Fridae

In Quick, a former speed demon turned motorcycle courier and his former biker girlfriend turned K-pop factory idol are forcibly recruited by a mystery man over the phone to deliver miniature nuclear-level, non-nuclear bombs to various locales, blowing up much of South Korea's shiny architecture in the process. For comic relief, they are pursued by an inept police force led by clueless bureaucrats and a former failed speed biker who ropes in his equally failed speed biker buddies for the chase...

Action director Jo Beom-goo, in making South Korea's most expensive film to date, is clearly a fan of the 80s Hollywood blockbuster action comedies, which weren't just simply loud and silly but boasted budgets huge enough to treat the audience every 10 minutes to either a car chase, massive vehicular chaos, loud pyrotechnics, or people running or riding away from fireballs.

While the plot tends to inspire incredulity, the frenetic pacing propels the film forward. Every action scene is a setpiece that calls your attention to how much it feels like an over-elaborate and expensive movie stunt. Taking a leaf out of Jackie Chan's playbook, every action scene is also played up for its physical comedy.

It helps that the entire cast has the ability to contort their faces while screaming their heads off in action scenes but more than that, the script itself has a great sense of comic timing. If you're in search of a popcorn flick where you could turn off your brain, sit back and enjoy the mayhem, you can't do too wrong with Quick.