The Swindlers is a pretty rote and straight forward thriller. Teaming up together the criminal mastermind and Hui-su being to track down the infamous crook before he can slither underground and escape them once and for all. His leads end up with a young grifter who only cons the criminals, who just so happens to be Hwang Ji-sung himself looking for Jang in hopes of revenge for murdering his father. Using the help of three grifters that Hui-su keeps on his payroll as a shady dirty work, the prosecutor begins to track down Jang Doo-chil.
Jang has blackmailed and bribed his way through Korea to make his infamous escape, and with him alive that means many a political neck is on the line. However, Jang’s name pops up in the news a few years later as prosecutor Hui-su Park (Ji-tae Yu) finds out that the famous con man is still alive somewhere. The devastation he leaves behind is vast, as people commit suicide over loosing their life savings, a young swindler by the name of Hwang Ji-sung (Hyun Bin)’s father is murdered by the crook as he escapes, and Jang Doo-chil vanishes only to die outside of Korea some time later.
In that respect The Swindlers is a perfectly fun little con artist thriller with just enough hidden to keep the viewer interested, and just enough well worn tropes to make it comfortable for the viewer.Īfter swindling countless innocents of their hard earned cash, a notorious swindler and crook named Jang Doo-chil (Sung-tai Heo) high tails it out of Korea. Part of the fun is watching those tropes play out on screen, knowing that not everyone is as they seem, but curious to see WHAT ones are obvious, and which are hidden in the little game. Sure, the film uses well worn “art of the con” tropes, but that’s part of the FUN of a con movie! There’s only so much you can do in the con/heist film world that hasn’t been done before. After seeing the film myself I kind of feel that the critical backlash was uncalled for. Naturally I was a bit hesitant to review the film at that point, but I figured why not. The audience found it a solid watch, but critics lambasted it as warmed over and reheated con man plot lines that we’ve all seen before. I like a good con and what’s not to like about the plot of taking down a Bernie Madoff type crook? Well, the reviews for The Swindlers came in and they were pretty much a mixed back.
When I heard about Korea’s 2017 con man thriller called The Swindlers I was intrigued. Films like Ocean’s 11 and the like are a blast to watch as the audience gets to see a con unfold on the screen with glee, as the screenwriters dole out JUST enough information to reel the audience in with the 3rd act reveals. I’ve got to admit, I have a weakness for con man thrillers.
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