Review | The Plot movie review: Korean remake of Soi Cheang’s Accident too showy for its own good

The simplicity that made the 2009 Hong Kong thriller work is lost in Lee Yo-sup’s glossy remake, which is overcomplicated and lacks substance

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Gang Dong-won as Young-il, the troubled leader of a gang of assassins, in a still from The Plot (category IIB; Korean).

James Marsh

Published: 5:15pm, 1 Jul 2024

2/5 stars

Hong Kong director Soi Cheang Pou-soi’s 2009 thriller Accident wields a premise so effective in its simplicity that it could unfold almost anywhere. The only real surprise is that it has taken 15 years for the first international remake to emerge, and it comes not from Hollywood but from South Korea.

In the original film, Louis Koo Tin-lok plays the leader of a gang that stages elaborate assassinations made to look like accidents. When a member of his own team is killed on the job, he becomes consumed by distrust and paranoia.

Gang Dong-won (Broker) assumes the role of troubled architect of death Young-il in Lee Yo-sup’s Korean reinterpretation, The Plot.

【前導預告】《意外》The Plot｜7月4日上映死因有可疑

When first introduced, Young-il’s team – comprising Lee Mi-sook’s ageing femme fatale, Lee Hyun-wook’s transvestite, and Tang Jun-sang’s rookie – are still reeling from the death of a teammate (Lee Jong-suk).

The situation is made worse by the high-profile nature of their next target, a prominent political figure (played by Kim Hong-pa), whose daughter (played by Jung Eun-chae) wants him sidelined permanently.