The Swindlers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

The Swindlers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 31, 2019

While there are admittedly whole swaths of The Swindlers that left me more or less scratching my head in wonderment as to what the frell was going on, I am more positive than not that this film ended with a set up for a supposed franchise, which I suspect may continue to addle non- Korean viewers for years to come should my hunch come to fruition. It’s actually nothing new for an Asian film to at least partially mystify, as I’ve readily confessed in scores of reviews of films from that region, though they typically fall into one of two categories: historical epics (where my traditional American lack of knowledge about foreign cultures probably inteferes with comprehension); and fantasy epics (where my traditional American lack of knowledge about foreign religions and/or folklore tends to interfere with comprehension). But The Swindlers is a resolutely contemporary offering that basically wants to present a “bait and switch” element that is straight out of The Sting, but which, due to a prevalence of high tech gear and other aspects like lots of assumed identities courtesy of pounds of latex, may also recall entries like Leverage and Mission: Impossible .

The basic plot mechanics of The Swindlers aren’t overly complex, but either in their original formulation or in a sometimes aphorism laden English translation (courtesy of subtitles), there are certain ins and outs that I’m frankly still not entirely sure about, despite rewatching sections of the film a couple of times. The bottom line is that a Ponzi scheme mastermind (a la Bernie Madoff) is being sought by both a crooked prosecutor and the son of a man whose death is connected to the guy’s attempt to escape capture. What is revealed in a series of rapid fire intercut denouements in the third act of the film is a bunch of previously undisclosed interrelationships and hidden ulterior motives that have set a bunch of characters either at odds or in cahoots with each other. The fact that even the supposed good guys (and gal or gals) end up getting taken away by the police as the film wraps up (before a coda which is the pretty obvious set up for a sequel) may indicate that even this film’s creative staff was confused about how things are supposed to go in elaborately plotted caper films like this one.

The Swindlers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Swindlers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. I've been able to track down next to no technical data on this film whatsoever, but I'm assuming what looks like digitally captured imagery was finished at a 2K DI. This is an appealing looking transfer, though so much of the film caters to the ever popular blue grading combined with an at least occasionally hyperkinetic editing style that fine detail can falter at times. In more relaxed framings and in natural lighting, the palette pops quite impressively and fine detail is excellent. The film does utilize a fair amount of "hidden camera" footage, which often resembles lo-fi closed circuit offerings, and those moments understandably have little of the gloss of the bulk of the proceedings.

The Swindlers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Swindlers offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original Korean that benefits in its own way from that hyperkinetic aspect I mentioned in the video assessment. A lot of the film is filled with quite a few people in the frame simultaneously, often at cross purposes, and that can give a fair degree of immersion in both dialogue and effects. The film has an amped up "jazzy" score that grated on my personal ears, but which is splayed quite effectively through the surround channels. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout.

The Swindlers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:28)

As is typically the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the above supplement has been authored to move on automatically to trailers for other Well Go USA releases. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

The Swindlers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Maybe The Swindlers 2: The Reckoning (only my proposed title, mind you) can help to clarify some of the niggling questions The Swindlers left me with. The film is arguably a bit too long to be thought of as briskly paced, but at least the foundational elements are here for a decent enough "comeuppance" plotline. The actual structure built on that foundation is considerably wobbly at times, however. Technical merits are solid for those considering a purchase.