Yaksha: Ruthless Operations

Yaksha: Ruthless Operations (Korean: 야차; Hanja: 夜叉; RR: Yacha) is a 2022 South Korean spy action film directed by Na Hyeon. The film stars Sol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo[1] Based in Shenyang, China, the film revolves around a leader of an espionage agency's secret operation black team, and a prosecutor who was demoted to the espionage agency.[2][3] The film was released worldwide on April 8, 2022 on Netflix.[4]

Yaksha: Ruthless Operations
Promotional poster
Hangul야차
Hanja夜叉
Revised RomanizationYacha
Directed byNa Hyeon
StarringSol Kyung-gu
Park Hae-soo
Yang Dong-geun
Production
companies
Sangsang Film Co., Ltd.
Distributed byShowbox
Netflix
Release date
  • April 8, 2022 (2022-04-08)
Running time
125 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguagesKorean
Chinese
Japanese

Synopsis

After a failed attempt to prosecute Lee Chan-young, chairman of Sangin Group, Han Ji-hoon, a prosecutor from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is demoted to the legal support office of the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Ji-hoon eagerly takes up an assignment declined by his superior, Prosecutor Park. Director Yeom sends Ji-hoon to inspect the NIS' Shenyang branch, a highly classified black ops base involved with North Korean counter-intelligence. The Black Team is led by Ji Kang-in and fronted as Samjin Travel Agency.

After upsetting Kang-in by intervening in an operation, Ji-hoon is set up for prostitution and drugs to test his skills. Passing the test, he is rescued and officially joins the team at its secret base. Kang-in is briefed on the mission to extract Moon Byung-uk, the head of Room 39, part of the North Korean Central Committee involved in maintaining the Kim family's slush funds. Moon intends to defect to South Korea, but the extraction fails when he is pursued by various parties who wants the information he holds.

The team manages to secure Moon's daughter Ju-yeon, but when they intend to torture her for information on her father, Ji-hoon allows her to escape. The Black Team tracks Ju-yeon to Moon's safe house, only to find they have been setup by Yoshinobu Ozawa for the murder of Moon and kidnapping of Ju-yeon. With Chinese police on their heels, the Black Team cleans out the travel agency and destroys its secret base. The team refuses to leave Shenyang and regroups to extricate Ju-yeon from the Japanese consulate. Ji-hoon escapes with Ju-yeon, who reveals the information held by her father and where it is stored.

Threatened by Ozawa with his family's lives, Ji-hoon works with the Black Team to deceive the former that Kang-in is dead. Kang-in prevents Ju-yeon from deleting the list under Ozawa's threat and Ji-hoon dupes Ozawa to delete the list, triggering a program to disseminate the information, exposing all of Ozawa's double agents.

The film ends with Ozawa's death and Director Yeom's arrest. Ji-hoon returns to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and prosecutes the Sangin Group chairman. In the ending credits, Kang-in contacts Ji-hoon and the Black Team members, who have settled around the world, to gather in London for an unknown mission.

Cast
  • Sol Kyung-gu as Ji Kang-in, head of the Shenyang branch of the NIS[5] and nicknamed "Yaksha". Willing to go to any means to achieve the branch's missions.
  • Park Hae-soo as Han Ji-hoon, a former prosecutor from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office[6] and inspector to the NIS Shenyang Branch. In contrast to Kang-in, he believes justice should be upheld through law. At the end of the film, he returns to the Prosecution Office with a new perspective on justice.
  • Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as Ozawa Yoshinobu, a Japanese spy disguised as a former Japanese intelligence officer[7] and lobbyist. He setups the Black Team for the murder of Moon Byung-uk.
Samjin Travel Agency / NIS Shenyang Branch aka Black Team
  • Yang Dong-geun as Section Chief Hong, an agent of the Black Team later revealed to be a mole working for Director Yeom.
  • Lee El as Hee-won, a veteran senior agent of the Black Team.[8]
  • Song Jae-rim as Jae-gyu, an agent of the Black Team.
  • Park Jin-young as Jeong-dae, the youngest member of the Black Team.[9]
Headquarters of National Intelligence Agency (NIS)
  • Jin Kyung as Yeom Jeong-won, Director of the 4th Bureau in charge of NIS foreign intelligence activities.[10] Suspicious of the Black Team's activities, she sends Ji-hoon to Shenyang. Later revealed to be working for Ozawa Yoshinobu and had successfully turned NIS agents into moles. The Black Team ambushes her and hands her over to Ji-hoon at the end of the series.
Room 39
  • Nam Kyung-eup as Moon Byung-uk, head of Room 39 a group part of the North Korean Central Committee involved in maintaining the Kim family's slush funds. He is pursued by various parties who wants the information he holds and for intending to defect to South Korea through the Black Team. He pleads Kang-in to protect his daughter before dying.
  • Lee Soo-kyung as Moon Ju-yeon, daughter of Moon Byung-uk who has information that all parties are pursuing.[10] Revealed that her father was deceived to work for the Japanese and wishes to make public a list of double agents managed by Ozawa Yoshinobu. Made a member of the Black Team in the ending credits.
North Korean Intelligence
  • Jin Seo-yeon as Ryun-hee, an intelligence officer of the North Korean Security Agency which operates a North Korean restaurant in Shenyang.[10] Exchanges intel with the Black Team and in a relationship with Kang-in.
  • Kim Jong-man as Hak-cheol
Others
  • Yao Yiti as Eleven, the boss of a local human trafficking gang in Shenyang.
  • Kim Seung-hoon as Department Head Hwang of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
  • Ha Jung-min, Kim Han-joon, and Lee Jin-seung as Prosecutors working in the same team as Han Ji-hoon in the Sangin Group case.
  • Choi Won-young as Lee Chan-young, President of Sangin Group. Besides stock manipulation and bribery, it is later revealed that Sangin is also involved in financing payments for Japanese spies.
  • Yang Mal-bok as Ji-hoon's mother and owner of a restaurant near Suwon City Hall.
  • Ji Yi-soo as Ji-hoon's sister and owner of a restaurant near Suwon City Hall.

