Version: Korean audio, English subtitlesI've written in other reviews about watching random Korean movies I'd never heard of until I saw them. It isn't something I do very often, but whenever I do, I seem to always find some little gem ('Guns and Talks', 'Volcano High', 'My Boss, My Hero'). I'm more interested in straight up action movies or action / comedies, but hey, a heist movie? I can dig it,I don't watch as many heist flicks as I should.Be sure to watch 'The Big Swindle' with your undivided attention. It gets rather complicated: Five criminals come up with an elaborate caper to scam the Bank of Korea out of several billion Won (Korean currency). However, after all the double-crosses, triple-crosses, and octuple-crosses (ok, maybe that is TOO far...), the bank heist may not have been the real scam after all.'The Big Swindle' is billed here as action movie, and starts off as an action movie. However, anyone looking for a solid action flick look somewhere else. 'The Big Swindle' is a heist film with quite an intricate story, and is an entertaining movie if you've got the two-hour attention span needed for it. It may get rather confusing to anyone who might say, fall asleep, but otherwise it is a touching story of loyalty, and even manages to be funny most of the time.'The Big Swindle' is a entertaining heist movie, but it may be a little long for some people - 7/10

Before watching a film like this I think it's no surprise that one wonders if this film will be another unfortunate case of style over substance. While I never had any problems with enjoying movies with either thin or overly confusing plots, they often still sufficed with a colorful cast, memorable one-liners and a generally good flow of story telling, however I found this movie to lack both elements of style and substance. A popularized cinematic style of nifty camera angles and split screen shots, amongst other widely used methods was not entirely present here but that's not really a bad thing at all. If you're expecting something similar to Snatch, in terms of music, humor and wacky characters, then skip those expectations at once, since this movie has other intentions for the most part. I will not deny my undivided attention for the outcome of the film's main plot, but sadly the characters and what they had to say throughout the big swindle didn't help the film to fully grasp and move me along the way. The light comedic moments were a positive add on, thankfully the action was not over the top, however conflicts between characters weren't strong enough to create any room for the much needed grittiness and suspense that the winning heist dramas contain. It was almost impossible not to remember another Korean film called Memories Of Murder where all these elements (even though set up with different premises) were utilized to their utmost capacity causing me to smile and somber with whatever was happening on the screen, while still keeping me on the edge.For a 'heist gone wrong' movie it was an entertaining film with a good cast and fine acting, but ultimately nothing ground breaking for the genre. For a first time writer/director this is definitely a good effort with a strongly focused delivery and even greater promise of a bright future. Hopefully next time he'll cook up something more unconventional and intense.

With his deep-laid plot having more twists and turns than might be found within a reservoir of cotton candy, fledgling director and scriptor Choi Dong-hun has fashioned an enormously enjoyable work that, although one shall properly think of it as being derivative from and influenced by popular latter-day crime caper films made in the United States, nonetheless solidly stands upon its own merit, of which there is full measure. The script, despite its intricacy, is harmonious as well, with no lapses in continuity to drive at one, and Choi's skill with post-production processes, particularly editing, is seminal to the film's potent impact, as flashbacks form the spine of a scenario that is loosely based upon a recent high-profile incident that occurred in South Korea. A non-linear narrative, occupied as it is by double and triple crosses, is very appropriate for this tale of an elaborate scam perpetrated upon the Bank Of Korea by a nicely diversified assortment of five confidence men, each of whom intends to follow a private agenda, with varying success, and of a siren (Seo In-keong) and police officials who have additional personal issues to resolve, in a sophisticated story that often touches upon factors of honour and loyalty. The film's design elements are glossy with warm colours and bright alloys, suitable to the breakneck pace of the cunningly devised action, with all of the players giving first-rate performances, in particular Baek Yoon-sik and Park Shin-yang as devisers of the heist, with the latter impressive in a dual role to take acting honours, merely one high spot of a piece where it is found that production values are quite as strong as the direction and script, the felicitous result being an outstanding suspense thriller laced with bumptious comedy.