Midnight Runners

Male Lead: Park Seo Jun, Kang Ha Neul
Also Starring: Sung Dong Il, Park Ha Sun, Go Joon, Lee Ho Jung
Year Released: 2017
Genre: Comedy, Action, Crime, Mystery
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Viki

Students at the Korean National Police University, Ki Joon (Park Seo Joon) and Kee Yeol (Kang Ha Neul) have a long way to go before they become official officers of the law but that doesn’t stop them from dreaming. One their way back from a club one night, they happen to witness a kidnapping and immediately jump into action, alerting the local officers of what just happened. However, swamped with other cases, the local police station has no time to take on the case. Knowing the critical hours are quickly dwindling, Ki Joon and Kee Yeol jump into action.

Tracking down the kidnappers, the pair of cadets find that the kidnappers are part of a gang running an egg harvesting ring. With dozens of girls locked up for harvesting, Ki Joon and Kee Yeol break into the gang’s hideout, determined to rescue the girls. However, the thugs prove too much for the amateur cops. Beaten down and locked up themselves, the pair are embarrassed by their own inadequacies.

After finding a way to escape, the two harden their resolve, knowing they may be those girls’ only chance of rescue. Despite being advised to let the professionals handle the case, Ki Joon and Ki Yeol continue with their investigation, determined to find the criminals and bring them to justice. Can a pair of police academy cadets really take down one of the country’s most sinister crime organizations?

An action-packed romp with lots of laughs, “Midnight Runners” is a 2017 action comedy film directed by Jason Kim.

This freaking movie had me laughing so much. It’s part of Park Seo Jun’s movie list so I knew that I was going to watch it and I knew that I was going to like it because hello, I’m biased to anything Park Seo Jun but I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. I laughed so much and so loud throughout this entire movie that I thought I was going to wake up the neighbors. Park Seo Jun and Kang Ha Neul were an absolutely delightful pair. I thought they played really well off of each other and the chemistry between the two of them is unmistakable. They made this movie-watching experience a wild and crazy ride and I enjoyed every single minute.

What made this movie completely watchable is that though this movie is a comedy, there’s a surprisingly darker themed story going on throughout that captivated me from the jump. So this movie follows two young men, Park Ki Joon and Kang Hee Yeol, who joined the Korean National Police University to study to become cops. They meet pretty early on and aren’t real big fans of the other but after Ki Joon helps Hee Yeol to safety after a jogging injury, Hee Yeol promises Ki Joon the best pork belly and perfectly marbleized steak that he’ll ever eat and Ki Joon happily carries Hee Yeol to safety with a smile on his face. And just like that, they’re best friends.

On their first night off, the boys head to the club and while they get ready, they freaking used Febreze for their cologne, hahaha. So they head to the club to pick up some girls and I’m really surprised that they didn’t get any. Both Park Seo Jun and Kang Ha Neul are good looking guys and yet they struck out at every turn in the club. So after the night is done, they’re making their way back to school when they see a girl that is their type and stare at her, hoping she’ll turn around and notice them because then it would be a sign from God but instead of turning around, the boys witness her being abducted and they give chase.

They’re pretty young and still hopeful of their future as cops so when they lose the van that took the girl in pink, they run to the nearest police station for help. Only there’s not much the cops can do because they don’t have a name for the girl and the girl hasn’t been reported as missing. Not wanting to give up, the boys decide that they’re going to find the girl on their own. They can’t wait for the cops because it’s the critical hour and they have to work fast if they have any chance of finding the girl and saving her. Hee Yeol is the brains of this operation and Ki Joon is the brawn. Together they make the funniest and the most endearing crime-fighting duo. Over the course of their investigation, they uncover a human trafficking ring and know that they’re in way over their heads and need help but at every turn, they are rejected but they’re determined to find the girls and help free them so they get to work.

And by get to work, I mean…

Haha, my guys were fantastic in this movie. Both Park Seo Jun and Kang Ha Neul really shined in this movie. The humor, the action, the heartwarming ending all made for a wonderfully entertaining and charming watch. The eye candy is through the roof as well so ladies and interested gents would definitely be happy with that. 🙂 This was a flat out great movie and I highly recommend it.

Final Rating

5 out of 5