In “Believer”, Won-Ho, a brave and dedicated detective along with his brave and dedicated investigative team goes deep undercover to try to catch a notorious drug kingpin known as “Mr. Lee”. They have a huge blindspot because … nobody has ever seen “Mr. Lee” so they don’t know what he looks like.
It’s not just the good guys who have never seen Mr. Lee. The bad guys don’t know who he is or what he looks like either. Mr. Lee is represented by his most trusted employee, a young man named Seo Young-Rak. This guy is super smart and efficient. He handles everything from the product manufacturing process to selling to customers to shipping to money collection. He does it all FOR Mr. Lee.
What is the product? An illegal drug is known on the streets as Laika. In the criminal underworld, the mysterious Mr. Lee is The Devil. Laika is also the name for a criminal organization and criminals fight to become the head of that organization.
The uncover team has a few details such as the name of the drug, and the name of the shipping company ~ Ewoo Shipping. But every time they get close to a person who can provide additional details to clench the investigation, they die!
Hey! That’s a rule in the underworld. If you get caught by the police you might become “a rat”. Rats must be exterminated.
For some reason the drug factory was set on fire, killing everyone inside except for Seo Young-Rak. Uumm … there was also a dog who barely survived. At the police station, the young man is interrogated. He is not in shock, just silent. His mother died because of the factory fire. When he finally did open his mouth, he asked if the dog was OK.
Seo Young-Rak called the dog “Jindo dog”. Once he saw that the dog was still alive and being cared for, he began talking. He asked Detective Won-Ho if he was certain that Mr. Lee had caused the fire. When Won-Ho says yes and that he plans to catch Mr. Lee, Seo Young-Rak begins cooperating as part of the undercover team.
In the underworld, many “pretenders”, i.e. people say they are “Mr. Lee”. It doesn’t take much to prove they are frauds. When they are exposed they pay the price. But it is a big deal to have others show them the respect that is shown to Mr. Lee. Since nobody has ever seen him the pretenders think they can get away with being a fake!
One such pretender is a man called “Brian”. Not only does he pretend to be Mr. Lee, but he also pretends to be a righteous leader of a religious group. If only he had been content to be a fake preacher. Alas! He paid the price for being a fake Mr. Lee.
This movie is a remake of a 2012 Chinese action thriller titled “Drug War”. I did not watch this movie so I can’t make a comparison. BUT! …
That scene where the undercover detective took the real drug was intense! His team had to put him in a bath of iced water so he did not die from an overdose … that scene by itself rates 10 out of 10 stars.
Plus, the OST (original soundtrack) gets 10 out of 10 stars.
The ending of the first movie was unclear. No doubt, it was a setup to make the sequel, “Believer 2”.
My personal rating is 9 out of 10 stars.
Well GO USA Entertainment. “BELIEVER Official Trailer | Mysterious Korean Action Crime Thriller | Directed by Lee Hae-Young.” YouTube Video. YouTube, May 2, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jopY1WkXKdo.
In “Believer 2”, the good guys and bad guys are still chasing after the elusive Mr. Lee. Seo Young-Rak has gone solo and is no longer working with Won-Ho and his undercover team.
Won-ho also goes solo. Even though his superiors try to reassign him to other cases, he is on a mission and disregards their orders. His boss tells him that Mr. Lee has been caught and he needs to be taken off the case because he has become obsessed.
Won-Ho insists that the man they have is Brian, NOT Mr. Lee. So he needs to keep investigating. As they speak, there is breaking news on television. The man named “Brian” has been kidnapped from the hospital. Oh dear! There’s a new gangster in town. It’s a lady gangster.
Seob So-Cheon is a female gangster who came from China to kill all of the criminals who screwed up! Her boss never did get the shipment of Laika because the cops seized it. So either the criminals “fix” what they messed up or DIE!!
Brian aka the fake “Mr. Lee” is in the hospital under police protection. Seob So-Cheon is ruthless and easily overcomes the cops guarding the hospital room and kidnaps Brian.
Brian pleads with her for his life by telling her that all is not lost. He has raw materials in Thailand and he can manufacture Laika providing her with even more than what was agreed upon in the first deal that fell through.
Seo Young-Rak also meets up with Seob So-Cheon at another drug factory and talks shop, in other words, agrees to another illegal drug deal. He convinces her that he has the materials, the tools, and the talent (2 genius chemists) to manufacture Laika.
Brian and Seo Young-Rak are both offering her a deal that is too tempting to refuse. Seob So-Cheon brings them both together in the same room, so they can “talk shop”.
Meanwhile, Won-Ho’s investigation leads him to information about Thailand. He has been suspended from duty for 6 months by his superiors. He ignores the fact that he has been suspended from duty and the fact that he can not “officially” perform police duties in another country, and boards a plane to Thailand.
Let’s hope that this time his mission is completed.
While searching reviews of both movies a lot of people wanted to add their two cents. This is my two cents. Both films make you question people’s life choices.
People who choose to live a life of crime don’t have a life. Even if they stay in a luxurious mansion or at a 5-star hotel, the environment can turn into a hellhole instantly. They have no peace. So what is it then?
WHAT IS THE APPEAL OF A LIFE OF CRIME?
And don’t say they were raised in that environment and don’t know any other way to live. That’s not the reason. Humans have free will. If you’re a child and forced into that life, that’s one thing. But when you become an adult surely you’ve watched enough television or seen real people to know there’s a better way to live.
As for police who go undercover to catch these career criminals … WHY?? Your superiors interfere with your work and the criminals will snuff you out without batting an eye, and keep on living their life of crime. Loyalty and dedication of a policeman to the point of death? WHY?? They don’t get paid enough for that. These days there is all kinds of technology. Use that and investigate from a long distance. Don’t get into gunfights. There is no more Wild Wild West. Send in drones. Seriously! Work smarter. Not harder.
Believer 2‘s most memorable quotes are:
The film was highly charged with lots of action and filmed on location in Thailand and Norway as well as South Korea. But it was not as good as the first movie.
My personal rating is 8 out of 10 stars.
Netflix K-Content. “Believer 2 | Official Trailer | Netflix.” YouTube Video. YouTube, November 2, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BglW4ogv6ds.
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