The Roundup: Punishment – Don Lee Has Never Hit Harder

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” seems to be the mantra behind the wildly successful Korean action blockbuster Roundup franchise which is now ushering in its 4th entry (of a planned 8 films) and to their credit, this formula has yet to become tiring. For existing fans of the series, Punishment offers plenty of the same thrills and beats one would expect from the franchise, and with the best fights the series has seen thus far! Simply put, for those who liked any of the first 3 Roundup films, they will almost certainly like this new one. For newcomers, rest assured as each film is completely standalone and requires no prior knowledge of past entries to enjoy.

The franchise began in 2017 with The Outlaws, a more realistic crime thriller loosely based on a true case, but it’s 2022’s more over-the-top and action packed follow-up The Roundup that exploded and set the template going forward, becoming the 11th highest grossing Korean film of all time. Whenever a film makes that kind of money, it is wise to strike while the iron is hot with a third and now fourth entry dropping each year since. The Roundup: Punishment sees the return of beast cop Detective Ma (Lee) as he takes on an illegal online gambling ring with the help of an unlikely ally, Jang (Park), small time crook and recurring comedic relief character. This buddy dynamic between the two offers most of the film’s biggest laughs, with Ma’s no nonsense attitude and penchant for messing with the baddies for a laugh. A highlight involves Ma tricking Jang into helping the cops out by giving him a fake FDA toy badge and telling him it stands for “Police Dark Army for undercover agents, it’ll give you all the same privileges as a regular police badge”, one can imagine what happens when Jang pulls out said fake badge to the outside world.

On the villains side the film has a similar dueling dynamic with blowhard crypto CEO Chang (Lee Dong-hwi) and his increasingly frustrated underling vying for more power, Baek (Kim Moo-yul), a no nonsense old school gangster. The push and pull between how pathetic Chang is and how fed up Baek becomes makes him an engaging villain that will have audiences semi root for as he slowly takes over Chang’s criminal empire, and both actors convincingly sell their opposition in a way that fits the drama while maintaining a mild comedic touch. The dual plotlines with the criminal underworld scheming and plotting against one another, and the police storyline as they pursue their case is nothing any have ever seen before, but what makes the Roundup films special is Lee and his signature brand of action and comedy that he brings to the screen. One cannot understate just how hulking of a man he is, his broad shoulders filling the screen from end to end and his massive arms slicing the air as he punches his way through dozens of bad guys. Yet despite his imposing size he’s an endlessly charismatic leading man who doesn’t take himself too seriously, willing to poke fun at himself on screen which makes him more endearing as a performer.

The Roundup: Punishment sees a new director taking over the series, Heo Myeong-haeng, Lee’s long time stunt choreographer who directed Lee in 2024’s Badland Hunters. Heo’s action background is on full display with Punishment, containing the most action of any Roundup film and with a much more hardened, bloody edge to the fights than ever before. The showstopper 2 v 20 apartment knife fight between rival gangs is a prime example of this. Lee’s boxing background sees him continue to incorporate the martial art into his fight choreography, ducking and weaving before landing the final blow. His punching power has become his trademark symbol, the production company he runs is literally called “Big Punch Entertainment” and his punches have never been mightier. Meanwhile, the sound design team makes sure that every jab slices through the air, that every punch reverberates through the room, and that every hit is met with the crunchy sound of bones shattering. There’s a joy in the simple pleasures of life and watching a massively sized man punch the biggest punches one has ever seen or heard is pure action movie bliss, it truly never gets old. The final fight got some of the most lively reactions I’ve heard to an action scene in quite some time, from me included as well.

The Roundup: Punishment is another winning entry for the franchise and one of the best. For those seeking a throwback to old school 1980s action movies with clean, simple action and a good sense of humour about itself, these films will hit the right spot. The Roundup: Punishment doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel or shake the status quo up, but rather, executes its tried and true action comedy formula extremely well. With a reliably terrific lead performance by Don Lee, and a continual strong supporting cast of allies and villains, it’s hard to see this franchise slowing down anytime soon. They say they want to make 8 of these? I’ll be there opening night for every one of them!

still courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment

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Alex Josevski

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