FANTASTIC FEST: ‘I, The Executioner’ Is More Than A Sequel

A follow-up to Veteran, which was released nearly ten years ago, I The Executioner returns audiences to Seo Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min), a member of the Major Crimes Unit and a professional at catching perpetrators. He’s less curmudgeonly on the whole. Seo and his team work to capture a serial murderer as a series of violent deaths of violent criminals proves that it’s all connected. However, with streamers having already captured Seo and his team’s faces, they rely on Jung Hae-in‘s Park Sun-woo, an officer whose MMA experience has given him the nickname UFC patrolman.

With top-notch action, perfectly timed humor, and a dynamic duo, Hwang and Ryoo Seung-wan‘s return to action is steeped in practical effects that rely on his actors to showcase their physicality with expert efficiency. I don’t have words that adequately describe how exciting it was to see my favorite drama-leading man stress his antagonistic muscles in I The Executioner. Jung Hae-in showcases an astounding physicality and charismatic ability to manipulate as Sun-woo, which balances against Hwang Jung-min’s Do-cheol.

Sun-woo is a brutal fighter. Every attempt to catch a perpetrator is brash, loud, and unrestrained. While the other police officers in the film may talk about being okay with roughing up a murderer, actor Jung’s Sun-woo takes it to another level. Having seen Jung Hae-in in other police officers’ roles, like While You Were Sleeping, is a jarring departure from his usual path. But that works. Fans of Jung’s filmography across dramas will get the most from his unrestrained performance.

That said, actor Hwang isn’t outdone. Instead, Hwang is a veteran actor with all the power that you’d expect. He meets Jung’s physicality at his own pace, highlighting their different ages and skills, but always compliments them. At the center of the film’s conflict from beginning to end, Do-cheol’s priorities as a father and husband come into direct contact with his life as a Major Crimes Unit detective, and it pays off in crafting an effortlessly relatable lead.

I The Executioner is a strong actioner driven by Hwang and Jung, but it’s also deeply comedic. Without ever leaning too far into the land of camp and excess, I The Executioner uses physical comedy to accent its stark needle drops and moments of humor between friends that drive the film into comfortable territory. You laugh and fall into the character relationships, and that belief works well to pad the action hits that grow increasingly more brutal.

The choices made in ADR for accenting every hit with a weighty bone crunch and the sheer number of times someone is thrown through something, smashed into something, or rag-dolled across a path are expertly done. On top of that, I The Executioner features two of the most kinetic fight sequences in actioners this year. The first is a bone-crunching and face-smashing fall downstairs in Seoul that begins with a hint of humor and morphs into something more savage. The second is a rooftop fight in the rain, with both Hwang and Jung sliding into punches and showcasing artistry for a movement that highlights the fight choreography.

While the film’s mystery is easily unraveled, it’s a ride worth taking. Those who watched last year’s The Killing Vote will find some traditional nods to retribution killings and the attempts to justify executions by popular demand. That said, the film’s resolution and finale allow it to pick apart the flaws in vigilante justice and the selfish ends it always leads to. Clunky in execution, it’s hard to take issue with Hwang or Jung’s absolute killer performances as two halves of a whole.

I The Executioner may be a sequel, but the truth is that it’s so much more than that. It exists nearly perfectly on its own. Sure, it’s made better with the context behind Do-cheol’s family life, but the truth is that Jung Hae-in and Hwang Jung-min are an action duo I would keep paying to see time and time again. They balance each other, and it all pays off in the film’s rousing finale. Ryoo’s directorial return to action is unmatched.

I The Executioner screened as part of Fantastic Fest 2024, which doesn’t currently have US distribution.