As an episode of the television show Leverage, The Con Artists would have been an average episode without any character development. As a stand alone movie, it failed to deliver the fun adrenaline rush a heist movie should give.

Full disclosure I like Kim Woo Bin. Sadly, his performance, for me, lacked the sex appeal and energy required for the leader of the con artists. This movie almost solely focused on his character, Ji Hyuk, putting a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. The other two members of the team were relegated to comic relief and subterfuge. Ko Chang Seok made the most of his role, but it felt like he was there simply to give credibility to Ji Hyuk. Lee Hyun Wu as the hacker didn't have enough to do to make me care about his character. Kim Yeong Cheol as the villain lacked the menacing presence to be threatening. All of the police were cardboard bland and lent little to the story. The characters overall were thinly drawn, even Ji Hyuk which left me unable to connect with or invest in any of them. The FL Jo Yoon Hee was thrown into the mix as an ill conceived love interest. The romance had no development and just felt thrust into the story like, "wouldn't any woman instantly fall in love with KWB?"

The plot twists could be seen from a mile/km away, it wanted to be more clever than it was. The OST felt generic and uninspired. Basic is the word that comes to mind when I try to describe the plot. It's a heist movie, there should be biting humor, a certain cool factor, and a sense of urgency to the unfolding plot. Instead of a rollercoaster ride I got a merry-go-round.

There was never any sense of danger or excitement, the Con Artists was a perfectly fine tv episode, but could not measure up to the plethora of heist movies on the market. Sorry, KWB, I'm still rooting for you.






7/22/22