Carter: Bloodbath

To describe the extended action sequence and stunt showcase that is Carter as bloody is an understatement. Within the first 15 minutes alone, our amnesiac/brain-tampered hero (Joo Won) has slaughtered a spa full of Japanese thugs with a scythe. Once he's jumped out of that building (not his first escape, dear viewer), he moves on to hand-to-hand combat, first with a white guy; then with a black one. It's only then that we learn what's going on: He's the muscle for an intricate plan to rescue a young girl (Kim Bo-min) whose the sole source of antibodies for a wide-spreading zombie virus. Further biographical details are shared when a U.S. operative reads his profile to him (and us) during a brief moment of captivity.

Oh yes, Americans as well as North Koreans can be bad guys here. Where do I go? What do I do? For stretches, Carter's answers come largely from an implanted earpiece that also instructs him step by step as if he were living in a video game. But when his molar explodes or he falls out of a pilot-less airplane, this parttime puppet is going to have to rely on his instincts and his training. Both serve him well. The freefall battle between him and one particularly deranged opponent is like nothing you've ever seen, right down to the paraglided landing in the back of a pickup truck full of hogs. As for who our man on a mission impossible truly is, writer-director Jung Byung-gil saves that crucial bit 'til the final act, which peaks with a panopticon of baldcapped undead unruliness. The question is, do you believe it!