What seems to be a plain game of 바둑 (baduk) can turn out to be deadly, and with a sprinkle of revenge story, this is basically the movie's synopsis.

I don't have any prior knowledge with baduk. I don't know what I was getting into watching this film except that I just want to watch Jung Woo-sung in my screen. In this movie, he may be playing a "nerdy" character but his body build is too obvious that he is strong physically, even on the first few minutes when his character seemed to be weak. Still, I just can't help but woo.

The introduction was just very gory to witness. The neck slashing, physical and emotional torture, and violence can make one turn off watching the rest of this movie. It really needs guts to be able to proceed watching the next scenes, since the amount of violence greatly increases later on.

When Tae-seok (Jung Woo-Sung) was released from jail after 7 years for being framed up on his brother's death, he was prepared to seek revenge. The preparation for said revenge was amply shown, and it followed several tactics and mind games used in the baduk game itself. I found it to be clever, but still understandable for those without baduk knowledge like me. The enactment of the first few revenge scenes which were parallel with how they did it to him and his brother was not only brutal, but very deserving of them. Yet despite the initial success and meticulous planning, it still doesn't go well with the plan.

Immense amount of machismo is present which is borderline excessive. The only notable female character Navel (Lee Si-young) had a flat storyline and the reason why she ended up indebted to Sal-soo (Lee Bum-soo) was not totally answered. Furthermore, the romance "plot" with Tae-seok, whether a part of the revenge or real romantic feelings were involved, was unneccesary to the story.

The movie's most exciting part which is the last game between Tae-seok and Sal-soo with the action scenes after, is the highlight by far. The pacing and tension of their every calculated move and the emotional manipulation on both sides were very suspenseful. I was surprised that it ended with a draw, as I thought that the "divine move" will be revealed here. Also, the camerawork (motions and angles) seen in the fighting scenes after that game reminded me of the iconic Oldboy fight scene and it was just very pleasant to watch, although it was very bloody and had overemphasis of stabbing and slashing.

Lastly, the open ending was quite okay though I thought that the second movie focused on this ending. A minor gripe was that Tae-seok could've gotten his nephew given his living situation and not just left him money (who knows how it will be used.) I was slightly disappointed that the "Ghost" that played with Tae-seok while he was at jail wasn't revealed (I thought it was Joo-nim/Drinking Christ) and the "divine move" wasn't really a move. Aside from what I mentioned, the story still ended amicably.

For those who want to watch a nice revenge story with carefully-revealed tactics and mind games (I actually wanted more) added with bloody yet brilliant fighting scenes, this movie is really for you. Please be noted that the script could've been elevated more and do not mistake it to be a simple sports movie, since it is more than that.