Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Kang Mi-seon is a tough, badass cop married to the docile Park Kang-moo, a househusband who meticulously looks after their home and chores. What Mi-seon doesn’t know is that Kang-moo used to be a top special agent in the military. When a woman connected to Kang-moo’s past runs into him, he is swept up in a dangerous mission, and soon Kang Mi-seon becomes embroiled in the same case too.
Written and directed by Lee Myung Hoon, the Korean action-comedy Mission: Cross (Original title: Keuroseu) stars Yum Jung-ah and Hwang Jung-min as the lead couple, Mi-seon and Kang-moo. The two of them are comically cute as a married couple who are used to their mundane domestic life and are quite content with their humdrum relationship.
Mission: Cross opens with a funny scene of Mi-seon and Kang-moo waking up together and getting ready for their day. First, the movie sets up their stable conjugal life, and then the plot gets crazy. The premise reminded me of both Mr. & Mrs. Smith and the more recent The Family Plan, which is about a former assassin turned boring car salesman who has to reveal the truth about his past to his family. Kang-moo doesn’t seem to have any intention of sharing his past with Mi-seon, so what comprises a comical twist in the tale is how Mi-seon begins to suspect her husband of having an affair because he starts meeting a former colleague’s wife, Jang Hee-joo (Jeon Hye-jin), to help her with a case that involves a defense scandal. Just so you know – ‘Mission: Cross’ features close to zero romantic moments, especially since the lead couple is way past the honeymoon phase of their marriage.
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One of the most refreshing aspects of ‘Mission: Cross’ is how Yum Jung-ah’s Mi-seon is always in minimal makeup and comes across as a regular, practical, strong, no-frills cop. I am so used to seeing actors in layers of makeup in Korean dramas and movies that Mi-seon was a breath of fresh air. Hwang Jung-min’s portrayal of the ex-military turned devoted househusband is entertaining, though it would’ve been more fun if the action sequences with him featured more gritty combat scenes.
Overall, Mission: Cross is a fun action-comedy that maintains its humorous tone for the entire runtime. The climactic face-off packs in a lot of guns, violence, and deaths but feels overwhelming not just because it’s over-the-top, but because there are no close combat confrontations. I am all for exaggerated action flicks, but then the director needs to throw in some exaggerated kicks and punches too. But if you’re fine with just guns going off, you’ll enjoy Mission: Cross even more than I did.
Rating: 7 on 10. You can stream the film on Netflix.
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