It is already a smash-hit in its home country of South Korea.
Now, The Roundup, the action crime comedy and sequel to 2017’s The Outlaws, has made just under $100 million at the box office in the country since it was released in May.
That makes it the highest-grossing South Korean film of the year by far, with Top Gun: Maverick a distant second with $52m.
The Roundup’s financial success over the past few months is even more impressive when you consider that, up until its release, cinemas in the country were still struggling to attract viewers in the wake of the pandemic.
Set four years after the events of The Outlaws, The Roundup once again revolves around Don Lee’s brutal but effective police detective Ma Seok-do.
This time around, Ma and police captain Jeon Il-man (Choi Gwi-hwa) travel to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, to extradite a Korean criminal.
Once they begin to interrogate him, though, Ma and Jeon become wary of how co-operative he seems to be. It doesn’t take long for the pair to discover that he is linked to the terrifying killer Kang Hae-sang, who has been kidnapping and murdering rich Koreans visiting Vietnam.
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Ma and Jeon are then thrust into a cat-and-mouse chase with Kang and his gang. They travel back to South Korea, with Ma repeatedly employing reckless and borderline illegal tactics in order to keep track of Kang.
It’s easy to see why The Roundup has proven to be so popular with movie fans not only in South Korea, but across the world — it currently has a score of 95 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sure, it’s far from the most original action crime comedy ever made, and at times its convoluted plot nearly threatens to waylay the entire film.
But it also clearly has no interest in breaking new ground in the sub-genre. Instead, it repeatedly tips its hat to Lethal Weapon, Rush Hour and even Dirty Harry, while its intense and extreme action sequences have plenty in common with The Raid and John Wick franchises.
The key ingredient to The Roundup’s success is the mesmerising performance of Lee.
It’s easy to forget that Lee only really became a bona fide leading man in South Korean cinema after his supporting role in the 2016 intentional box office smash, Train to Busan.
Since then, Lee has either been the lead or played a prominent role in films such as the Along With The Gods series, Ashfall, The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil, as well as The Outlaws, each of which have helped him earn the label of South Korea’s most bankable actor.
Rather than cowering under the weight of such a hefty tag, Lee marauds across the screen in The Roundup with the confidence and presence of an actor who loves the fact millions of people are watching him. Such a persona is perfect for the character of Ma. Not only does he instantly command everyone’s attention on entering a room, he also causes enough mayhem to justify the curiosity.
While The Roundup has garnered plenty of positive reactions, not everyone has been happy with the film. Shortly after its release, the Korea Association for Mental Disorders and the Research Institute of the Differently Abled Person's Right held a press conference to criticise an early scene where a man escapes from a mental asylum and holds two people hostage with a knife.
At the same time, The Roundup was banned entirely in Vietnam, which declared that it was too violent for its audiences. This seems a tad excessive. While there’s no denying that the film has some pretty vicious fight sequences, there’s nothing in it that’s any more barbaric or gory than most other R-rated action or horror films.
Instead, the Vietnamese film department probably has an issue with The Roundup’s depiction of Ho Chi Minh City as a dangerous place to visit, where Korean criminals are constantly trying to rob, kidnap and even murder tourists.
Hopefully, they’ll be more impressed with The Roundup: No Way Out. The sequel is already in production, with Lee returning as Ma Seok-do, and Lee Sang-yong taking on the reins as director again, too. Filming should be done by November, and the aim is for it to hit cinemas next year.
The Roundup is out now in UAE cinemas
Scroll through the gallery to see 10 South Korean films and television shows coming to Netflix in 2022
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
Company%20profile
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
New schools in Dubai
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
|
United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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more from Janine di Giovanni
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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WITHIN%20SAND
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%3Cp%3EApril%2021-23%3A%20Imola%3Cbr%3EMay%205-7%3A%20Misano%3Cbr%3EMay%2026-28%3A%20SPA-Francorchamps%3Cbr%3EJune%2023-25%3A%20Monza%3Cbr%3EJuly%2021-23%3A%20Paul%20Ricard%3Cbr%3ESept%2029-Oct%201%3A%20Mugello%3Cbr%3EOct%2013-15%3A%20Vallelunga%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
Specs%20
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The%20Roundup
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