IMDb RATING
6.6/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
A police detective determined to catch the unseen boss of Asia's biggest drug cartel joins hands with a revenge-thirsty member of the gang.A police detective determined to catch the unseen boss of Asia's biggest drug cartel joins hands with a revenge-thirsty member of the gang.A police detective determined to catch the unseen boss of Asia's biggest drug cartel joins hands with a revenge-thirsty member of the gang.
- Awards
- 10 wins & 28 nominations total
Halley Kim
- Soo-Jung
- (English version)
- (voice)
Steven Lim
- Dong-woo
- (English version)
- (voice)
Jin Seo Yun
- Bo Ryung
- (as Seo-Yeon Jin)
Lee Zoo Young
- Joo Young (Deaf Twin)
- (as Ju-Young Lee)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I expected a bit more from this action flick from South Korea, but I have to admit that I also lost interest in films from Asia, I don't know why...If I watch again some of them that I have already in my library, that's OK. But this one is a bit confused in a plot very slow to begin. I was getting bored several times during this movie. The ending is totally opened, which I dislike very much. So, I don't know if I will purchse the sequel of this one. I don't think so. But don't get influenced by my comment if you are fans of this kind of action flicks. I only gave my opinion and feeling. That's all.
NC17
It is supposedly a thriller -gory at times- and an action movie but to me it is more of a black comedy.. a trip with an ?ambiguous art house movie ending all in one coherent package! What an achievement.
A cop desperate to find a vicious drug lord gets help from an underling .. or is it the other way around? Fast paced with elements that seemed to repeat with slower but no less thrilling parts set in beautiful scenery. The photography is stupendous and the music is quite good. Most importantly though, lot of the acting is amazing and quite credible however outlandish the behavior required is.
Reviewers are too hang up on the original movie that inspired this remake - ignore them. Every movie borrows more or less from others but the whole package is quite original.
It is supposedly a thriller -gory at times- and an action movie but to me it is more of a black comedy.. a trip with an ?ambiguous art house movie ending all in one coherent package! What an achievement.
A cop desperate to find a vicious drug lord gets help from an underling .. or is it the other way around? Fast paced with elements that seemed to repeat with slower but no less thrilling parts set in beautiful scenery. The photography is stupendous and the music is quite good. Most importantly though, lot of the acting is amazing and quite credible however outlandish the behavior required is.
Reviewers are too hang up on the original movie that inspired this remake - ignore them. Every movie borrows more or less from others but the whole package is quite original.
This is good Korean crime drama about a police officer whose team infiltrates a drug cartel in order to find the person, or people, that killed his informant. The film has good characters. It is violent and gritty. Like all Korean crime films it has a noir quality . The Direction and action and fight choreography are very good. There are many layers to the characters and story in this one. The film has a whodunnit quality. There are several interesting plot twists in this one. I like it and I recommend it. This film, like all Korean films, is better in Korean with English subtitles instead of dubbed.
Believer is an entertaining, if not particularly memorable film. It's recommended viewing for lovers of Korean cinema who'd like something to kill a couple of hours.
When a baleful underling survives an assassination plot, and the police accept his help to crack the drug gang's mysterious Mr Big (or Mr Lee) we know we will not be witnessing anything original.
I always try and catch Korean films in a festival, and I'm glad I caught this one. Borrowing heavily from style over substance hits such as Diva, through Usual Suspects and Infernal Affairs, it keeps a Mission Impossible tempo but in the end goes for a mystery ending. The hyper violence isn't quite up to 11 but is fairly unrelenting.
While definitely a great film, with notable sound and cinematography, it doesn't quite hit the heights of some other Korean action films due to some limited character development and imprecise editing. And the editing has filed away a sometimes visible consistent heart.
I always try and catch Korean films in a festival, and I'm glad I caught this one. Borrowing heavily from style over substance hits such as Diva, through Usual Suspects and Infernal Affairs, it keeps a Mission Impossible tempo but in the end goes for a mystery ending. The hyper violence isn't quite up to 11 but is fairly unrelenting.
While definitely a great film, with notable sound and cinematography, it doesn't quite hit the heights of some other Korean action films due to some limited character development and imprecise editing. And the editing has filed away a sometimes visible consistent heart.
Did you know
- TriviaOfficial remake of the Chinese-Hong Kong action thriller Drug War (2012) directed by Johnnie To.
- GoofsIn the final scene, Young-Rak tends to a fire in a fireplace. The aerial shot taken at the end of the brief conversation shows no smoke coming out of either chimney.
- Crazy creditsBefore the closing credits, a line "In the memory of Kim Ju-hyuk." is shown.
- Alternate versionsAn extended version of the film has a duration of 131 minutes 32 seconds and is 8 minutes 12 seconds longer than the theatrical cut which had a duration of 123 minutes 20 seconds. Both versions have the similar 15+ rating.
- ConnectionsFollowed by Believer 2 (2023)
- How long is Believer?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $365,639
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $146,630
- Jun 10, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $39,047,153
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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