True crime stories are nothing new in terms of being a source for adaptive works. Law & Order consistently takes their inspiration from real crime tales, as do a variety of films. The four-film deep Crime City series led by actor Don Lee/Ma Dong-seok, for instance, borrows from real crimes to create the basis for each of the adventures Lee’s Detective Ma experiences. It’s of little surprise, then, that Lee’s follow-up to the first film in Crime City series, The Outlaws (2017), is the likewise true crime-inspired The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil (2019), co-starring Lee, Kim Mu-yeol (The Roundup: Punishment), and Kim Sung-kyu (The Outlaws). If you enjoy true crime adaptations or have joined Lee’s particular action genre fandom, then Well Go USA’s re-release of the 2019 action thriller is going to delight you. It may not bring with it anything new from the prior 2019 physical edition, but having the chance to experience it without the problems of streaming is enough to get excited.
Kim Moo-yul as Jung Tae-suk in THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
In South Korea, a series of seemingly disconnected killings are keeping the police busy and frustrated. So much so that hard-headed officer Jung Tae-suk (Kim Mu-yeol) decides to disrupt the gambling operation overseen by gang leader Jang Dong-soo (Lee) just to feel like he’s getting some justice for the citizens of Korea. Possessed with the notion that several of the unsolved cases are connected, Jung is going out of his mind as his chief demands evidence to support the theory and Jung has none; that is, until Jang himself is attacked by the mysterious K (Kim Sung-kyu) and survives. Wanting vengeance for the inflicted violence but aware that his resources only go so far, Jang offers a parlay between himself and Jung, who equally could use support to capture the killer. Together, Jang and Jung marshal their teams to track down K, but what happens after they catch him depends on who reaches him first.
With this being a re-release, let’s start with that and move on to the rest.
Don Lee as Jang Dong-soo in THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
First, this edition is a BD 25 disc, which is the standard Blu-ray with 25 GB of data and a single-layer. This reviewer used to consistently cover initial home releases from Well Go USA until a shift in accessibility, so discovering an odd sound emanating from my Panasonic 4K UHD player in the initial preview portion, menu screen, and first five minutes of the film that was like a whirring and mechanical crunchy sound was off-putting as none of the previous discs from Well Go had made this sound, including the recent physical edition of Devils Stay, and neither did any of the recent physical editions screened (One of Them Days (2025); Summer Wars (2009); or Love Hurts (2025)). Once it stopped, the sound didn’t return for the remainder of the film or while exploring the bonus features (even after a dip back to the menu). The burned portion of the disc doesn’t look disturbed or distorted, so it’s unclear what created this issue, but the fact that it was brief and mostly ignorable by raising the volume was appreciated. At the very least, it’s reassuring that the video and audio elements of the on-disc presentation of the main feature didn’t suffer as a result of whatever caused the noise, with the video being clear and crisp in all aspects, and the audio suffering no drops, dips, or distortions. In fact, during the intense car chase sequence near the end of the film, the bass was particularly powerful and could be felt in my feet (an aspect that hasn’t been experienced for some time).
Second, for those hoping for more, and possibly increasingly in-depth bonus features, this re-release is the same as the prior one. You get the same marketing material featurettes of “Making Of” and “The Characters,” the teaser, and trailer for the film, plus three Well Go USA previews. That’s entirely it. On the plus side, if you’ve come to Gangster late, you get the same as everyone else; but, on the negative, in light of Lee’s raised profile in the states (Crime City series; Train to Busan (2016); Eternals (2021); to name a few), one would hope that there would be more added. In any case, considering the options for streaming Gangster are limited and that streaming access is both inconsistent and frequently inconvenient, having the chance to own the film is, itself, a minor miracle given the rising costs between inflation and tariffs.
Kim Sung-kyu as K in THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Regarding the film itself, it’s a solid experience. Those familiar with Lee get the expected strong beatdowns of opposition and he manages to make the calculating Jang someone who we root for despite the repeated instances of gangster violence that would make Jang terrifying as a bad guy in the Crime City series. Similarly, coming to this film as late as I am, it’s fun to see how Lee has reteamed with this cast elsewhere in the Crime City series, either in the prior The Outlaws with Sung-kyu as support for that film’s central villain or Moo-yul who played the actual vicious head villain in 2024’s fourth entry Punishment. Those who enjoyed the head-to-head confrontation in Punishment will see the genesis for it here as the gangster and the cop often come to blows despite a certain amount of respect forming between them. Credit, of course, to Lee Won-tae (The Devil’s Deal) as writer/director of the film, who constructed characters that are multifaceted and paired them with lead actors who could bring that complexity to life in a compelling way. It’s the charisma of both Lee and Moo-yul that prevent Gangster from being loaded with drama and instead allows for moments of levity and comradery, giving the film a dark comedic edge. It certainly helps that Won-tae stages much of the violence so that it’s not glorified or focused on, likely as a way to not uplift the real killer the story’s adapted from, and to keep the focus on Sung-kyu’s enigmatic and deadly performance. That said, the fact that Gangster fits so neatly tonally with the equally violent and yet light Crime City series is impressive. Anyone who has yet to see this film and loves that series is in for a treat.
Kim Moo-yul as Jung Tae-suk in THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Of course, and it should be stated clearly, stories like The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil work as a matter of fiction, no matter how much truth they borrow from, because they provide insight and empathy toward characters like Jang and Jung so that we, the audience, can humanize them enough to not discount them as merely a violent gangster or rule-defying cop: two things that are the bread-and-butter for copaganda and the meat and potatoes for ‘80s action films. The reality, at least in the U.S. right now, is that law enforcement is moving back to its roots of immigrant control, a weaponized local force to keep threats to cis white individuals as far away as possible, regardless of due process afforded to all individuals. A killer on the loose in cinema is a fine way for audiences to justify the relaxation of the procedure, but it shouldn’t apply in the real world. Impressively, Won-tae incorporates such a realization into the film, making for a surprising conclusion that could’ve instead coasted on the charisma of its two protagonists as they fought for position to capture K.
Center: Don Lee as Jang Dong-soo in THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
As someone who grew up on the likes of the Lethal Weapon series, there’s a soft spot for a crime actioner in which two mismatched individuals are forced to work together, even if their end goals diverge. Lee proves to be just as watchable playing a heavy as he does a good guy, the main difference being how hard his character hits and whether or not the character cares for the rule of law. Here, Lee gets to play a little bit outside the lines and looks damn cool doing it. For his part, Mu-yeol matches Lee’s energy, making the audience invested in Jung’s success and his potential altruism despite masking it in pride. Gangster is going to please those looking for a film that’s swift, engaging, hard-hitting, and satisfying from start to finish.
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil Special Features:
- Making Of
- The Characters
- Trailers
Re-releasing on Blu-ray March 25th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Well Go USA The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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