TIFF Movie Review – Cold Eyes (2013)

A high-tech police surveillance team makes a fatal mistake while pursing a vicious criminal organization.

A young woman (Ha Yoon-joo) is in a subway car following a middle-aged man (Kyung-gu Sol).  The pursuit leads to a coffee shop where the pursued literally turns the table on the pursuer; turns out that she is unknowingly part of a high-tech police surveillance team recruitment exercise.  The storyline is intercut with another chronicling the gradual execution of a bank heist which ends with a series of police cruisers crashing into a truck purposely placed in their way.

The unpredictable rookie with a nervous tick gets mentored by the chief of the surveillance team whose rough and cantankerous demeanour disguises a brilliant and compassionate man.  As for the mastermind (Woo-sung Jung) of the bank heist he is a meticulous psychopath who leaves no loose ends.  The discovery of the whereabouts of one of the robbers leads to police intervening during the next heist resulting in high speed car chases and a gunfight.

As the two storylines begin to merge a member of the surveillance team is killed by the mysterious leader who has to withstand his own employer turning violently against him.  The covert operation comes to a standstill until a chance encounter by the rookie sets the pursuit back in motion again which may or may not lead to more deadly consequences for the emotionally devastated law enforcement unit.

Spinning camera moves, inserted surveillance footage, no lingering shots, replayed sequences to emphasized missed details, and exquisite lighting all adds up to a visually slick production which is not surprising considering that co-director Byung-seo Kim (Dangerous Liaisons) is an accomplished cinematographer.  There is no time for romance as the proceedings move at steady pace and the addition of humour allows for some breathing room amongst all of the suspense.  Kim and Ui-seok Jo (The World of Silence) have turned their remake of Eye in the Sky (2007) into a thriller that hits all of the right genre notes which provides great entertainment value but the clinical execution also makes Cold Eyes feel like an exercise in routine.