Movie: “Tazza: One Eyed Jack”
Studio: Sidus Corporation/Ba Entertainment/MCMC/Lotte Entertainment
Year: 2019

Intro

I decided to watch this movie since I was familiar with the series, and this particular movie became available to watch at my local movie theater. I went into this movie not knowing anything about it like the plot, featured actors, or other things of interest. It also was a long time since I last watched a Korean movie.

Plot

A college student is able to get by due to his expertise in the game of poker. He is able to beat every casual player due to his skills and knowledge. One day, he encounters a person he couldn’t beat and loses in a high stakes winner take all match. He is nearly killed by loan sharks when he encounters One Eyed Jack who recruits him to join his team to pay his debts. From there, his life changes dramatically.

Good

There was a good mix of drama, violence, blood, comedy, and action. It’s to be expected with a movie regarding poker and hustling people. It was a delight to watch as many people can relate to trying to make it through college and doing whatever it takes to make ends meet. We can all relate to spending more than we have to pay off debts but not at this extreme as this movie demonstrated.

There was an actor I actually recognized! Lee Kwangsoo was in it. I only know of him due to Running Man and various dramas where he’s the comedic relief.

Bad

I became familiar with the Tazza series because T.O.P. from Big Bang was in one of the movies. I did expect to see him but figured he wasn’t in the movie within minutes of the start of the movie.

Overview

I think it’s enjoyable. It’s one of the rare times when I watch a Korean movie at the theaters and not see a KPop idol. It is pretty over the top. I feel that if you translate the story and add an American twist to it, it can be a successful movie stateside.

Overall rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed by: Timtastic