One Line (2017)

Go into this movie with little to no expectations...

Go into this movie with little to no expectations , now by this I don't mean think of it lowly I just mean don't have a pejustice about what to expect because it's a little different to a common crime movie in my opinion.

STORY
I admit that the story is slow in some parts and are less exciting , the comedy is rare and an acquired taste if I speak honestly but despite all these negatives I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
The ending was definitely my favourite of the whole movie as it was nicely done.

ACTING/CAST
The acting for the most was good casting was also good, no complaints but no overly amazing complements either.

MUSIC
As I say every time I more so focus on the story and cast but in my non-music-'newby'-knowledge the music was ok.

RE-WATCH VALUE
I feel like if I somehow burned through my 'plan to watch list' (its huge) then I probably would watch this again but it'd have to be when I forget a bit what happens so it's not fresh in my brain, leaving me bored.

OVERALL AND EXTRA

GENRES
It hits all the points in description but i'd also say there is a bit of bromance and family but not enough to add it into the description as they are like sub themes.

Over all it's definitely worthy of a watch.

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The movie has 2 major issues: it’s too long and there is not enough screen time for the last heist compared to all the set up done.

Don’t get me wrong though, I was still rather entertained. In a little bit over two hours One Line was able to present a rather well built underdog story, adding a redemption arc closer to the end. Min Jae? Not exactly a likable character at first. Or in the middle. Somehow they were able to pull off 180, and make me care for him by the end.

Sadly, movies centering around con artists are as good as the chemistry and bond between the members and the last heist they do, and here the movie failed. Honestly speaking, from the whole team, the only two characters that had a fun and interesting dynamic going on screen were Min Jae and Gi Tae. All the rest just showed up with little built up for the team work, even though most of the was just that - creating a setup for the last case.

I would say, the last 40 minutes of the movie were the best - that’s when the characters started to truly work together and I could sense they were on board with the plan. That said, the ending was slightly anticlimactic. They did not show enough of the preparation for the big scam, so it kind of happened before I was able to comprehend what was going on. Especially since before that, the pacing was rather slow.

Acting was good. I’d say Im Si Wan did what he could with this role, but his baby face slightly did not fit how the character was presenting himself in the 2nd half. Lee Dong Hwi did a great job, I wanted to punch him in the face whenever they showed him on screen.

Overall, if the movie was about 30 minutes shorter it would flow better, and the imbalance between the setup and the last case would be less evident. It’s not like it’s a deep psychological drama - it’s a con artist movie with rather one dimensional characters and predictable plot. It’s supposed to be fun and that’s that.

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