After the massive global success of South Korea’s “Squid Games” on Netflix, it seemed likely we’d be seeing more from its leading man, Lee Jung-jae. His directorial feature debut, Hunt, is an action-filled romp that barrels towards a bullet-riddled conclusion. From the get-go, the film blasts off full throttle, with long and well-shot action sequences. Steeped in in contemporary South Korean history and so many double crossings, the plot becomes tough to track. While the action engages, the film eventually feels too bloated and too long.

Hunt opens with mass student demonstrations in 1983 against the military government. This occurs four years after real-life South Korean president Park Chunghee was assassinated by the chief of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). In this particular story, a fictional KCIA chief Park Pyongho, played by Lee, leads the operation to stop an assassination attempt on the current president at a concert hall in Washington. This sequence in particular contains quite the body count. It’s a jaw-dropping opening following the brief sequences that establish the turmoil of the time period. After this, Park is paired with domestic unit chief Kim Jungdo (Jung Woo-sung). They need to locate a mole named Donglim. Yet, the men have a bitter history, due to a previous interrogation that left Park with major nerve damage. Both suspect the other might be the mole.

From there, the film becomes more and more difficult to follow. There are brief flashbacks and even references to the Gwangju Uprising. Several other characters come and go amid the several plots turns, torture sequences, and multiple double crossings, as the film splits its time between Park and Kim. All of it becomes a bit too incomprehensible and even befuddling. The film also feels long, clocking in at over two hours. Following the reception at Cannes, Lee edited and revised certain scenes to give a deeper explanation of South Korea’s turbulent 1980s history. However, I’m not sure it helped all that much.

Despite the story’s difficulty, there’s plenty of high points here. The action is top-notch, be it some of the street fights or the climax featuring another assignation attempt on the president. The stunt work impresses, and set designs look stellar. Further, even if Lee and Jung play bitter rivals here, they have quite the on-stream chemistry likely dating back to other South Korean features they’ve co-starred in. The story works best when it focuses on their rivalry.

Overall, Lee certainly proves that he can direct. Hunt contains some of the best action sequences I’ve seen all year. Its story just needed to be trimmed down, not necessarily simplified or dumbed down, but rather, more focused. There are so many double crossings and characters here that it’s easy to lose the thread. This is an ambitious film, and likely, Lee will only improve as a director.

6 out of 10