"...I can't tell if you're a policeman or a gangster."
Kyung-gu Sol is an out of control homicide detective. Late one night while casually taking a shit in the middle of a sidewalk (I told you this dude was out of control...I ain't never seen Dirty Harry drop a dirty deuce on a public sidewalk!), Sol bumps into a serial killer and falls back into his own crap. Nobody makes Sol touch a pile of steamy poo-poo and gets away with it. Not even a serial killer. They get into a tussle, but the killer slashes Sol's face and runs away. Soon some bodies are discovered near the spot of the sidewalk shitting and Sol is on the case!
I liked PUBLIC ENEMY. The scenes of Sol acting like a maniac are entertaining, but the 138 minute runtime is just too long. There could have easily been 20 minutes chopped off, especially towards the beginning. Honestly, the story could have been changed around some and have the movie start with the sidewalk crapping scene. Instead, it was 50 minutes into the movie! I'm not going to bore you with a list of changes I would have made to the film, instead, I'll just say: if you like crazy, out of control cop movies, then you should definitely check out PUBLIC ENEMY.
Good acting, adequate violence, entertaining characters, banana versus chainsaw fight, bizarre mood swings in the story (example: horror movie level kill scene then an Ace Ventura-style montage featuring the murder suspect out jogging when suddenly Sol jogs up next to him and the suspect speeds away; the serial killer laughing at Sol getting into a fight with the owner of a convenience store who doesn't appreciate him climbing into a ice cream freezer on a hot afternoon, etc.), Sol's family shown once towards the beginning of the film and then never seen ever again, inconsistent pacing, no substantial females roles, the word "asshole" used at least 50 times, confusing ending, upbeat and out of place music, non-stop horrible police work and abuse of power.
Part 2 - Another Public Enemy (2005)
Part 3 - Public Enemy Returns (2008)
