Kim Kyung-ho is fired unjustly from his job at the university and as he searches for justice discovers that is not so easy to get it. He then decides to make a visit to the judge that dismissed his case... with a crossbow. The judge is shot, Kim Kyung-ho is detained and he decides to hire a new lawyer, a drunkard, quite the cynic, to help him in his new trial.
Based on real facts, Unbowed is quite interesting, but it just follows the legal thriller formula, which hurts the movie, as it makes a compelling case seem a TV movie of the week. The direction is good enough, and the actors (specially Kim Kyung-ho's Sung-kee Ahn, who you will hate while respecting his search for justice and following the rules) do a good job. But the pace suffers from a lack of focus and only in the last part seems to find its footing. Here is where it shows how the movie could have been, and really makes Kim Kyung-ho's search worthwhile.
Based on real facts, Unbowed is quite interesting, but it just follows the legal thriller formula, which hurts the movie, as it makes a compelling case seem a TV movie of the week. The direction is good enough, and the actors (specially Kim Kyung-ho's Sung-kee Ahn, who you will hate while respecting his search for justice and following the rules) do a good job. But the pace suffers from a lack of focus and only in the last part seems to find its footing. Here is where it shows how the movie could have been, and really makes Kim Kyung-ho's search worthwhile.