Minha Namorada é uma Agente

I'll vote 10 because it was the first Korean film I watched when I subscribed to Netflix streaming. It inspired me to watch several dozen Korean films and television series because the stories and productions are so well made. By the way, Kim Ha-Neul was great 3 years after AGENT in a TV series called A Gentleman's Dignity. Didn't care for the gentlemen, though. This AGENT film grabbed me by the funny bone in the opening scenes when the Na-Neul appears as a model in wedding dress, a toilet cleaning maid, and a Japanese speaking travel agent. I loved the recurring dialog Who trained you? from the higher ranking NIS agents.

The scenery was great -- I loved in Korea for a year Aug. 1996-Aug. 1997 and miss those days, but thanks to Netflix, I'm back home there again in my mind.

If one should read the premise and have watched the trailer, the film most steeped in its reference comes to mind and that's Hollywood's Mr and Mrs Smith starring the It couple Brangelina. This is sort of a Korean reply to that film, and starring two hot, good looking stars in Kim Ha-Neul and Kang Ji-Hwan, who knows if there could be as much sparks flying in real life as in the reel as well.

But tabloid fodder aside, My Girlfriend is an Agent seemed more aligned to True Lies rather than the Smiths, by virtue of the extreme lengths taken in concealing one's true occupation from one's loved one, and that they don't quite get at each other's throats, at least not with intentionally deadly force anyway. Kim Ha-Neul stars as Su-Ji, whose cover is a travel agent with a hard-to-please Japanese clientèle, while in fact she's one of the top clandestine agents Korea has. The introduction's set action sequence establishes that, and throws in the dilemma her occupation being a roadblock to a successful love life with the geek Jae-Jun (Kang Ji-Hwan), who decided that enough is enough, and boards a plane, essentially breaking her heart with an absence and communications silence.

Fast forward to three years later, and Su-Ji accidentally bumps into Jae-Jun while in the midst of a mission, and sparks fly, of a different sort. What she and us the audience don't know, is that Jae-Jun is an agent as well, albeit belonging to a different agency, but have the same enemies in their gun-sights. And it is this interplay of a long long romance now returned, and an opportunity for revenge needless to say, while concealing both their respective identities from each other, that lead to natural comedic situations, as well as setting action sequences up for double the whammy given two skilled agents in the field now.

It's easy to dismiss this as just another hack on the Hollywood film, but it's easy to identify with the underlying issues that My Girlfriend is an Agent poses. We aren't agents, but it plays on the fact that we have different facades that we put on in different aspects of our life, and sometimes these concerns come clashing with one another, leaving us in a dilemma on what to do, and which decision to take when faced with a fork in the road. Honesty is probably the best policy when it comes to relationships, but sometimes you wonder if a white lie could in fact spare the other some pain, physically or emotionally, and for cases like these super- spies, likely to be more for the physical protection of their loved ones. Not everyone can operate like a James Bond, who's probably the worst secret agent out there with practically a useless cover with such a persona well known.

Kim Ha-Neul and Kang Ji-Hwan share some comfortable chemistry whether they're up against each other, or rekindling their feelings. Their television star status should ensure that fans everywhere would hit the cinemas to support their stars in their big screen outing (you should see the response during their whirlwind tour of our city state). While Ha-Neul probably had it easier ramping up the sexiness of her role, Ji-Hwan is no pushover with his endearing, bumbling agent that personally I thought was the more interesting of the two.

The English title may sound tacky, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this lightweight, romantic comedy with action sequences that are a throwback similar to what Hong Kong films in the 80s have done.

When I saw the trailer to this I thought it would be some lame comedy with some action and drama thrown in, and not to my surprise I was right. So in another words it's like "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" with less cool action and more of the Korean humor in it, which ain't necessarily a bad thing but most of the humor I didn't find to be that funny as a matter of fact the action portion of this is it's weakest moments. Just about everything about this movie is predictable, but I give it props for being clever time to time although not original. Even for a comedy the character decisions can be awkward at times and doesn't seem to make any sense when a weapon is threatening to kill a lot of innocent civilians, but the agents go off and do goofy stuff. Which I can't really blame, cause there doesn't seem to be another way around it and if there was they needed to change a lot of scenarios around. I also found this comedy to be boring at times despite the actors and actresses doing the best they can with what they have. But overall like I said, I found it to be a bit boring but it was somewhat enjoyable as well.

