![]() ![]() Take for example the laborious half-hour set-up that quickly, and unconvincingly establishes big fish antagonist Joo-chil Jang (Sung-tae Heo) as a heartless criminal who, according to a news reporter, is responsible for "the biggest Ponzi scheme in history," and the suicides of several financially destitute victims. But it's more likely that "The Swindlers" was always DOA. But there are also, generally speaking, too many scenes that are so contrived that I sometimes wondered if a living script template for an " Ocean's Eleven"-style heist movie had come to life, and left no cliche behind in its hapless quest to deliver superficially topical thrills. There's a small chance that the subtitles of this film simply aren't apparent because of an insurmountable cultural barrier. ![]() Sure, overly literal translations of colloquialisms, like "swindlers," are one thing. Then again, much of this thriller's unbelievably formulaic plot-a group of con men go on a quest to hustle a Bernie Madoff-style scam artist-is already flat-footed. I readily admit that, as someone unfamiliar with the Korean language (beyond a couple of key phrases), the appeal of the film's more dialogue-intensive scenes were probably lost on me thanks to English subtitles that were often distractingly blocky. One can't help but wonder just how much of the charm of the Korean con man thriller "The Swindlers" wore off in translation.
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June 2023
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