Production

Sol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo were confirmed to cast in the film in December 2019.[11] The cast line up was confirmed on December 31. Script reading was held on December 17 and principal photography began on December 31, 2019.[1] Filming was wrapped up in the first half of 2020.[12][3]

Release

Since the film couldn't be released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was released on over-the-top streaming platform Netflix on April 8, 2022.[13][14]

Reception

Audience response

In the week from April 4 to April 10, Yaksha: Ruthless Operations was at 3rd place in the Global Top 10 weekly list of the most-watched Netflix films (Non-English) with 12.54 million viewing hours.[15][16] It topped the most streamed movie list in the Asian region.[17]

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating, based on 6 reviews with an average rating of 6/10.[18]

Kim Bo-ram reviewing for Yonhap News wrote that the film is a "pulsating spy thriller set in precarious political landscape in Northeast Asia". Kim praised the performance of actor Sol Kyung-gu, stating that he "well portrays Kang-in", and "his performance creates an unexpected on-screen chemistry with Park Hae-soo". Kim opined that, unlike other spy films, this "action-packed thriller takes a different approach, revolving around a non-professional agent drawn into the dangerous and relentless intelligence operation." She appreciated "its action set-pieces", and stated that "gun shootouts are one of the outstanding parts of the film."[19] Archi Sengupta of Leisure Byte rated the film with 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations is a beautiful film, the colours are rich and the night-time scenes look ravishing, especially those of the skyline." She criticised its length and found it "sluggish during the last leg". Summing up the review, Sengupta stated that the film is "interesting and high-octane, and watching it is a mixed bag."[20]

Abirbhab Maitra of Ready Steady Cut rated the film with 2.5 stars out of 5 and praised the "chemistry between Yaksha Sol Kyung-gu and prosecutor Ji-hoon (Park Hae-soo)" terming it as "one of the highlights of the film; however, Maitra found the "overall film half-cooked" concluding that "it gives you moments of entertainment, but the bumpy roads give you the jerk, which is neither comfortable nor satisfying."[21] Roger Moore of Roger Movie Nation rated the film with 2.5 stars out of 4 and wrote, "A pulpy, gonzo espionage story of mutual mistrust, old grudges, beatings, torture, kidnapping and summary executions. And those acts are committed by the good guys."[22]

Johnny Loftus of Decider, recommending to stream the film, wrote, "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations brings a heap of trigger-happy spycraft to its tale of secrets and lies and two-faced promises on the way to sorting out some hard-earned justice."[23]

James Marsh of the South China Morning Post rated the film with 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Sluggish, predictable and almost wilfully devoid of thrills, South Korean action drama Yaksha: Ruthless Operations offers none of the unpredictable or mischievous antics teased by its curious title." March concluded "[it] is a blandly functional thriller, executed with workmanlike competence, that woefully lacks any discernible glamour, intelligence or style."[24]

