Overview of The Roundup: No Way Out

‘The Roundup: No Way Out’ is the third sequel in the South Korean detective movie series ‘Crime City Series’. The hero, detective Ma Seok-do is after a murder mystery of a lady after seven years with a new team. The autopsy report of the lady points out the emergence of the dangerous drug mafias in the city.

Hiper is a harmful and pricey drug which is in high demand in Seoul. Ma Seok-do’s investigation takes him to various gangsters dealing with drugs and finally helps him arrest the black sheep.

Ma Dong-seok plays the role of detective Ma Seok-do while Lee Joon-hyuk and Munetaka Aoki play the negative roles of Joo Sung-chul and Riki respectively. The movie was released on 31 May 2023 and is directed by Lee Sang-yong. The first sequel of the crime series, ‘The Outlaws’ was released in 2017 and was directed by Kang Yoon-sung. The second sequel of the Crime City Series, ‘The Roundup’ was released on 18 May 2022.

Profile

• Name: ‘The Roundup: No Way Out’
• Genre: Action, Crime Thriller, Drama
• Starring: Ma Dong-seok, Lee Joon-hyuk, Munetaka Aoki
• Directed by: Lee Sang-yong
• Produced by: Ma Dong-seok
• Distributed by: ABO Entertainment
• Production Companies: Bigpunch Pictures, Hong Film, B.A. Entertainment
• Running time: 105 minutes
• Release date: 31 May 2023
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Cast

• Ma Dong-seok as Ma Seok-do
• Lee Joon-hyuk as Joo Sung-chul
• Munetaka Aoki as Riki
• Kim Min-jae as Kim Man-jae
• Lee Beom-soo as Jang Tae-soo
• Ko Kyu-pil as Chorong
• Lee Ji-hoon as Yang Jong-soo
• Choi Dong-gu as Hwang Dong-goo
• Jeon Seok-ho as Kim Yang-ho
  
• Lee Se-ho as Gong Tae-il
  
• Lee Tae-kyu as Masa
• Bae Noo-ri as Mimi
• Han Kyu-won as Kim Yong-guk
• Hong Joon-young as Maha
• An Se-ho as Tomokawa Ryo
• Kang Yoon as Kimu Hiroshi
• Choi Woo-jun as Lee Kang-ho
• Jun Kunimura as Ichizo
  
• Shim Young-eun as Chairman Jin
  
• Park Ji-hwan as Jang I-soo
• Lee Jin-han
• Yeon Ye-rim
• Park Sang-nam
• Go Gun-han
• Bae So-young
• Lee Hye-ji
• Kim Min

Synopsis

Ma Seok-do, after seven years, joins the Metropolitan Investigation Squad to investigate the murder case of a lady called Go Sun-hee. Ma Seok-do’s investigation takes the case beneath its shallow level, and the investigation squad encounters drug mafias.

The autopsy report of Go Sun-hee states her addiction to the drug ‘Hiper’. The information about the drug takes Ma Seok-do to a nightclub where he learns more about the drug mafia involved. By questioning the nightclub’s president, Ma Seok-do gets the details about the drug dealer named Hiroshi.

Hiroshi is a Yakuza member who supplies Hiper. Seok-do’s team schemes to take Hiroshi into custody for further investigation. The plan goes well and Hiroshi gets captured by the investigation team with 20 kilos of Hiper as evidence.

However, the 20 kilos of Hiper seized from Hiroshi is not safe in the custody, since a cop named Joo Sung-chul steals it for a syndicate called White Shark Clan. Also, the cop kills Hiroshi. To recover the stolen Hiper, Yakuza group appoints a cutthroat called Riki. Riki assassinates Tomo, whom Ma Seok-do is secretly spying on. Tomo’s death creates a tornado among the drug mafias.

Ma Seok-do schemes up another plan to catch the culprits. Through an ally named Cho Rong-i, Ma Seok-do manages to make a drug deal with Joo Sung-chul. Smelling the trap, Joo Sung-chul revokes his agreement with Ma Seok-do and approaches Riki.

As per the contract, Riki catches Ma Seok-do. Meanwhile, Joo Sung-chul escapes with the Hiper. Ma Seok-do under Riki’s custody fights with him and finally beats him. Ma Seok-do then goes after Joo Sung-chul by tracking him using the secret tracking device installed in his bag.

The police arrest Joo Sung-chul for his involvement with the drug mafia. Likewise, they trace down the Yakuza members and arrest them for being involved in illegal drug activities. To celebrate the successful completion of the investigation, Ma Seok-do’s team hosts a party. The post-credit scene at the end of the movie shows Ma Seok-do committing another case and seeks the help of Jang I-soo.

Theme

In the background of a murder mystery, Ma Seok-do’s investigation seeps into the hidden drug distribution in South Korea and it is found that even the employees in the police department are corrupt. For money, the cops ignore the illegal drug dealings which happen in the city. The character of Joo Sung-chul is pictured as the most corrupted cop in the movie since he kills the drug dealer in custody and steals the evidence to help the White Shark Clan.

The greed of Joo Sung-chul makes him to ally with the drug dealers even though he is a cop. His greed provokes him to escape with Hiper several times. This movie marks greed as the worst quality possessed by mankind. Hence, the film exposes the human nature of backstabbing out of greed and causing bloodshed.

Furthermore, the movie discusses the impacts of the illegal drug trade on society and the commoners who live in it. Though there are a lot of bloodshed and fight scenes in the movie, many of the scenes are a combination of humour and violence.

Awards

No information is available.

Interesting Facts about The Roundup: No Way Out

1. Ma Dong-seok produced the movie.
2. This is the third film in the ‘Crime City Series’.
3. The ‘Crime City Series’ is a detective movie series starring Ma Dong-seok as detective Ma Seok-do.
4. ‘The Outlaws’ directed by Kang Yoon-sung is the first movie in the ‘Crime City Series’.
5. ‘The Roundup’ is the second film in the ‘Crime City Series’.
6. The films ‘The Roundup: No Way Out’ and ‘The Rpundup’ are directed by Lee Sang-yong.
7. A fourth sequel in the ‘Crime City Series’ is anticipated to be released in 2024.
8. Ma Dong-seok announced the completion of the filming of this movie through his Instagram account.
   

FAQs

1. When is the film ‘The Roundup: No Way Out’ released?
   31 May 2023.
2. Who produced ‘The Roundup: No Way Out’?
   Lee Sang-yong is the director of the movie.
3. What is the Instagram ID of Ma Dong-seok?
   @donlee.
4. In which series is the film ‘The Roundup: No Way Out’ a part of?
   This movie is the third sequel in the Crime City Series.
5. Which are the movies in the Crime City Series?
   ‘The Outlaws’, ‘The Roundup’ and ‘The Roundup: No Way Out’ are the Crime City Series movies.
6. What is the Instagram ID of Lee Joon-hyuk?
   @leejunhyuk05