Binge-worthy: Action K-drama No Way Out: The Roulette makes a game out of murder
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South Korean veteran Yoo Jae-myung plays a heinous criminal who is the target of a bounty hunt in the action thriller, No Way Out: The Roulette.
PHOTO: DISNEY+
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No Way Out: The Roulette
Disney+
★★★☆☆
How much money would entice someone to kill? In South Korean action thriller No Way Out: The Roulette, a masked man holds the nation captive by offering big sums of cash to those willing to inflict bodily harm on criminals in a dangerous game of roulette.
When notorious rapist and murderer Kim Guk-ho (Yoo Jae-myung) is released from prison after 13 years, the masked man puts out an open murder contract on Guk-ho, with a bounty reward of 20 billion won (S$19.6 million).
Corrupt policeman Baek Joong-sik (Jo Jin-woong) reluctantly takes on the job of protecting the unrepentant and surly Guk-ho, while a rotating roster of shady characters attempts to leverage the chaos of the roulette game to their advantage.
Here are three reasons to tune into the series streaming on Disney+.
1. Packed and busy premise
No Way Out: The Roulette cannot be accused of moving slowly. The eight-parter hits the ground running with an intriguing premise – with a flavour similar to Netflix’s Squid Game (2021 to present) – and a thrilling opening action sequence.
There are many threads with many characters, pulling the story in unexpected directions – the public angry at the release of a heinous criminal; the mayor who wants to use the anger over Guk-ho to secure electoral votes; the ambitious lawyer who offers his services to Guk-ho; and the angst of Guk-ho’s son Dong-ha (Sung Yoo-bin), a violinist who struggles to escape the stigma of being a murderer’s child.
Not every thread is flawlessly executed, but the series is packed with twists and turns that keep the plot churning at full speed.
2. A cop with a secret
South Korean actor Jo Jin-woong plays a corrupt policeman caught in a web of his own lies in the action thriller, No Way Out: The Roulette.
PHOTO: DISNEY+
One thing that stands out about the show is that most of the main cast of characters are not innocent, upstanding people. This extends to Joong-sik, who is more interested in protecting himself than pursuing justice.
In the first episode, butcher Yoon Chang-jae (Lee Kwang-soo) becomes the target of the roulette game and gets his ear sliced off by someone who receives one billion won for the job. While investigating the case, the debt-ridden Joong-sik comes across the money and pockets it for himself.
Joong-sik’s subterfuge adds a layer of tension and irony to all of his scenes. Not only is he exhausted from trying to protect Guk-ho and prevent the roulette game from getting out of hand, but he has to also protect his secret stash by lying to his peers.
3. Taiwanese star’s K-drama debut
Taiwanese actor Greg Hsu makes his K-drama debut with No Way Out: The Roulette, playing an assassin who can make sipping orange juice look threatening.
PHOTO: DISNEY+
The series also marks the K-drama debut of Taiwanese actor Greg Hsu, who broke out and gained a devoted following in South Korea for the Taiwanese fantasy-romance Someday Or One Day (2019).
He takes the spotlight in the sixth episode playing a professional assassin known only as Mr Smile – for the unsettling grin he sports – who is hired to kidnap Guk-ho.
Speaking English throughout his scenes, Hsu clearly has a lot of fun playing the hitman as a crazed psychopath – someone who makes sipping orange juice look threatening.
He switches effortlessly between eerie smiles and cold-blooded stares, and flaunts his action skills in an extended fight sequence opposite Yoo. It is an over-the-top episode, but makes for a memorable and stylish maiden venture into K-entertainment for Hsu.
