REVIEW: ‘Officer Black Belt’ Brings A Surprising Balance To Its Narrative

Lee Jung-do (Kim Woo-bin, Black Knight) spends his days playing video games and training in various forms of combat in Officer Black Belt, written and directed by Kim Joo-hwan (Bloodhounds). Fixated on only doing the things he enjoys, Lee coasts through life, wanting nothing but to enjoy it to the fullest. But when a chance encounter sees him save a probation officer from a violent felon, Lee’s life takes an unexpected turn when he is asked to be a Martial Arts Officer helping to keep an eye on recently released violent felons.

The opening third of this movie establishes a tone reminiscent of a buddy cop comedy. Lee is paired with an experienced and passionate officer named Kim Seon-min (Kim Seong-gyoon, Divorce Attorney Shin), who shows him the ropes of the job. The two become fast friends as they diffuse a couple of potentially dangerous situations and bond over pork belly dinners after a hard day’s work.

Kim and Lee develop fantastic chemistry. Thanks to how well the actors play off each other, the audience can feel the bond forming between the two characters. With a couple of easy wins and some celebratory meals, Officer Black Belt brings warmth and fun to its story.

This changes at about the halfway point of the movie. When a violent sex offender is released from prison after serving his sentence, the film takes a dark turn. Almost immediately, the man returns to his old ways, lining up a job to provide videos for a dark web distributor involving himself and unwilling underage girls.

Even as I write this, part of me feels like this movie shouldn’t work. Shifting from the lighter vibe of the opening act to the darker and more violent tone of the back half should be a jarring move, especially when dealing with the nature of the crimes involved. However, the film uses the opening skillfully, enhancing the power of the movie’s back half.

At one point in Officer Black Belt, the police are dealt a crushing setback that leaves the situation in disarray. This moment forces Lee to realize the true nature of the work he does. The character feels the pain that comes with such dangerous work and relays skillfully to the viewer. As Lee hardens himself for what he has to do, the film shifts with him, making an impressive transition to the new tone it conveys.

Helping ease the narrative into this darker tone is a shred of light that comes along to keep Officer Black Belt’s story from becoming too dark. This brightness that never gets fully extinguished is instrumental in balancing Lee’s goals and motives in the movie’s back half. After Lee comes out of the crushing defeat that befalls him, it would be easy for him to slide into full vigilante mode, wanting to do nothing more than punish those who have hurt him. It would feel almost natural for his arc to take him in that direction if not for this one spark of hope the story wisely leaves him with it. This focus point helps temper his character, reminding him he can accomplish good without crossing that final line.

As the name would imply, Officer Black Belt features numerous fight sequences. Much like the rest of the movie, the tone of these fights shifts as the film progresses to accommodate the rest of the movie. In the early fights, Lee’s vast training time makes his confrontations with his opponents laughable. He sweeps his first couple of opponents aside with little effort and more than a bit of playfulness. As the film goes on, the fights become harder, and the brutality grows with them. While no fight ever enters the realm of shocking in its displays of injury, the combatants’ increased drive and relentlessness ratchet up the intensity nicely.

Officer Black Belt does a surprisingly good job balancing its fun opening with its darkly themed back half. Great chemistry between its core cast and solid fight work make this movie a strong film worth checking out.

Officer Black Belt is streaming now on Netflix.