“He’s disrupting the legal order. Is vigilante justice right? Do you think that’s justified?”>

<“N-no, that’s not what I…”>

<“Not what, you punk. You saw the articles, right? ‘Slow police, faster justice’… did you buy into that crap?”>

<“I-I’m sorry.”>

<“Please don’t sympathize with that stuff. It’s a criminal killing criminals, a violent offender.”>

<“….”>

<“That guy only catches criminals who make the news, he’s garbage who feeds on attention.”>

As of today, he’s killed nearly thirty people.

But the media praises him.

Vigilante, enforcer, executioner, The Real Hero, and so on.

They use all sorts of flowery terms to attract attention.

Criticizing the police’s slow response while garnering interest.

<“Everyone’s applauding, so does that make him something special?”>

That’s when Yongsu felt the confusion of police work.

Is this right? What are we even doing?

Is it really right to reduce sentences to rehabilitate criminals?

Whenever these thoughts arise, he quickly pulls himself together.

<‘A criminal punishing another criminal doesn’t grant absolution.’>

Commit a crime and you’re a criminal.

It doesn’t matter if good intentions or justice are involved in the process and outcome.

That fact never changes.

<“I’ll rest until the forensic team arrives.”>

<“Yes, sir!”>

Feeling uneasy, Yongsu headed to a nearby convenience store for some fresh air.

He thought he’d feel better after eating something sweet and resting.

While thinking this, he encounters a very handsome young man.

A brief conversation follows.

Here, Yongsu is convinced this young man is the culprit.

There’s no evidence whatsoever.

But his detective instinct keeps telling him to catch this man.

Thud!

So he grabbed him.

<“What is this? Is being a detective a job where you grab random citizens and threaten them?”>

He’s easily brushed off.

Belatedly, he comes to his senses.

He becomes aware of what he just did.

So he hurriedly tried to apologize.

<“So you just grab anyone and say ‘it’s you,’ and that makes me a criminal?”>

<“I-I’m sorry. I suddenly…”>

<“Always late, yet so quick to grab innocent people.”>

Under pressure, he couldn’t properly apologize and had to let the man go.

He could have at least offered his business card as an excuse.

He couldn’t do anything.

Just like how he was powerless every time that guy appeared.

<“….”>

He just stares helplessly at the departing man.

And afterward, numerous articles continue to criticize the police’s slow response.

Not knowing how many cases are piled up.

Not knowing how understaffed they are.

Not knowing the circumstances.

All that matters to them is what’s immediately visible.

Just the attention-grabbing criminals reported in the news.

Are they satisfied now that those criminals are dead?

Despite the fact that it’s the police who investigate these murders.

As Hero’s actions become more apparent.

Eventually, a long tail gets stepped on.

<Shhhhhhhh>

Inside a tunnel with heavy rain.

There, Hero and Yongsu finally face each other.

Rough and sharp emotions clash.

They unleash words they’ve been holding back.

<“Y-you came to catch me? Me?! Even at this moment! Not the people suffering! But me, who’s saving them, you came to catch me?!”>

Deep night.

Narrow tunnel.

There, Hero raged at the law enforcement closing in on him.

<“How can you do this? When I asked for help, you said you were busy, that there were procedures.”>

<“Now that I’m on the news getting attention, is that it?”>

Is this the hero’s trial?

Or the villain’s backstory?

In that ambiguous boundary, Hero’s anger knows no bounds.

<“That’s why you all fail.”>

As if there’s no value in being angry anymore.

Hero moves toward the tunnel’s emergency exit stairs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As soon as he moves, three warning shots are fired into the air.

The next will be live ammunition.

Evidence that they can shoot at any time.

But he ignores it.

<“You… you’re just a serial killer who thinks you’re passing judgment.”>

Even as Yongsu tries to make him face reality.

<“Yes, I know! I know! I know!”>

<“You killed people! No matter how trashy they were! Because you killed people, killed many, serial! Serial killer! Is that what you want to tell me now?”>

<“There are things that must die, things that deserve to die, that’s why I killed them.”>

Hero continues his mournful speech while dragging someone out from the emergency stairs.

<“Age 35, no prior convictions. Charges of multiple rape and body desecration by arson.”>

Someone not even reported in the news.

If Hero’s words are true.

A violent criminal not yet reported to the police.

It’s probably true.

He only killed criminals after all.

Ironically, his actions ended up preventing crimes by criminals who hadn’t been caught yet.

<“….”>

Leaving the confused Yongsu behind.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Hero brutally.

Killed the criminal right before the police’s eyes.

Of course, no shots are fired.

Protecting even such criminals.

That was the police’s duty.

The shackles of duty preventing hasty action.

Meanwhile, a criminal with no rights, authority, or duty kills another criminal.

Shhhhhhhh.

The rain falls harder than before.

<“Take this and get out, that’s your job, right? Getting results and promotions.”>

<“Stop! Right there, you bastard!”>

<“You’ve been just yelling all this time… don’t you find it ridiculous to just stand there?”>

You’re no different in the end.

At those words, Yongsu pulled the trigger.

But the bullet doesn’t reach Hero’s body.

<“Ha, right, I knew it, that’s exactly your level.”>

With those final words, Hero disappears from the tunnel.

Then Yongsu’s monologue about not being able to shoot.

And the belated arrival of police backup fills the screen.

<You should start climbing up too, catch him and you’ll get promoted.>

A conversation from some time ago echoes in Yongsu’s mind.

What did I answer then?

He no longer remembers.

No, he didn’t want to remember.

With that monologue, quiet music begins to play.

Click.

The film ends.

The lights gradually come on.

As the ending credits roll, no one could immediately get up from their seats.

The lingering emotions.

The afterglow washes over them.

+++++++

“The Real Hero” opening day.

[Planning to watch The Real Hero at least 5 times]

-So many hidden clues

-Everything from subtle intentions to details worth analyzing

-Just keeps making you want to watch it again lol

ㄴAgree

ㄴAgree

ㄴIt’s really well made

ㄴThis will definitely beat Admiral Yi

ㄴIt’ll get at least 15 million viewers

The internet went wild.