Yaksha: Ruthless Operations

"The battle of spies begins."

2022 2h 5m KO

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 264

ActionCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Nicknamed after a human-devouring spirit, the ruthless leader of an overseas black ops team takes up a dangerous mission in a city riddled with spies.

“The battle of spies begins.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Sul Kyung-gu
Jee Kang-in
Park Hae-soo
Han Ji-hoon
Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
Ozawa
Yang Dong-geun
Hong
EL
Hee-won
Song Jae-im
Jae-gyu
Jinyoung
Jung-dae
Lee Soo-kyung
Mun Ju-yeon

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Na Hyun
Writers: Na Hyun, Ahn Sang-hoon
Languages: Mandarin, Korean, Japanese
Countries: South Korea, Taiwan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Mandarin, Korean, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: South Korea, Taiwan.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Na Hyun, shot by Hong Jae-sik. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lee Jun-oh. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kim Sang-bum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sul Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The battle of spies begins.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Na Hyun directs. Hong Jae-sik behind the camera. Lee Jun-oh scores. Kim Sang-bum cuts. Produced in South Korea, Taiwan. Dialogue in Mandarin, Korean, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 4 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Mandarin, Korean, Japanese.
3International production across 2 countries: South Korea, Taiwan.
4Directed by Na Hyun, shot by Hong Jae-sik. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Lee Jun-oh. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Kim Sang-bum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Sul Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The battle of spies begins.".
9IMDB entry: tt12663250 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "mission", "espionage", "spy", "intelligence".

The technical file

Cinematography: Hong Jae-sik
Original score: Lee Jun-oh
Editing: Kim Sang-bum
Production design: Kim Hee-jin
Costume design: Hong Soo-hee
Makeup / hair: Lee Jin-young
Sound: Moon Chul-woo
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: KO
IMDB: Yaksha: Ruthless Operations (2022)

Also by

Na Hyun

The Prison
2017 · ★ 7.1

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

jw2022-04-11
★ 6/10
OK-ish mash-up A secret service outpost has been sending made-up reports for over a year, and now an inspector is sent to find out what's going on there. South-Korean, North-Korean, Chinese and Japanese spies trying to out-trick, -guess and -gun each others... the sales pitch sounds good! Unfortunately, only a few scenes deliver glimpses of what this could have been if its potential had been realised into something original. But playing it safe, most of "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" is a mix of Buddy Cop, Mission Impossible, James Bond knock-off, good old 80s action heroes wearing thick Plot Armour, and flat cardboard characters. The longer it runs, the more disappointing it gets. The only surprise is the ending, but it is not a plot twist: (possible spoiler... but you see it coming all the time) The Good Cop has been transformed into a Bad Cop, And That's OK. Before, the protagonist was against wanton violence, killing, torture; now his attitude is "whatever it takes", no holds barred. And everybody is happy with this outcome, possible sequel hinted at in end credits. A funny short scene at 00:42, in a bar, is worth seeing; skip the rest.

Production companies