SEOUL – A household name in South Korea for his starring roles in crime-action franchise films such as Train To Busan (2016) and The Outlaws (2017), actor Don Lee – also known as Ma Dong-seok – has joined hands with his long-time partner, martial arts director Heo Myeong-haeng, for Netflix original film Badland Hunters.
The dystopian action film, which premieres on the streaming platform on Jan 26, is Heo’s directorial debut film.
Set in a post-earthquake Seoul where society has completely collapsed, fearless hunter Nam-san (Don Lee) goes out to rescue Soo-na (Roh Jeong-eui), a teenager who has been kidnapped by Yang Gi-soo (Lee Hee-jun), a doctor who survived the earthquake.
Lee Jun-young plays Nam-san’s partner, Ji-wan, while An Ji-hye stars as special forces sergeant Eun-ho, who helps Nam-san and Ji-wan.
Heo – who has designed the action sequences of many hit action flicks, including The Roundup films (2022 and 2023), Hunt (2022), Train To Busan and I Saw The Devil (2011) – said he focused on designing fantasy-like action sequences.
“I tried to design the action sequences based on the main keyword of the film – survival – more than anything else,” Heo, 45, told reporters during a press conference held in Seoul on Jan 16.
He stressed that Badland Hunters has nothing to do with popular post-apocalypse flick Concrete Utopia (2023), contrary to speculation that the two works share the same world view.
Don Lee, 52, who also starred in Marvel’s Eternals (2021), said while many of his previous action works reflect real-world situations, Badland Hunters involves a lot of unprecedented “K-action” sequences. Lee and Heo worked together to take the film from screenplay to production.
“While many of my actions involve a lot of boxing-inspired punches, Badland Hunters contains a mix of various actions derived from jiu-jitsu – something that is possible only amid an apocalypse setting and fantasy-like world view,” Lee said.
As long-time partners in action flicks, Lee expressed deep trust in Heo.
“While many think that designing action is just about making moves, it requires a lot of understanding of emotion and drama.
“I’m sure that Heo already knows a lot about movie directing in that context. So I wanted him to debut as a director,” he said, adding that he also suggested fellow actor Lee Hee-jun for the project, after the two worked together in The Unjust (2010).
Meanwhile, Heo’s other upcoming film The Roundup: Punishment, which also stars Don Lee, was invited to premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival’s Special Gala segment in February. It is the first time for a South Korean action series to be invited to premiere at the festival.
The Roundup: Punishment, the fourth instalment of South Korea’s mega-hit action franchise, revolves around detective Ma Seok-do (Don Lee), who returns as a “monster cop” to take down former special forces agent Baek Chang-gi (Kim Moo-yul) and genius IT company CEO Jang Dong-chul (Lee Dong-hwi), by joining forces with former gang leader Jang Yi-soo (Park Ji-hwan).
The Roundup: Punishment is slated for a May release. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
