I. Introduction
Pipeline is a 2021 South Korean crime action film directed by Yoo Ha and starring Seo In-guk, Lee Soo-hyuk and Eum Moon-suk. In July 2019, the cast of film was finalized. Principal photography began on July 23, 2019 and was wrapped up on November 12, 2019. Pipeline was released in select California theaters on May 28, 2021 and in Singapore on June 3. In addition it is sold to 815 Pictures (the United States), Klockworx (Japan), Deep Joy Picture Corporation (Taiwan), and Clover Films Distribution, who will release it in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. It is to releaseed in Vietnam and Malaysia in June.
II. Synopsis
An underworld drilling prodigy leads an oil heist to drill into the biggest pipeline known as the country's "artery", pushing his luck against a catastrophic explosion and corporate greed.
Korea has over 1,200km of pipeline that acts as the country's artery. There are several individuals who make the headlines by tapping into this network in order to siphon oil. Drill-bit is a drilling prodigy who is offered by Geon Woo, the head of an oil refining company, a large sum of money for completing the impossible heist to drill into the pipeline between Honam and Seoul-Busan highway within a month. To get the job done in time, he puts together a team of misfits: civil engineer 'Mr. Na', excavation expert 'Big Shovel', and welding expert 'Folder'. And just as the cops get wind of this oil heist, Drill-bit's mine collapses, his team gets cornered from all sides. As the operation gets delayed from setbacks, Geon Woo threatens their lives. Drill-bit's group promises to get the job done in 2 days but Geon Woo plans to blow up both the oil tank and Drill-bit's group after the oil has been siphoned.
III. Cast
| Pic | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Seo In-guk | Pin Dol-yi - Drilling engineer | |
| Lee Soo-hyuk | Geon-woo - Operation designer | |
| Eum Moon-suk | Jeob-sae - Welder | |
| Yoo Seung-mok | Chief Na - Under ground geography mapper | |
| Tae Hang-ho | Geun-sab - Human excavator | |
| Bae Da-bin | Eun-joo - Monitor counter |
IV. Trailers
V. Movie
VI. Reception
The film was released on May 26, 2021 on 776 screens. In its first week of release, it ranked number 1 among the Korean films released and number 3 among all the films released on the Korean box office. According to Korean Film Council data dagger, it is at 15th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2021, with gross of US$1.06 million and 136,680 admissions, as of September 19, 2021. It has gotten the scores of 7.9 on Mydramalist, 9.1 on Rakuten Viki, 6.3 on IMDB &, 9.6 on iQiyi.
VII. Daily Economic Star
Yang So-young, writing for Daily Economic Star, opined that the material of the film is fresh, but the presentation of narrative is obvious. Yang wrote that though realistic visuals have been created with the oil pipeline background but as content of the film it was not handled as well. He praised the performance of ensemble cast and concluded as, - Even the unobtrusive storytelling and the characters as if they were seen from anywhere, the fresh charm falls. The great flow of the story itself is not very different from the crime entertainment movies we have seen so far.
VIII. Newsis
Kim Ji-eun of Newsis agreed with Yang and wrote that although idea of oil stealing is new but it is a typical caper film. As regards to acting she wrote, - Pindol, played by Seo In-guk and smirk, lacks the taste of words, and Eum Moon-seok's suffix which is not necessary to say if it's a comical acting, has a poor humor code and only appears as a weak body gag. Concluding she wrote, - The energy of the site, which went through the tunnel without dying, is transmitted intact.
VIIII. YTN
Yoo Na reviewing the film for YTN opined that the film has followed the typical and dull pattern of a caper film. She wrote that the story is ordinary and characters have no charm. Concluding the review Yoo Na penned, - Like a B-class black comedy, it burns action, body gags, and passion, but in the end, it did not provide emotion or fun.
VIIV. Ten Asia
Kim Ji-won writing for Ten Asia described the film as, - It is entertaining to say that it is boring, and laughter does not burst to say that it is pleasant. She wrote that there was no chemistry among characters and acting looked clumsy. Concluding, she wrote, - Was director Yooha inexperienced because it was not the genre he was good at, but the genre he challenged anew? The degree of fun is ambiguous.
