The movie revolves around a cop named Woo (Park Joong-Hoon) pursuing Chang Sungmin (Ahn Sung-Kee), a murder suspect. Unlike a lot of film detectives that use their wits or street smarts, Woo is pretty much a brute that literally beats information out of criminals. Shoving friends and family aside for the sake of his job, Woo's only connection to the real world is his level-headed partner, Kim (Jang Dong-Kun). But after Kim is hurt in the line of duty, nothing is left holding back Woo's determination to catch Chang at any cost.

It is admirable what Lee Myung-Se tried to do here. At this point in time in Asian movies, many of them were simply cookie-cutter clones of popular genres of the period, like "young Triad" movies or sappy romantic comedies. Blending elements from other directors like Wong Kar-Wai, Johnnie To, and Quentin Tarantino, backed by a soundtrack that features everything from Korean heavy metal to 1970's US pop, there's no denying that Nowhere to Hide is aurally and visually stimulating, and that it provided a much-needed shot in the arm for Asian genre pictures.

However, at least in the humble opinion of this reviewer, the film has not aged very well. What came off as original and ground-breaking at the time of release now simply seems trite and more than a bit gimmicky. When you strip off the audio and visual trappings, there's not much, if anything to the actual story that will really compel viewers. Ahn Sung-Kee puts forth a bulldog of a performance with Woo, but ultimately, it's pretty much a one-note, one-dimensional character. Like the film as a whole, Ahn's work initially hits the viewer with a punch, but can't follow through with anything else of substance to become truly compelling.

Though not nearly as drastic as those acid-camera techniques seen in Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers", "Nowhere To Hide" falls somewhere in between that and the norm, maybe a little more towards the norm. The film opens with a black and white (with a sorta brownish tint) scene that introduces it's two main characters: hard-edged cops Joong-Hoon Park and his partner (It's gonna take a little time ID'ing these Korean actors so just bare with me). The light-action opening sequence comes with it all: sinister-like screams, extreme close-ups of things to be used as weapons, and exaggerated sounds of shoes screeching against the floor. And let's not forget slow-motion shots and freeze frames.

After all that black and white stuff, the big transition occurs. We get a fun-loving opening title sequence with the words "Nowhere To Hide" (in bright shades of purple) whizzing by thinking we have just been transported into another movie's credits. Following the credits of Prince's favorite color, we get to sit back and enjoy the tragic moment in which the movie revolves around: The "Inchon's 40 Steps" murder scene where our main bad guy, named Chang Sungmin, is about to do a very bad thing. During this entire scene, a nifty remake of the The Bee Gees' "Holiday" overlaps what's happening and gives it a very melancholy feeling - it almost seems like we're watching an MTV music video with some beautiful, and extremely violent, imagery.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't that "style over substance" bullshit that seems to be popping up more and more in recent films, especially Asian films. "Nowhere to Hide" definitely has a plot and cast that holds it's own , possibly enough to where we can almost ignore all the imagery flashing in and out of the movie. It's not everyday you see a movie where a guy punches another guy and he gets thrown 50 feet back, then boom, you're back to a gritty, dramatic, realistic crime story that you set yourself into. That's what makes this film so special.

The entire cast seemed to fit the spaces pretty good - especially Joong-Hoon Park who I really look forward to seeing in more films. He delivers a unique flavor to his tough-guy role which may take the average viewer a while to like or get used to, especially with that grin of his.

"Nowhere To Hide" is a definite must-see. It has a few minor flaws that includes a totally out-of-placed rock soundtrack (the soundtrack consists of many different types of music, but only the rock soundtrack is a bit annoying) that seems to come out of nowhere. It's also not your typically paced action film which may be a let down for some. Why don't we put it this way, If you can enjoy a Beat Takeshi film like "Fireworks" and also appreciate a film like "Gen X Cops" then you should be fine. I may be using bad examples but fuck it - it's your choice.

First of all, it's boring and unattractive. The cinematography is fair, but the editing is atrocious. The film flaunts a rebellious and aggressive attitude in an attempt to overcompensate for the lack of a plot and the absence of any interesting characters. What few special effects there are, are poor and unnecessary. The film also tries to be funny, and fails miserably. A real chore to sit through, but at least Choi Ji-Woo is pretty to look at.