The Plot Review: Interesting Premise Blows Up Execution

The Plot 2024 Review | Leisurebyte

Director: Lee Yo-sup

Date Created: 2024-08-20 12:30

Editor's Rating:
2

Yeong-il is a contract killer who designs pre-planned murders as accidental deaths. After his recent perfect stint of turning a murder into an accident, he is tasked to accidentally murder an influential figure whom everyone in the world has an eye on. A dangerous mission that cannot make any mistakes, Yeong-il and his team must meticulously follow through with their plans in order to not give away their identities.

The crime-thriller film has a runtime of 99 minutes and is based on the Hong Kong film Accident by Soi Cheang.

The Plot 2024 Review

The thought of a random accident on the street, that makes you pity the victims and then blame luck, turning out to be something more sinister has its merits in an action-thriller film. Reminding me of Final Destination in a way, The Plot has its smart moments that will make your head scratch, especially when these “accidents” play out in real time but with the added bonus of breaking down just how much thought went into making it so. However, these moments are few and far between and for most of its 99-minute runtime, the Korean thriller tries to be much more than needed to sell this intriguing premise.

Yeong-il and his team’s elaborate plans might be thrilling to watch, but I found myself extremely bored and confused a bit too soon considering how convoluted the plot gets the more it moves towards its inevitable end. Keeping it simple and on our toes would’ve been a better choice for a film such as this, considering the basic plot is so complex but the film goes the extra mile to introduce additional complexities, unnecessary flashbacks and a deluge of characters that just leave you wondering where you are in the film.

The original Hong Kong film, although convoluted as well, had a simple execution that focused on interesting topics that left viewers engaged. However, the Korean film goes overboard trying to leave its audiences hooked, taking away the simplicity required to land a storyline such as this. As a result, everything in the film feels confusing and it’s difficult to hold on to the plot point, leaving you wondering what is going on at every moment. Plus, so many unnecessarily added characters in the film only bog down the runtime. I was confused about why these characters are necessary since they add nothing of substance to the story.

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The central psychological upheavals that Yeong-il goes through are probably the only interesting and arresting part of The Plot. Showcasing his slowly deteriorating mental health, especially after the deaths of Jjacknoon (Lee Jong-suk) and then newbie Jeom-man, Yeong-il is left to question everyone around him, including his own team, and to wonder whether or not they are being targetted by a larger organisation who do the same work as them. The film has its moments of intrigue in this plot, because, following Yeong-il, you are also left to question everyone and everything around him. Whether or not his doubts have substance is a different matter altogether, and as an audience member, it is interesting to break down.

In the end, however, The Plot fails to weave the different elements that it brings to light, leaving a half-baked narrative and confusing twists in its wake. There’s nothing that works out in the end and the last little nod with Yang Kyeong-jin is even more confusing and leaves everything open-ended, leaving you confused in a bid to make your own deductions.

Final Thoughts

The Plot, in spite of an interesting premise, fails miserably to execute a tight and gripping narrative that brings all the different plot points together. Fraught with unnecessary twists and characters who do nothing but bog down the runtime, the film is a missed opportunity that leaves you a bit bored by the end of it.

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