Review: It’s very refreshing to see a great Korean comedy that doesn’t evolve around the Jopok (Korean Gangster) universe. I’m surprised that there’s not that much talk about this great movie and I hope that my review will hit your interest enough to try to take a look at this film.

Steal It If You Can is at first glance a very light comedy, nothing too much to expect but when all the elements of the story are in place, the movie turns into something very unique. Unusual story setting with great comedy, very cool characters and a good dose of action, there’s no doubt about it; this production cannot come from any other country than Korean. Korean filmmakers really have great ideas when it comes to put uniqueness in a story, well just read the synopsis of the movie and you will know what I mean. Apparently that the story of Steal It If You Can has been inspired by a true event that happened in Japan before. I cant confirm that it’s true but I can tell you that the movie is far from what could happen in real life as both main characters are very eccentric and stubborn in a over the top kind of way.

The movie didn’t have a much success at the time of release, which is very surprising as the movie has that commercial feeling all over it. Of course this kind of characteristic never means assured success but to pass almost unnoticed is very surprising.

The main reason why the movie is so fun to follow is because of the imaginative ideas yes, but also because of the two main characters. Park Sang-Myeon plays the rich owner perfectly, he often plays that kind of sore looser character who tries to overcome his poor situation. The thief is played by So Ji-seop, which I think is his first main role in a feature film. At first, he gave me the feeling of a secondary actor but it didn’t take me too long to change my opinion. He might be not the most charismatic Korean actor but his action scenes were pretty impressive and his acting skills are good enough to play the role of the thief perfectly.

There’s a really good dose of humor and action all along the movie. In fact there’s not that much slow moment in the movie as there’s always something interesting going on. The main points of the movie are of course the confrontation of the two characters. Ko Sang-tae is always trying a new plan to catch the thief but Choi Kang-jo is always ahead of him with his acrobatic skills and thief gadgets. However, don’t expect any incredible fight scenes as the movie doesn’t take it-self seriously, the action is much more a melting-pot of stunts and comedy.

As for the humor itself, it is much closer to the slapstick genre than the subtle style. In fact the comedy is probably the less successful aspect of the movie. Not that the movie is not funny, but most of the joke are a bit too foreseeable or childish. However, it doesn’t mean that the movie is not funny; it’s just that I’m sure that they could have done much better on that side.

Even if the jokes are a bit too easy, they still have something that makes us laugh and that is the visual aspect. A lot of time we see what the characters are thinking and the director really know how to make the visuals appealing and funny, that is what really saved the humor of the movie.