Review: CONDUCT ZERO opens with a scene that will remind some (though it came out prior) of the second MATRIX film's "Burly Brawl," but on a much smaller scale. It's mostly reminiscent in its sheer absurdity, but in this movie's case, it's supposed to be ridiculous. The story told of main tough guy Joong-Pil's drunken run in with the entire Taekwondo team and their subsequent beat down sets the stage for everyone's perception of him as an unstoppable bad ass. That's why no one dares to think twice before giving up their milk money, or not paying to watch one of his "media company's" pornagraphic flip books (drawn on the inside of a text book).

There's a much more even balance of comedy and drama in this movie in comparison to some of its contemporaries such as SEX IS ZERO. There isn't a complete 90º drop off from humor into a characteristically melodramatic final act. The last third of the movie isn't even that filled with drama, or maybe it was the smooth transition into this portion that made it seem much lighter. Anyhow, Despite how ludicrous the movie is at certain points, I actually thought the drama that was there fit in nicely and made me much more interested in the characters.

Speaking of which, CONDUCT ZERO maintains a nice balance of only a few central characters, despite the fact that the world surrounding them is filled with tons of insignificant minor roles. Joong-Pil is a great main character. Even if he's a complete moron for 80% of the movie, you can't help but hope that everything works out. He was played by Ryu Seung-Bum, who was pretty much perfect in the role. He handled the balance between exaggerated, comical tough guy and someone who was slowly learning that he doesn't have to talk smack all the time well. His "romance" with the young and slightly dorky Min-Hee isn't a forced addition to the movie. It doesn't try incessantly to make the audience swoon, and it's really more of an awkward thing to watch Joong-Pil go through.

The rest of the cast fits in pretty well too. The women are hot and do a disturbingly good job of being complete bitches (was that acid being thrown? Wow). The exception to the rule is Im Eun-Kyung (RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL), who is cute and innocent, yet she doesn't back down to the girls that bully her (even more so after she becomes entangled with Joong-Pil). She's in high contrast to pretty much all of Joong-Pil's big talk features, and it's really fun to watch him awkwardly go out of his way to get close to her.

The rival Sang-Mahn is introduced in the same way as Joong-Pil was in the beginning, taking out a whole Judo squad in another unbelievable flashback told as a rumor by a bunch of students. This fight scene and the one mentioned earlier are two of the few moments of action (aside from the climax), and they're completely off the wall and cartoony as hell. Director Cho Keun-Sik executes these scenes nicely, and since they're such obvious tall tales brought to life, the use of some very awkward and rubbery CG doesn't really make a difference.

There are a lot of memorable moments in the movie that keep popping up in my head long after I stopped watching. Dork-for-hire Young-Mahn helping out Joong-Pil and co.'s "media company" by drawing pictures of anime characters (like Captain Harlock and Mazinger Z, but not together you sickos!) having sex and selling them to kids around the school, Joong-Pil's hilarious means of intimidation, and the aforementioned over the top fight scenes all stick out long after the movie is over. It didn't seem like this movie was quite as popular when it came out as some other similar films that year, but this one is really on par with a good deal of Korean comedies out there.

CONDUCT ZERO may not have been everyone's first choice for Korean films being domesticated by US companies, but it's a good thing that they didn't pass it up. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it's a good, dumb comedy that's fit for some random entertainment, and houses a much more successful blend of comedy, drama, and a bit of action than most.