Agent Kim Reactivated
10 episodes
Starring So Ji Sub, Choi Dae Hoon, Yoon Kyung Ho, Joo Sang Wook, Seo Su Min
Netflix
Whether one is a proponent or critic of the action genre, people tend to regard it unfairly as a “lower” form of storytelling, at least in terms of its capacity to unpack more complex subject matter. Films or TV series of this genre may seem to prioritize their fight scenes and set pieces over everything, but nonetheless, many of them understand how to use action to express ideas or questions. Korean genre filmmakers are known particularly for such capability.
SBS TV’s Agent Kim Reactivated is a drama with particularly weighty things on its mind. The show follows former secret agent Mr. Kim, who alarms the governments of both North and South Korea when he comes out of hiding from his quiet civilian life after his daughter is kidnapped.
Where this plot ends up is ultimately less interesting than the journey heading there, but the series proves effective in its grittiness, finding impressive performances and thematic richness in a story that may at first seem derivative of certain modern action touchstones.
It shouldn’t be controversial to say that Agent Kim Reactivated‘s premise immediately recalls Liam Neeson’s Taken, as well as a bit of an influence from John Wick. This drama isn’t nearly as violent (nor as colorful as the Keanu Reeves franchise, sadly), but directors Lee Seung Young and Lee So Eun achieve a self-aware absurdity that gives it freedom to be more playful with the real-world geopolitical tensions at its core. There are occasional comic book-esque visual touches that keep the show from sinking entirely into realism—villains with facial scars or full gold teeth; sidekicks dressed in a taekwondo dobok or military fatigues at all times—but the action scenes are still where things get most fantastical.
Kim essentially has the strength and resilience of a Terminator, so Lee Seung Young and Lee So Eun are less concerned about the titular character getting hurt and more interested in showing how much he’s willing to lose himself just to find his daughter. The fights here aren’t the most cleanly edited, but the stunt work remains legible and high-impact, leading to several memorable set pieces, including a chase through a shipping container yard and a one-shot, first-person POV shoot-out through night vision goggles.
More importantly, the plot stays focused and suspenseful; for once, there aren’t so many subplots that distract from the main objective, and the urgent sense of a ticking time bomb is there.
For the first seven episodes, the series tells quite the compelling story (even amid the usual K-drama corniness and gratuitous product placement) by making Kim the vessel through which modern Korean issues are tackled. His allegiance lies with neither the South Korean government keeping him on a short leash, nor the North Koreans who seek revenge for his defection, and both betray him to meet their own ends.
Meanwhile, Kim’s daughter Min Ji is kidnapped after she fights her high school bully, the daughter of a business mogul who operates with impunity.
These circumstances stacked against him, Kim represents an older-generation Korean who must decide what kind of world he really wants to leave his child with.
The last three episodes, however, struggle to sustain promising narrative turns and stagnate into a generic thriller. This last section feels like an entire second season’s worth of material drastically condensed, its emotional currents made much more simplistic.
It’s also in these episodes where Kim’s closest allies, Seong Han Soo (played by Choi Dae Hoon) and Park Jin Cheol (Yoon Kyung Ho), begin to overstay their welcome. They, too, are inexplicably indestructible—but with barely any characterization beyond flimsy backstories and constant bickering, they only weaken the intensity of the fights they get into.
This isn’t Choi Dae Hoon or Yoon Kyung Ho’s fault, of course, and the comic relief they provide in the first seven episodes is a welcome counterbalance to Kim’s brooding character. In general, the cast understands the story’s pulpy tone, with the villains particularly enjoyable to watch or detest. Jo Bok Rae’s gold-toothed gangster seethes with contempt for the man who tortured him into submission, while Joo Sang Wook’s corrupt businessman is the masculine stereotype who does things only out of self-interest, in the guise of love. There’s a cowardice behind his evil, which only makes him more unpredictable.
And in the lead role, So Ji Sub—with his stoicism and sad eyes—ensures that Mr. Kim isn’t viewed as a righteous hero, but as an already broken man overcome with self-blame. The actor’s coldness turns him into a true bogeyman when he’s on the warpath.
But among all, it’s Seo Su Min (in a debut acting role) who truly stands out. Throughout the subplot that is her abduction, she accesses far more complicated feelings beyond basic fear. Her fight for freedom becomes a desire to hold on to her pride and reconcile with her father.
Indeed, in this series about older men warring among themselves, it’s only fitting that the teenage girl representing the future becomes its brightest spot.
Agent Kim Reactivated is streaming on Netflix.
