Netflix has delivered another action thriller masterpiece, with the streamer’s latest tale of violent revenge quickly climbing the global charts. While almost every new action thriller is now compared to the escapades of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick, this new offering from Netflix arguably comes the closest to achieving the same success as Baba Yaga. As demonstrated by its perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Netflix has continued its run of audience-pleasing action thrillers with this French movie that is topping the global chart.
Unleashed onto the streamer earlier this month, Mercy for None follows a former gangster and elite enforcer who, after being injured while carrying out his criminal duties, leaves the violent world behind. Of course, you know where this is going, as 11 years later his brother is mysteriously killed, forcing him to once again pick up his baseball bat and swing his way through opponents to get to the truth.
Directed by Choi Sung-eun, written by Yoo Ki-seong, and starring So Ji-sub (Alienoid), Lee Jun-hyuk (Stranger), Huh Joon-ho (Escape from Mogadishu), An Kil-kang (Watcher), Gong Myoung (Extreme Job), Choo Young-woo (The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call), Cha Seung-won (Uprising), and Cho Han-cheul (Gyeongseong Creature), Mercy for None is now ranked #7 in Netflix’s global Top 10 alongside the likes of Ginny & Georgia, The Survivors, FUBAR, and Dept. Q.
‘Mercy for None’s Revenge-Driven Antihero Deserves Your Attention
While Mercy for None does share several similarities with the likes of Mr. Wick and other revenge tales, the series is actually based on the webtoon Plaza Wars: Mercy for None by O Se-hyung and Kim Gyun-tae. Though the limited series has now started to climb the streaming charts, it flew in largely under the radar. However, the reviews that have since emerged have heaped praise on the lead performance from So Ji-sub as former enforcer and baseball enthusiast Nam Gi-jun, as well as the violent action on display. Collider’s Jeff Ewing likened Mercy of None to the adventures of John Wick before praising So Ji-sub’s work “as the grieving but deadly protagonist.”
“So Ji-seob is great as the grieving but deadly protagonist, while supporting players give personality to sometimes underdeveloped characters. It’s a simple series that knows exactly what it is–an exploration of how breakable bodies are — and on that score, it delivers in continually entertaining ways. Bones crack, bodies fly, and blood stains the walls of many villains’ hideaways.”
The Week’s Sajin Shrijith, meanwhile, declares Mercy for None as the “best Korean action thriller series on Netflix right now,” and once again praises So Ji-sub who “dominates every episode of the show where he goes about dispatching opponents in the most brutal and spectacular fashion.”
“Mercy for None is one of those shows that offers a thrill-a-minute experience, with dollops of cathartic violence and the most brutal, satisfying bloodbaths that we have come to expect from Korean filmmakers. It has everything that hardcore fans of Korean action thrillers seek.”
So, while we wait and see how exactly John Wick will return following the fatal events of Chapter 4, Mercy for None’s vengeful new action antihero deserves your attention.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
