Don't give up on Lee Myung Hoon's Mission: Cross too soon. For what first seems like an irritating thriller about an invicible cop (Yum Jung-ah) whose sudden conflicts with her subservient husband (Hwang Jung-min) could be solved pretty quickly if they'd simply have a honest sit-down talk ends up being a playful action pic celebrating the virtues of commitment in marriage. I'm trying to remember the exact point in which the movie went from kinda bad to more-than-pretty good. Was it when the real identity — and the upscaled wardrobe — of the villian (Jeon Hye-jin) is revealed? Or when the heroine inadvertantly gets ahold of the USB drive at the secret hideout? Or when husband and wife reaffirm their marital vows to each other with gunware? Whenever it happens, that change suddenly transforms Mission: Cross into a highly improbable and entertaining romcom.
Lee's movie also has a veiled homoerotic subplot involving two of the lady cop's subordinates. Alas, the script only hints at this narrative via some overly defensive comments one officer (Jeong Man-sik) make about his sexuality, followed by a car with floral-crocheted seatbelt-covers that are likely the work of his squad colleague/lover (Cha Rae-hyung). But the movie only alludes. Too bad! You also get the feeling that another secondary story involving the demented torturer (Kim Byeong-ok) and his heavily tatted assistant (Kim Kyu-baek) somehow ended up on the cutting-room floor. What's left for the projector room is enough, though. Microwave that popcorn. Showtime has arrived.
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