6.8/10

Some parts of this comedy spy action movie are good and funny but there are many parts that are dated and not funny. The direction is a bit sloppy and the continuity isn't good between scenes. The action is alright and quite comical in parts especially the fortress scenes. Kim Ha Neul is okay quite up to the action and changes of costume. Kang Ji Hwan is likeable enough as the bumbling rookie agent and he has the best comedic sequences. For a 2009 movie I guess it's okay but in 2020 it doesn't quite stand the test of time. This is not one of those Korean movies that is better than Hollywood.

The opening to My Girlfriend Is An Agent is certainly one that will not be forgotten in a hurry. Ahn Su-Ji (Kim Ha-Neul) is a brilliant spy who spends her life undercover, unbeknownst to her boyfriend, Lee Jae-Joon (Kang-Ji-Hwan), who doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to realize something is amiss. Later when the film explores the history of their relationship, the layers of lies that Lee was able to discover add to the hilarity of the situation, though at the beginning, he only wishes to escape.

Unable to get Ahn on the phone, who, as he is venturing towards the plane that will take him far from home, is on an assignment, he viciously blasts her voice mail. When Ahn eventually completes her mission, she rushes to the airport, only to discover that Lee has already left, a situation that is as emotionally involved as it is humorous. Although the film often combines more than one emotion into many of its scenes, despite the well executed delivery by the actors, the romantic storyline is produced in the most perplexing manner.

Three years later, Ahn has discovered love in the arms of another man, however, this relationship is about to enter dangerous terrain. Though Ahn continues to be employed as an agent, little does she realize that Lee has, over the course of his time abroad, become an agent as well - albeit, not a very good one. In fact, to call him a terrible field agent would be an insult to all terrible field agents.

Much of the humor comes through his inability to complete a mission to the professional standard, a number of uniquely humorous occurrences providing several refreshingly comedic scenarios. However his shocking skills as an agent become even more unprofessional when he and Ahn unfortunately bump into each other, unwittingly working the exact same case from different angles. Her immediate reaction, which is repeated over the course of the feature, is, well, to call it 'rage' would be a bit of an understatement.

Finding themselves in such close proximity time and time again, the feelings they once held for each other begin to plague the case. Lee often appears hypocritical, having left Ahn for failing to provide him with the truth, yet he is unable to do the same to her, expecting their relationship to simply begin once more, even though he initiated the break-up. Ahn on the other hand, who, as aforementioned, has found love with another suitor, appears emotionally unhinged, her inability to restrain herself from pursuing Lee contradicting her unflinching professionalism.

Constantly they find themselves in awkward scenarios, and eventually even begin to suspect one another as been enemy agents, their mixed feelings reflecting unbridled passion one minute, and utter loathing the next. Forcing them into situations that often leads to ensuring violence does allow the audience to feel more attached to the characters, for at any moment tragedy could strike its chord.

Although both actors are as humorous as they are entertaining in their roles, it is often Lee's boss, Won-Seok (Ryoo Seung-Ryong) who is the most effective character of all. A well respected macho man who is forced to continuously suffer Lee's inadequacy's out in the field, his attitude and facial expressions are a joy to watch, though beneath all of this bravado is a truly honorable character.

The opening of the film prepares the viewer for a truly entertaining experience, and despite a unique blend of humor, action and characterization been applied, the rest of the film occasionally feels as though it is unable to live up to the potential exhibited at the beginning. The film's conclusion moreover feels as unnecessary as it does awkward, as though the creator's were unsure where else to situate it. This aside, My Girlfriend Is An Agent will surely entertain a wealth of audiences; though if the movie were in fact a cake, by the end, you may in fact be hungry for something a little easier to swallow.