References
  1. Jeon Hyo-jin (December 31, 2019). "'야차' 설경구·박해수→양동근·이엘·송재림·박진영 합류, 오늘(31일) 촬영시작" [‘Yacha’ Seol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo → Yang Dong-geun, EL, Song Jae-rim, and Park Jin-young join, filming begins today (31st)] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  2. Travis Clark (February 3, 2022). "20 international movies Netflix is releasing this year as it beefs up its global reach beyond TV hits". Businessinsider. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  3. Kang, Ae-ran (January 19, 2022). "한국작품 대폭 늘린 넷플릭스…'오징어 게임' 이을 히트작은" [Netflix has significantly increased Korean productions... 'Squid Game' fall hit]. Yonhap News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  4. Noh Gyu-min (March 4, 2022). "설경구, 첫 넷플릭스 영화 '야차' 4월 8일 공개…박해수→진영 '첩보 액션'" [Seol Kyung-gu, the first Netflix movie 'Yacha' to be released on April 8... Park Hae-soo → Jinyoung 'Spy Action']. Ten Asia (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  5. Jung Yu-jin (August 13, 2021). "설경구·박해수 '야차', 넷플릭스 공개 확정" [Seol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo's 'Yacha' to be released on Netflix]. News1 (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  6. Kim Bo-ra (December 5, 2019). "'야차' 설경구X박해수 캐스팅..'첩보 액션' 예고[공식]" ['Yacha' Seol Kyung-gu X Park Hae-soo Casting...'Spy Action' Preview [Official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved March 17, 2022 – via Naver.
  7. Jung Hwa (December 5, 2019). "[단독]'봉오동 전투'日배우, 설경구 '야차' 출연..소신 행보 계속" [[Exclusive] 'Battle of Bongo-dong' Japanese actor, Seol Kyung-gu appeared in 'Yacha'...]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved March 17, 2022 – via Naver.
  8. Kim Yu-jin (August 13, 2021). "'야차' 이엘, 블랙팀 베테랑 요원…강렬한 존재감 예고" ['Yacha' EL, a veteran of the Black Team... Strong Presence] (in Korean). Export News. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  9. Jung Yu-jin (December 31, 2019). "설경구·박해수 등, '야챠' 블랙팀 6인 캐스팅 확정…크랭크인" [Seol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo confirmed the casting of 6 black team members for 'Yacha'... crank in]. News 1 (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  10. Kim Na-yeon (March 30, 2022). "야차' 이수경X진경X진서연, 팽팽한 긴장감 조성..캐릭터 스틸 공개" [Yacha' Lee Soo-kyung X Jin-kyung X Jin Seo-yeon, creates a tension... Character stills released] (in Korean). MT Star News. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Naver.
  11. "SUL Kyung-gu and PARK Hae-soo Team Up for DEMON". Korean Film Biz Zone. December 19, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  12. Lee Seul (August 13, 2021). "설경구 주연 '야차' 넷플릭스行" ['Yacha' starring Seol Kyung-gu on Netflix] (in Korean). Asia Economy. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  13. Park Jeong-sun (August 13, 2021). "설경구X박해수 주연 '야차', 극장 아닌 넷플릭스行" ['Yacha' starring Seol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo, not in theaters, but on Netflix]. Daily Sports (in Korean). Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  14. "Spy action film 'Yaksha: Ruthless Operations' starring Sol Kyung-gu to be revealed on Netflix on Apr. 8". Yonhap News Agency. March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  15. "Global Top 10; Weekly Top 10 lists of the most-watched TV and films". Netflix top 10. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  16. Kim Bo-Young (April 13, 2022). "설경구·박해수 '야차' 넷플릭스 비영어권 톱3 화제…스페셜 스틸 공개" [Seol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo's 'Yacha' Netflix Non-English Top 3 Topics... Special Steel Revealed]. E-Daily Star (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  17. "'Yaksha: Ruthless Operations' lands at No. 3 on Netflix movies". koreatimes. April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  18. "Yaksha Ruthless Operations". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  19. Kim Boram (April 6, 2022). "(Movie Review) Pulsating spy thriller set in precarious political landscape in Northeast Asia: 'Yaksha'". Yonhap News. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  20. Archi Sengupta (April 8, 2022). "Yaksha Ruthless Operations Review: Sul Kyung-gu, Park Hae-soo Thriller is Lukewarm". Leisure Byte. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  21. Abirbhab Maitra (April 9, 2022). "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations review – a bumpy action thriller spoils the fun with its heavy handed execution". Ready Steady Cut. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  22. Roger Moore (April 11, 2022). "Netflixable? "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" gives Spy Games Koreans vs. the Rest of Asia Twist". Roger Movie Nation. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  23. Johnny Loftus (April 11, 2022). "Stream It Or Skip It: 'Yaksha: Ruthless Operations' on Netflix, Where It's Spy Vs Spy vs Spy In A Race To Keep Secrets Secret". Decider. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  24. James Marsh (April 12, 2022). "Review: Netflix movie review Yaksha: Ruthless Operations – South Korean thriller severely lacks excitement". South China Morning Post. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
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