Kill Boksoon (2023)
At work, she’s a renowned assassin. At home, she’s a single mom to a teenage girl. Killing is easy. It’s parenting that’s the hard part.
he pressures of balancing work and motherhood are typically enough to fill several films, and that’s without the mom also being a world-class assassin. “Kingmaker” writer and director Byun Sung-hyun’s first entry into the action genre, “Kill Boksoon,” is a crime thriller centered on a mother raising her teenage daughter while continuing her work as a skilled hitwoman. In this magnetic film, Bok-soon’s dilemmas as a mother and the moments where they inevitably intersect with her work make for the most thrilling portrayal of work-life balance put to the screen, as Byun expertly innovates and at times subverts the typical hitman arc. (Quincy Legardye, salon.com)
Fans of over-the-top “John Wick”-style action movies and devotees of art-house cinema should each find something to like in “Kill Boksoon,” a hired-killer thriller starring Jeon Do-yeon, one of South Korea’s most accomplished and acclaimed actresses. Jeon plays Gil Bok-soon, the top assassin for MK Ent., one of a group of criminal organizations that have industry standards for ranking hitmen and assigning jobs. Bok-soon is also the mother to Jae-young (Kim Si-a), a teenager who doesn’t know about her mom’s work but does wish she were around more to talk to as she deals with her adolescent angst. (Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times)
Although its impact is blunted somewhat by meandering length and some cheesy visual effects, Kill Boksoon remains a pleasing punch to the gut for action fans. (Rotten Tomatoes)
WATCH ON NETFLIX
