MOVIE REVIEW
Going by the Book (2007)
Courtesy photo
Heist movies can be a wellspring of creativity for talented screenwriters and directors ("Rififi," "Dog Day Afternoon," "Reservoir Dogs"). But without innovation, the conventions of set-up, heist, failed negotiations and foiled plans become stale and formulaic. Filmmaker Ra Hee-chan’s debut feature “Going by the Book” goes refreshingly high-concept in its attempt to offer all the commercial pleasures of the familiar heist premise with a slyly comic spin. Penned by Jang Jin, “Going by the Book” comes across at times as the breezier offspring of Johnny To’s one-track-minded "Mad Detective," with the hilarious genre satire of "Hot Fuzz."
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