The Outlaws, also written as The Roundup: The Outlaws, (Korean: 범죄도시; lit. 'Crime City') is a 2017 South Korean crime action film written and directed by Kang Yoon-sung, and starring Ma Dong-seok, and Yoon Kye-sang. It was released on October 3, 2017. Set in 2004, the film revolves around Detective Ma Seok-do, who tries to control the gang-wars between Chinese-Korean gangs while also dealing with a savage loan shark named Zhang Qian.
The film is based on a May 2004 incident in the Chinatown of Garibong-dong, Guro District, Seoul when 14 Chinese-Koreans from the "Wang Geon-i faction" were arrested on charges of attempted murder, and an April 2007 incident in which 7 members of the Yanbian organization "Heuksa-pa", also based in the Garibong-dong, were arrested and 26 were indicted without detention.
The Outlaws is the first installment of The Roundup series. It was followed by three sequels: The Roundup (2022), The Roundup: No Way Out (2023), and The Roundup: Punishment (2024).
Contents
Plot
Ma Suk-Do is a detective in Geumcheon, Guro District, Seoul. Ma and Captain Jeon Il-man try to keep the peace while two local Chinese-Korean gangs, the Venom Gang headed by Ahn Sung-Tae and the Cobra Gang headed by Jang-I-Soo, battle over control of Chinatown.
Zhang Qian, the bloodthirsty leader of the Chinese loansharking Black Dragon Gang, makes his own brutal moves to take over Chinatown along with his henchmen Wei Chengluo and Yang Tai. They kill Sung-Tae and take over Jang-I-Soo's casino. Enraged, Jang-I-Soo attempts to retake the casino and his men fight Sung-Rak and Yung-Tae; however they are interrupted by Ma, who arrests Chengluo but Yang-Tai escapes and informs Qian.
Ma and Jeon learn about Qian's crimes and make moves to arrest him. Qian and Yang-Tai attack Jang-I-Soo at his mother's birthday party, apparently killing him. Hwang, a hotelier whose men Qian had also killed, sends his men to kill Qian in revenge but he manages to escape; Qian later tries to kill Hwang in return but fails. Desperate to stop the escalating violence, Ma turns to Chinatown's residents for help to catch Chen and the Chinese loan sharks; they agree and start secretly taking photos of the gang members to identify them.
Ma and his fellow police officers set a trap and arrest all of the gang members, including Yang-Tai, but Qian escapes. Police officer Kang Hong-seok sees Qian and pursues him; Qian almost runs him over with a car before Ma saves him by crashing into him. Ma chases after Qian but loses sight of him, only to discover that he has attacked some of the Chinatown residents who had helped Ma, who tell him that Qian plans to fly to China.
Zhang Qian reaches the airport, where Ma confronts him in the restroom. They fight and Ma manages to knock down Qian and leaves him handcuffed. The gang members are arrested and Jeon is congratulated by the commissioner. As Ma and his team head out to celebrate, Ma is called by the commissioner to investigate another case.
Cast
Special appearances
Cho Jin-woong as Chief of Regional police investigation unit
Jung In-gi as Chief of police
Oh Min-ae as Garibong-dong female merchant
Ye Jung-hwa as Airport head
Yoon Joo as Kang Hong-seok's fiancée
Production
Filming
Principal photography began on February 27, 2017, and ended on July 19, 2017.
Reception
The Outlaws opened in South Korea on October 3, 2017. By October 23, it grossed US$36.3 million from more than 5 million admissions. One month after it was released, the film marked 6.05 million admissions, with US$44.1 million gross. By December 1, the film had reached 6.87 million admissions with a gross of US$51.8 million, making it the 3rd highest-grossing domestic film of the year in South Korea and the third best-selling R-rated Korean film of all time.
Sequels
The Roundup (2022)
A sequel of the film titled The Roundup directed by Lee Sang-yong was released on May 18, 2022. Ma Dong-seok, Choi Gwi-hwa, Park Ji-hwan, Heo Dong-won, and Ha Jun reprised their roles. The film became the highest-grossing film of the year surpassing 10 million ticket sales on the 25th day since its release. It also became the 3rd highest-grossing film and 9th most viewed film in South Korean cinema history.
The Roundup: No Way Out (2023)
The second sequel, The Roundup: No Way Out, released in 2023.
The Roundup: Punishment (2024)
The third sequel, The Roundup: Punishment, released in 2024.
Remake
It was remade in India as Radhe by Prabhu Deva, starring Salman Khan in the title role.
