A Hard Day: while, in broad strokes, there’s not much new, Kim Seong-hun’s thriller still is one entertaining ride; there are enough novel elements sprinkled that make it somewhat fresh, and while all characters are, to some extent, corrupt, the protagonist is comparatively inept, which works out to make him almost endearing. The tone is light, mixing a bit of comedy with the thrills and mystery; there is nothing too deep going on here, but the missing depth is not missed. Acting is fine for a genre piece: Lee Sun-kyun’s fresh face matches well the over-his-head anti-hero, while Cho Jin-woong is quite good as the control-freak heavy. The film has a slick look, being smartly shot by cinematographer Kim Tae-sung; the pace, thanks to editor Kim Chang-ju, is snappy and tight.