Film Review: The Merciless(2017)
Jae-ho (Sul Kyung-gu) is ridiculously sexy… I never thought I’d live to see the day when I’d call Sul Kyung-gu sexy, but 2017 proved me wrong. And honestly? In this movie, he’s just irresistible.
Jae-ho (Sul Kyung-gu) is ridiculously sexy… I never thought I’d live to see the day when I’d call Sul Kyung-gu sexy, but 2017 proved me wrong. And honestly? In this movie, he’s just irresistible.
Jae-ho treats Hyun-soo with this soft, almost tender affection, but Hyun-soo never reads it as anything romantic—he just sees him as a big brother.
And that imbalance is exactly what makes their dynamic so good; if they’d both leaned into the romance, it would’ve been just another ordinary queer movie.
The scene that stuck with me the most is the moment a little past the midpoint, when Hyun-soo—having just lost his mother—confesses, “Jae-ho… I’m a cop.”
The film rewinds that instant from Jae-ho’s point of view, replaying it inside his head.
For Jae-ho, that confession is basically Hyun-soo emptying out his entire soul in front of him—laying down every last card he has. And on Jae-ho’s face, you can see two clashing emotions hit at once: this stunned, almost awed joy at how fully Hyun-soo has come into his orbit… and the delayed, sinking realization of “...shit. I’m the one who killed his mom.”
Honestly, it wasn’t just Hyun-soo who got pulled in by Jae-ho—I think I did too.
When Hyun-soo walked alone straight into enemy territory to smash the watch and take the seal, Jae-ho looked about ready to burst in after him. And when Byung-gab(Kim Hee-won) glanced over and asked, “You’re worried about that kid, aren’t you?” — God, that line landed.
That’s love, that’s protectiveness, that’s straight-up melodrama.
And when his boy charged in alone for the job, Jae-ho couldn’t sit still.
The big boss ripped off his watch, stormed into the scene, and yelled, “Honey, I’m home!”
If that’s not love, what is.
…Meanwhile Hyun-soo, in all his innocent cluelessness, still just sees him as his ‘big bro.’
And honestly, I can’t imagine anyone playing Hyun-soo better than Im Si-wan. Put any fresh-faced young actor in that role and they’d never recreate the particular mix Si-wan brings to it.
Think back to that slapping match — Hyun-soo walked in with that insane, knockout-level beauty, then blindsided Jae-ho with the kind of wild streak and raw nerve that don’t match that angelic face at all. Honestly, wasn’t he the one who landed the first hit on Jae-ho’s heart?
If Hyun-soo hadn’t stolen Jae-ho’s heart first, the one who would’ve died wouldn’t have been his mother—it would’ve been Hyun-soo.
Just like Byung-gab said — “You are being fooled. Wake up!" — Jae-ho really was under some kind of spell when it came to Hyun-soo. He knew he was walking to his own death, but the moment Hyun-soo called, he went straight to the place where he’d die. Not just went — the second he heard Hyun-soo scream, he flew in like a ghost, like a gust of wind, and brutally took out the guy who was on Hyun-soo.
He even raised a gun at Hyun-soo, saying he should’ve killed him from the start, but Hyun-soo just looked back at him with that blank, hollow-eyed face… and yeah. Even I have to admit it — he looked too damn pretty. No way he could’ve pulled the trigger.
Should’ve just stayed in the dark forever, Hyun-soo… really, why couldn’t you just stay in the dark…😭😭
In the end, Jae-ho walked into it of his own will, fully aware of what awaited him, and died at Hyun-soo’s hands.
If it wasn’t love—the kind you give down to your very soul—what other reason could make the merciless Han Jae-ho answer that final call so willingly?
Even if he had fallen for Hyun-soo at first sight during that slapping match, Jae-ho never struck me as someone who would choose a person over the situation. So why did he bet everything on Hyun-soo? Why did he even stake his life?
Maybe it was that moment when Hyun-soo, trembling, said, “Jae-ho… I’m a cop. I know this is crazy. And you could kill me right now. But..." and couldn’t even finish his sentence—laying out every last piece of himself in front of Jae-ho. Maybe that was the turning point, the moment when what started as a simple crush thickened into something heavier, deeper, almost viscous.
You really should’ve just stayed clueless to the end, Hyun-soo…
You could’ve lived a thousand years selling pills with your big bro instead…😭😭
Ara C.
Ara C.
