TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
mr_popcorn
"In December, Big Sister is arriving from Hong Kong."Aryoung is sent away from her homeland of Hong Kong by her father . Her father is a powerful gang leader that is in the midst of a major power struggle. He is worried about the safety of Aryoung and thus gives her the choice to stay in another country until things settle down in Hong Kong. Aryoung picks South Korea, mainly because her mother is Korean and now lives somewhere in that country.When Aryoung arrives at the Incheon airport, three Korean gang members are there waiting for her. The gangsters were assigned to protect Aryoung by their Korean boss. Unfortunately the three unwitting gangsters were not informed of Aryoung's background, nor are they aware that the person the would have take care of is a woman. Aryoung can't speak Korean and the gangsters can't speak Chinese. Thus an uncomfortable acquaintance period is endured until the gangsters hire a Chinese translator. The gangsters soon learn that Aryoung has quite a few more surprises behind her pretty appearance. One of the funniest foreign films that I've seen so far and most probably, one of the best Korean films that I've seen but that really isn't something because I haven't seen a lot of Korean films, only Taegukgi comes to mind so this easily takes one of the top spots. Take note that I haven't seen the previous two installments so my review of this film is purely a stand alone and not in any way will it be judged and compared to the previous two films. My Wife is a Gangster 3 is a movie that blended comedy and action really well. The comedy are courtesy of the three lovable gangster wannabes who were assigned to protect the Wife, portrayed by Shu Qi, but it turns out they were the ones that needed protection. The action mostly came from Shu Qi and if you put these characters together you get a hysterical laugh-out-loud fest that won't stop until it ends. Add to that the blossoming romance subplot involving lead gangster wannabe Ki-Chul and the Wife and you get an impressive K-flick that's worth the watch.
DICK STEEL
Director Cho Jin-gyu of the original action-comedy My Wife is a Gangster returns to direct this sequel. However, without the return of the titular Wife Cha Eun-jin (Shin Eun-Kyung), this movie is nothing more than just a namesake, but there's no stopping the linkage with the box office success of the earlier movies. The new Wife here (though she's actually a guest rather than a Wife) is none other than sultry looking Shu Qi, who plays Aryong, the daughter of a triad leader (what else) in Hong Kong, starring Ti Lung in a supporting role.There are some bits shot in Hong Kong, and in the Cantonese language, which is all fine and dandy (given it's rare here to hear complete Cantonese dialogue in movies no thanks to the Speak Mandarin campaign), but what was bad in these scenes were the plenty of subtitles - in English, Mandarin and Korean, which cover almost 50% of the screen. As the story goes, Aryong offends some gangsters in her homeland, and in a bid to ensure her safety, her father gets her packing overseas to take cover from the impending gangland war. She gets packed to where else, Korea (it's a Korean production after all), and becomes a guest to some Korean mafiaso, with Ki-Chul (Lee Beom-su) and his posse being the hosts and guardians of Aryong. But with the bumbling inept fools, you're quite certain who's the protector, and who's in need of protection here.It's a fairly average movie with the usual lost in translation jokes, the clashing of cultures and of course, societal norms in a male dominated society. Mistaken intentions and deliberate translation errors to pursue individual character ends are the staple here, and some of them are genuinely funny, but like the adage, too much of a good thing cheapens it, especially when it continues to milk and replay scenes, such as over the dining table. You can see most of the jokes coming your way, and it depended very much on the actors' skill in delivery - that exaggerated body language, or that wide-eyed stare of disbelief and suspicion.The action sequences are nothing much to wow about, especially with Shu Qi's superwoman Aryong character, who's almost only the character here who can fight. Given the number of goons thrown at her, you can't help but feel that many action scenes remind you of The Bride in Kill Bill, as she dispatches henchmen with so much ease, she rarely breaks into a sweat. And most times, with that deliberate long hair obscuring her face, you can bet your last dollar it's a stuntman taking over that lithe frame.Some cheap shots were incorporated into the storyline, playing to Shu Qi's ex-vamp, slutty image of yesteryears. Guess you can't help it when you have some notoriety in your history, and scenes of boob grabs and woman-on-top staircase-induced gyrating scenes were in the movie quite unnecessarily, if nothing more for some juvenile laughs.But all said, it's still a tad enjoyable, especially when you can't get tickets into the other blockbuster movies like Transformers and Die Hard 4.0 currently showing. Sometimes, movies like this when released at the same time of the expected sold-out movies, makes its cash by being the catch-all net from the expected overflow.
hellbent_64
When I watched this movie, I expected a continuation from the 2nd movie, not having previously read that Eun-Kyung Shin was either pregnant or replaced. As the other commenter noted, this film was/may have been been bought out by Miramax. This movie was good, but I expected the story to connect to the 2nd at some point, and left me puzzled. After an hour and a half, I realized that something was wrong. No Eun-Kyung Shin, no Zhang Ziyi. This movie could have been named something else entirely. Instead it is a totally different movie loosely based on gangsters, a strong female lead that can kick butt, and a goofy guy. I gave it a 6/10.
raymond-lanier
The first comment is just one opinion. Now I'm giving you another. Miramax didn't buy the rights to the movie series for nothing! Jopog manura 1 & 2 were excellent! I was very disappointed to find out that Eun-Kyung Shin was no longer in the lead role. To put Qi Shu as the lead "Americanized" the film. Qi Shu was good in "So Close" but in this role where she's filling the shoes of a very strong actress. She just doesn't cut it. In my opinion, she's not that great. When you have a winning formula why change it? The movie execs should have done everything they could to keep Eun-Kyung Shin in this movie. Sissors and all! If you can, pick up Jopog manura 1 and 2 to enjoy yourself!
