Escape (2024) follows the intense and perilous journey of Im Kyu-Nam (Lee Je-Hoon). A North Korean soldier with dreams of starting a new life in South Korea. To accomplish his dream, he must flee his home country and cross the heavily fortified DMZ. Meanwhile, Officer Ri Hyun-Sang (Koo Kyo-Hwan) of the State Security Department of North Korea relentlessly chases after him. Finally creating a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game.
Main Cast
Lee Je Hoon
Lee Je Hoon, a South Korean actor, won awards for films and dramas, served in the military, and left Saram Entertainment.
Koo Kyo Hwan
Koo Kyo Hwan, a versatile South Korean artist, won multiple awards for his roles in “Beaten Black and Blue” and “Jane.”
Hong Sa Bin
Hong Sa Bin, a South Korean actor with SEM Company, won Best New Actor for “Hopeless” and started military service in December 2023.
Escape (2024) Review
“Escape” starts with promise. We meet North Korean Sergeant Lim Kyu-nam (Lee Je-hoon). Who sneaks out of his barracks at night, avoids guards, and plants stakes near the Military Demarcation Line. Lim has carefully planned a path through a minefield, making his way clearer each night. Back at the base, he faces constant reminders of why he must leave soon—commanders show scare videos where they shoot deserters. His comrade, Kim Dong-hyuk (Hong Xa-bin), wants to go to South Korea too, as he misses his mom whose birthday is the next day. Kim gets caught and takes the blame. This forces Lim to change his original plans and improvise.
Field Officer Li Hyun-sang (Koo Kyo-hwan) unexpectedly promotes Lim for detaining Kim. During an award ceremony for Lim, he sees an opportunity to escape. Lim struggles after his plans fall through, which contrasts with the little we know about him from a boy’s adventure book he cherishes. He runs, plots, and waits for the right moment.When people praise him, he feels lost and credits Li in his speech, giving the military the tribute it expects. Lim soon finds another chance to get away.
Problems start when Li enters Lim’s story. Li is a determined antagonist, but Lee’s performance makes him seem overly twitchy and hard to care about. For example, Li plays the piano at Lim’s award reception, hinting at his thwarted ambitions, but these scenes don’t show much about what’s wrong with him. Kim’s backstory also feels unconvincing, as he seems like an afterthought in Lim’s story. Both Kim and Li’s scenes distract from Lim’s journey, and their performances are less compelling.
Ending
Escape (2024) action scenes often feel more covered than directed, despite fast pacing and dynamic camerawork. Movie spends too much time on characters other than Lim, making it hard to care about them. The film doesn’t explore their motivations enough. Maybe there’s not enough action, or perhaps more melodrama could have helped. In an early scene, Supreme Leader Kim tells the troops to watch each other vigilantly, even though “deserters do not exist in my book.” This line hints at an interesting idea, but “Escape” never examines it closely enough to show what it’s like to feel invisible in your own country.