The Fixer (aka Troubleshooter)

We see you.

I decided to write a review.
Warning: the following may contain spoilers, but I tried to refrain from revealing too much.

Main Cast:
Sul Kyung-goo plays Kang Tae-shik, an ex-cop who now runs an agency that does odd jobs such as taking photos of cheating spouses.
Lee Jung-jin plays Jang Pil-ho, a cop and the villian.
Oh Dal-soo plays Choi Sang-chul, the good (but silly) cop.


Tae-shik goes out to do his job which is the usual, taking photos of a cheating husband, but everything goes wrong. He finds himself in the middle of a crime scene and becomes the number one suspect. Thus begins Tae-shik's long journey to clear his name and get to the bottom of the situation.

I have a backpack that has metal bolted on it. Be jealous.

I watched the movie expecting a thriller but received more of a comedy with action. I deducted points from the movie not because it had a different tone from what I expected, but because I was a bit disappointed about the overall tone. Since Tae-shik has his face plastered over all the walls and phones of the local cops as a murder suspect, one could safely presume that he would run away and make us fidgety as he dodges his pursuers. Tae-shik did run but there was no fidgeting or anxiety. What makes thrillers or certain action films exciting is the "sweaty-palm" factor. The audience should be worried about the safety of the protagonist and watch with bated breath. The Fixer fails to accomplish this. It didn't help that the story was a bit predictable, but it was even less dramatic since the problems seemed to solve themselves rather smoothly. To give an example, two people are killed (more are killed in the entire movie) but their deaths don't create a major significance. Usually, the the cops would frantically search for the murderer. However, these dead people are brushed under the rug. I can understand if these two dead were not important, but I felt that this movie thought all the dead people weren't important because they are never dealt with afterwords. The audience is told/shown they died, and that's it. More people die, and the protagonist isn't in more danger or trouble because of it. If that doesn't make life somewhat easier for Tae-shik, I don't know what will. Seriously, there are dead people but no problematic issues??

Enough with the bad and onto the good. The movie, despite lacking in some logic and thrill, was an entertaining watch. Sul Kyung-goo was good, and I liked watching him jump, kick, yell, and stare because he can act. BUT my favorite actor was actually a duo: Oh Dal-soo and Song Sae-byuk as Choi Sang-chul and Oh Jong-gyu, respectively. They played the good cops who help Tae-shik, the protagonist. They are funny because Choi Sang-chul is the smart cop team leader, while Oh Jong-gyu is the, kind of slow, junior cop. Example, when the two are at the crime scene and Jong-gyu was suppose to interview the witnesses, Sang-chul calls him over and asks what he's figured out. Jong-gyu stammers that the witnesses keep repeating that they're in a "innocent relationship." (They are at a motel, and it is implied that the witnesses are probably having an affair.) Sang-chul gives a look of disbelief at the incompetence of Jong-gyu and snarks, "What do the 'innocent' cops say then?" The lines are only half of it. The way the two actors portray these characters are simply brilliant. Oh Dal-soo with his funny face was well complimented by Song's character portrayal. Song's matter-of-fact and kind of "lifeless" voice was hilarious as the junior cop. The two were a bit like foils and that was what made this duo work. Just one of the characters by themselves wouldn't have been funny, but with both of them together, they were great. Their banters and contrasting tones and espressions were truly the gem in this movie. These two added points back, and I ended up giving the movie an 8/10 (my opinion). Overall, I recommend The Fixer for those looking for a quick watch that is entertaining overall.
 

Song Sae-byuk (left): They're staring at us.
Oh Dal-soo (right): No, they're staring at me.  



Song Sae-byuk: Did you fart?
Oh Dal-soo: If someone comes in, you take the blame.