Tazza: One-Eyed Jack
Regal Dole Cannery
Pupule rating 3.6 (out of 4)
Just about every Korean movie I've seen in the past year seems to have one common denominator that isn't so common elsewhere. You sin, you pay the penalty. It might be your life, but it might be only your finger, your arm, your foot. Sin begets sin in Tazza — pronounced TEK-jah — where loan sharks, degenerate gamblers and opportunistic swindlers mingle.
This could have gone really bad with the specter of an innocent mother orbiting around the world of five gambling culture fiends. A few spoilers here. The cast is intriguing most of the time, and the lead character falls into big-time trouble after his profitable, illegal night-time career — he really hates school — goes up in flames. Along the way, he learns that his deadbeat dad was a famous gambler. The pitfalls of that life harken back to his father's fate, and that in turn leads to one message of warning after another, even from the leader of the team of swindlers that Il joins.
I was stunned by the heaviness of the music, like this was produced by veterans of 1970s and '80s crime movies. But like most Korean dramas, the music takes a lighter, poppish vibe by the end. Maybe it was necessary. There aren't a lot of gory scenes, but the few that we witness cast an extremely dark shadow over this flick. If that's not enough, there are more beat-downs with various tools like baseball bats in this movie than anything I've seen since Game of Thrones, crazy war episode (pick 'em).
No matter my qualms. Tazza is shot wonderfully, the pace changes are welcome, and the string of very impressive films from Korea continues. Overall, this was entertaining, and the final scene, an epilogue, really, was so light, it felt like a TV drama. A very alluring TV comedy drama. I don't know about the previous two Tazza movies, or the TV show. But that's how good this was. As dark and gory as it was, even when it was in Lite mode, it was still entertaining and I wanted more. 'Nuff said.
Thumbs up to Regal Dole Cannery for bringing this in. Maybe they can give Consolidated Pearlridge West some competition for these fine Korean flicks.
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