Overview of The Outlaws

‘The Outlaws’ is a South Korean crime action thriller released in 2017. The movie featuring Ma Dong-seok and Yoon Kye-sang in the lead roles is directed and written by Kang Yoon-sung.

The movie takes the audience to a crime case happening in 2004 where the celebrated Detective Ma Seok-do (Ma Dong-seok) goes after a loan shark called Jang-chen (Yoon Kye-sang) and simultaneously tries to maintain the peace in the city by controlling the Chinese-Korean gang wars. ‘The Outlaws’ is the first sequel in the ‘Crime City series’ followed by the other two sequels ‘The Roundup’ and ‘The Roundup: No Way Out‘.

Profile

• Name: The Outlaws
• Genre: Crime, Action, Thriller
• Starring: Ma Dong-seok, Yoon Kye-sang, Jo Jae-yoon, Choi Gwi-hwa
• Directed by: Kang Yoon-sung
• Written by: Kang Yoon-sung
• Produced by: Yoo Yeong-chae
• Production Companies: Hong Film, B.A. Entertainment
• Cinematography: Ju Sung-lim, Kim Yong-seong
• Distributed by: Megabox Plus M
• Edited: Kim Sun-min, Hwang Eun-ju
• Running time: 121 minutes
• Release date: 3 October 2017
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Cast 

• Ma Dong-seok as Ma Seok-do
• Yoon Kye-sang as Jang Chen
• Oh Min-ae as Garibong-dong female merchant
• Cho Jin-woong as Chief of the Regional police investigation unit
• Jung In-gi as Chief of police
• Yoon Joo as Kang Hong-seok’s fiancee
• Jin Seon-kyu as Wei Chengluo
• Jo Jae-yoon as Boss Hwang Choon-sik
• Uhm Ji-sung as Wang-oh
• Choi Gwi-hwa as Captain Jeon Il-man
• Im Hyung-joon as Do Seung-woo
• Heo Sung-tae as Ahn Sung-tae / Viper
• Ye Jung-hwa as Airport head
• Yoo Ji-yeon as Ahn Hye-kyeong
• Min Kyung-jin as Yeon Gil Restaurant CEO
• Ha Jun as Kang Hong-seok
• Kim Sung-kyu as Yang Tai
• Kim Gu-taek as CEO Kwak
• Park Sang-gyu as CEO Won
• Hong Ki Joon as Park Byeong-sik
• Heo Dong-won as Oh Dong-gyoon
• Park Ji-hwan as Zhang Yishuai

Synopsis

A ruthless loan shark called Jang Chen and his men from China have planted their roots in the neighbourhood of Seoul’s Chinatown, threatening the peacefully composed state of Seoul City. Jang Chen and his two merciless henchmen, Wei Sung-rak and Yang-tae, make their gang, Black Dragon. Black Dragon is a very dangerous gang and does every heartless act to get back the money that they lent. Black Dragon plans to wipe out the native gangs from their area to widen their territory and to become the ultimate power in the area.

Meanwhile, Ma Seok-do, the most vigilant and talented detective, is trying to restore peace in the city, which has been disturbed due to the wars between Ahn Sung-Tae’s Venom Gang and Jang-I-Soo’s Cobra Gang. Taking advantage of the turbulent atmosphere, Black Dragon executes its strategy to conquer the territory.

Black Dragon takes command of Jang-I-soo’s casino and kills Sung-tae. The defeated Jang-I-soo attacks the casino to bring down Black Dragon. However, Ma Seok-do breaks into the fight scene and captures Black Dragon’s trusted henchman, Sung-rak. From the mess created, Yang-tae manages to escape and inform Jang Chen about the news of Sung-rak’s arrest.

Ma Seok-do and his superior, Captain Jeon Il-man, learn about the intrusion of the powerful gang Black Dragon in the city. Jang Chen and Yang-tae resume their interrupted fight when Jang-I-soo and his henchmen at the birthday party of Jang-I-soo’s mother. The hotelier Hwang discovers Jang Chen’s hiding location. An angry Jang Chen marches into the hotel and kills some of Hwang’s employees. Jang Chen escapes the counter-attacks of Hwang’s men and later kills Hwang.

To trap Jang Chen, Ma Seok-do requests the cooperation of the people living in Chinatown. To help Ma Seok-do, people start capturing the photographs of gang members. Ma Seok-do and his man catch Yang-tae and the other gangsters, except Jang Chen. A brave police officer sees Jang Chen escaping and follows him. Jang Chen tries to kill the police officer by hitting him with his car. Luckily, Ma Seok-do rescues the police officer before Jang Chen kills him.

Ma Seok-do chases Jang Chen and reaches the airport from where Jang Chen intends to return to China. Ma Seok-do catches Jang Chen in the airport’s restroom. After a fight in the restroom, Ma Seok-do defeats Jang Chen and locks him in a handcuff. To celebrate the victory over the gangsters, Ma Seok-do and his teammates host a party. In between the party, Ma Seok-do gets a call from the commissioner regarding another case.

Theme

‘The Outlaws’ is an action thriller film about a case investigation by the famous detective Ma Seok-do. Though the movie is inspired from the real incidents that happened in the 2007 gang war in South Korea, its primary goal is to entertain people. Therefore, the film is tightly packed with stylish and exciting fight scenes. Also, the movie keeps its audience fever-pitched through its plot twists.

Additionally, the movie shows a cooperative society which helps the detectives to investigate the case and catch the gangsters.

Awards

• 37th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2017
  Top 10 Films
  Best New Director – Kang Yoon-sung
• 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards 2017
  Best Supporting Actor – Jin Seon-kyu
• 9th Korea Film Reporters Association Film Awards (KOFRA) 2018
  Best Supporting Actor – Jin Seon-kyu
• 54th Baeksang Arts Awards 2018
  Best New Director – Kim Yoon-sung
• 23rd Chunsa Film Art Awards 2018
  Best New Director – Kim Yoon-sung
• 18th Director’s Cut Awards 2018
  Best New Director – Kang Yoon-sung

Interesting Facts about The Outlaws

1. The filming of ‘The Outlaws’ began on 27 February 2017 and finished on 19 July 2017.
2. ‘The Outlaws’ is the first film in the movie sequel Crime City Series.
3. Besides ‘The Outlaws’, the second and third in the Crime City Series are ‘The Roundup’ (2022) and ‘The Roundup: No Way Out‘ (2023) respectively.
4. ‘The Outlaws’ was a box-office hit in South Korea marking the 3rd highest-grossing domestic film of the year.
5. ‘The Outlaws’ is an R-rated South Korean film.

FAQs

1. Who is the director of ‘The Outlaws’?
   Kang Yoon-sung is the director of ‘The Outlaws’.
   
2. What is the Instagram ID of Ma Dong-seok?
   @donlee.
3. When was the movie ‘The Outlaws’ released?
   3 October 2017.
   
4. Is the K-movie ‘The Outlaws’ based on true events?
   ‘The Outlaws’ is based on the gang war between a native gang and a Chinese gang that happened in 2007.
5. What is the Instagram ID of Yoon Kye-sang?
   @yoonkyesang.official.