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Everyone has a favorite type of story. For some, it’s romances; others, comedies; and, others still, horror. In my top three is a confidence film because it challenges me to stay on top of the characters and the stakes, knowing full well that it’s going to try to surprise me in some fashion. We’re not talking about films with twists like The Usual Suspects (1995) or The Sixth Sense (1999), but films like Confidence (2003) or Ocean’s Eleven (2001) wherein they get you to look left while going right, pulling off a Kansas City Shuffle that knocks you on your butt. Via Well Go USA, co-writer/director Hwang Byeong-gug’s (S.I.U.) Yadang: The Snitch (야당), a Korean crime thriller that pits cops, criminals, and victims against each other in a bid for survival, released in theaters. Now, Hwang’s film is set to come available for home viewing, providing the opportunity to go on a ride wherein each character’s choice could be their last.
L-R: Kang Ha-neul as Kang-su and Yoo Hae-jin as Ku Gwan-hee in YADANG: THE SNITCH. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Tricked into consuming illegal narcotics, Kang-su (Kang Ha-neul) is sent to prison where he crosses paths with a prosecutor, Ku Gwan-hee (Yoo Hai-jin), intent on working his way up the ladder. Together, they not only take down a drug ring inside the prison, but, after release, work together to take down others: Kang-su infiltrating and Ku arresting. Now a professional snitch, Kang-su works inside and outside the same system that betrayed him, requiring him to stay one step ahead of everyone and one swing ahead of the proverbial sword.
The following review is based on a screening link provided by Well Go USA, so this will not discuss any items related to the physical release of Yadang such as the on-disc presentation or bonus features (though it doesn’t appear to include any).
Kang Ha-neul as Kang-su in YADANG: THE SNITCH. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Written by Kim Hyo-seok, Yoon Soon-yong (Officer of the Year), and Hwang (S.I.U.), Yadang is a whirling dervish of a film that is nevertheless controlled in its execution. What this means is that the narrative is constantly spinning plates, moving its fairly sizable ensemble around, causing a great deal of pain and destruction (though more personal and interpersonal than property-based) as it moves from start to finish. From a wide view, their script tells a story about trust — both intrinsically and externally — and why trust is so critical to society. To that end, Kang-su is the relative calm at the center of the metaphorical storm within the narrative. Portrayed with a touch of chaotic brilliance by Kang, Kang-su is a nobody thrust into the prison system after being setup, a patsy, a living misdirection, who discovers the skill within himself to not only survive prison but to thrive. Kang-su’s Achilles’s heel is his capacity for trust, which is what ends up transforming the whole of Yadang from typical crime thriller into a confidence tale, the audience shifting from confidant in the first act to just on the outside by the end. It’s difficult to tell if this is intentional on the part of the screenwriters, but it’s a fascinating flourish when one notices which only goes to support the notion that who Kang-su is at the beginning of the film is entirely changed by the end.
Center: Park Hae-joon as Oh Sang-jae in YADANG: THE SNITCH. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
As with many Korean crime thrillers, there’re quite a few stunt sequences in Yadang, whether it’s a simple foot chase, a more complex vehicular sequence, or fisticuffs. Each one appears to have been overseen by Heo Myeong-haeng whose work as a stuntman includes This Is Law (2001) and Moss (2010), as an action director includes I Saw the Devil (2010) and Train to Busan (2016), and as a director includes Badland Hunters (2024) and The Roundup: Punishment (2024). Heo’s action direction is top-tier, managing to make the most of the cast’s physical capabilities and the space that the characters are in, all while serving the story. (It’s a pretty American issue that stunt work becomes about spectacle instead of story, whereas Korean, Hong Kong, and Japanese stunt work is almost entirely about moving the story and/or characters forward *while* dazzling.) This leads to a few memorable scenes including a simultaneous fight in two different places of the same location, a bloody comeuppance, and a brief confrontation in the climax which puts a pin in Kang-su’s current trust issues. Each of these examples are staged for maximum simplicity and damage, resulting in moments of heightened tension and, in one moment especially, enormous hilarity.
Chae Won-bin as Um Su-jin in YADANG: THE SNITCH. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
There are two elements which hinder Yadang from being quite extraordinary as a confidence tale. The first is the Chekhov’s gun it creates before the end of the first act, which, having been established, waits to be fired. There are several misdirections put forward that help maintain the illusion of cleverness of several characters in the film, but this one is so obvious that the audience finds themselves waiting for the payoff, reducing the thrill of the climax merely because we’re aware of the shell game taking place before us. The other is an issue of tone maintenance. It’s not uncommon in Korean films such as the Crime City series featuring Don Lee’s Detective Ma or Park Hoon-jung’s action thriller The Childe (2023) for comedic beats to be woven throughout the dramatic elements so as to ease tension and insert a constant lightness that helps the audience understand that the hero is more likely to come out on top despite possible uneven odds. Considering the seriousness of the narrative (specifically that of drug addiction, those who abuse users, and police corruption), the frequent aspects of lightness come off as incongruous to the whole. A certain levity is common in confidence stories, the retribution delivered unto the targets a delicious rejoinder for crimes committed, and Kang’s portrayal of Kang-su is absolutely one of a trickster, having been reborn into a role he took for the purposes of survival. Yet, the inclusion of humor given the larger context of abuses within the film doesn’t always land as the weight of consequence hangs over the narrative. This doesn’t mean that the conclusion of Yadang doesn’t satisfy; the enjoyment is lessened by the film’s own desire to be light in the face of the dark aspects.
Yoo Hae-jin as Ku Gwan-hee in YADANG: THE SNITCH. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Ultimately Yadang: The Snitch is a fun time, albeit with the caveat that it doesn’t entirely pull off its intent as smoothly as it seeks. Rather than being unpredictable, it’s reliability predictable, which allows for the more entertaining elements to rise to the surface and audience tension to drop. Kang Ha-neul is positively charming, straddling the line of unpredictability so that there remains a 1% chance that we’ll call his shot wrong, making the experience of watching the actor play within the frame all the more engaging. Even if the film as a whole can’t retain its tone, there’s enough goodwill at the end of the runtime that audiences wouldn’t shy away from another adventure with Kang-su.
Available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital September 9th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Well Go USA Yadang: The Snitch webpage.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Video, Reviews, streaming
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