I was expecting an "okay" action movie with an excuse plot and a lot of unrealistic, flashy stunts from the lead character. Gangcheolbi (Steel Rain) is not that. This is a movie that gets it right.
It doesn't rely on flashy action scenes to provide entertainment and fake tension, but on a good story to provide actual tension. It doesn't force in character development or beg for some audience empathy, but simply lets the characters do what they do in a believable and organic way. Actions feel consequential. The dramatic scenes (unlike most movies) succeed because they are set up carefully and aren't milked for everything they can.
It's got plenty of action scenes and those were very enjoyable: fast, but well-shot (no super-short cuts), gritty, and with very little nonsense. Some of the shots in general were absolutely stunning. But the plot is also very solid (if somewhat difficult to follow for a Western person...) and stays interesting for the entire movie. It uses credible dynamics between countries and powers and masterfully displays the concerns over the existence of two entire nations, as well as the concerns over an entire people.
My only gripes with the movie are the sub-par acting of the CIA woman, and the parts where Asian actors suddenly tried to speak English (for no reason whatsoever) and didn't do so well, which is a bit of a shame since they acted phenomenally otherwise.
