The Story

Min Heedo is a struggling artist who has nothing in his life but his girlfriend (played by Eun-Seong) and his fabulous paintings. One day he receives a strange phone call offering him the chance to earn billions shortly followed by a visit from a wealthy woman to confirm the offer. Min Hee Do puzzled by this strange offer decided to take the lady up on this offer so goes with her to the mansion to satisfy his curiosity.

Here he meets Kang No-Sik (Byeon Hee-Bong) the incredibly wealthy chairman of a Korean financial company; No-Sik offers Min-HeeDo the chance of a lifetime. Play a simple game and if you win – take the billions on the table. Of course Min-HeeDo must offer something of equal value for the game to be worthwhile to both parties; No-Siks suggests that Min-HeeDo offer his body. Min-HeeDo believing this is some practical joke instantly gets up and promptly leaves!

Suddenly Min Hee Do receives a disturbing phone call from his girlfriend. She is in danger; loan sharks are at her home to collect what they are owed. Min Hee Do quickly runs to her aid but is soon greeted with kicks and punches to the face and the ultimatum “Get us the money in 3 days or else” Min Hee Do believing his girlfriends’ life is now in danger quickly runs back to see No-Sik.

The game is on.

What is the Game?

The game is simple. Each person picks a number at random and then the complete phone number is dialled. The participants must then guess the gender of the person who will answer the call. Whoever guesses correct is the winner. Simple!

It’s here than you realise that this is the same game No-Sik and his friend played on Hee-Do earlier on in the film.

If Hee-Do wins then he takes the billions, if he loses then he becomes slave to No-Sik.

Of course No-Sik wins the game and quickly goes about making Hee-Do a slave, a slave to his body. Luckily being one of the richest men in the world as its perks, as No-Sik happens to also employ the best neurosurgeon in the world and a sophisticated surgery right in his home(unlucky for Hee Do!). The surgeons quickly get to work with swapping the brains of No-Sik and Hee-Do into different bodies… (FACE OFF KOREAN STYLE!)

Here lies a huge failure of the film. After the operation we are lead to believe that Hee-Do as been kept in the mansion for over a month in order to get used to his new elderly body. But the sense of time never truly comes across; because of this the actions that follow never quite make sense.

It’s hard to believe that a man like Hee-Do who had a caring girlfriend and lived with his uncle would not have been missed? If the writer and director had spent some time during this segment of the film to focus on Hee-Dos loved ones hunt for him then maybe it would have been easier to equate some time to Hee-Do’s stay in the mansion. Sadly the writers did not do this and you are left feeling as though the writers simply rushed though this part of the film and ultimately damaged the films story to point of no return.

Body Swap

The rest of the film Hee-Do needs to convince his uncle that the man in front of him is in fact Hee-Do and not some crazy elderly guy. Of course Hee-Do finds a way to convince him and the two of them plot ways in which Hee-Do can get his body back.

In the meantime No-Sik is busy enjoying his new body (girls and drinking – the first things you would most likely do if you were given the chance to relive your youth again…)

Sadly all of this is kept afloat by an incredibly flaky script and the weak development of key pivotal supporting characters. Little screen time is given to No-Sik’s wife who’s key to Hee-Do’s plans.

The one bright spark in this film is Eun-Seong. He has this ability to shine in any role he is given, no matter how poor the script is.

I’ve been a fan of his since I first watched him in ‘Sympathy for Mr Vengeance’; my support for him grew once more after watching his fabulous performance in ‘Saving the Green Planet’. For me Eun-Seong can do no wrong (and in my opinion is one of the top actors in Korea today). He seems to work hard no matter what the challenge is. ‘The Devils Game’ is no different. Even given the poor script and overall weak story, Eun-Seong really does shine and every time he’s on screen he’s a joy to watch.

In previous films Eun-Seong’s had the good fortune to be working with great scripts therefore making his job easier. But this must have been a real challenge for him and given the circumstances I would rate this as one of his best performances to date. Whilst playing No-Sik in Hee-Dos body he really does come across as an overly confidence rich man with the world in his pocket. One of the highlights must be the speech he gives the bamboozled members of his company when he tells them that he will be taking over the company from his “father”.

Not to say there aren’t other highlights during this film.

Hee-Do’s uncle, played by Min Tae Seok (played by Son Hyeon-Joo) adds some must needed comedic relief to the film. And despite the weak character development of No-Sik’s wife, Lee Hye Yeong brings much to the role, although her screen time is very limited her impact on the film is great.

But it’s Eun-Seong who just manages to upgrade this film from mediocre to just above average.

The Ending

When it was released this film got very mixed reviews and many questioned the need for the disillusioned ending. To be honest if what followed before was more coherent then the ending could have worked. But sadly all the ending did was over complicate a story which had not fully developed when we finally reached its conclusion.  It’s a shame, as the film had the ingredients necessary to make this another Korean gem, but the writers seem to have rushed through major elements so it never quite works.

Note: I have my own take on what I think the ending means so head over to the forums for my dissection of the ending.

The Upshot

It’s obvious that this film is about greed, and what people will do for money, Hee-Do gambling his life for money, His uncles gambling problems, His girlfriends need to turn to loan sharks in order to keep her business afloat. And of course No-Sik who although he has all the money in the world does not have a healthy body in order to enjoy it.

Ultimately “The Devil’s Game” just doesn’t work. Granted this is a film which brings out a great performance from Eun-Seong but sadly unless you are a fan of Eun-Seong, I don’t think this is film worth going out of your way to purchase.

For fans of Eun-Seong this really is a must watch. He is fantastic in this film and although the overall film may not be up to his usual standard I don’t think this film will do anything to harm his already splendid reputation for truly making the audiences believe the characters he becomes.

Eun-Seong – A+

The Devils Game – C

[Rating:3/5]

Worth a Rent.