Netflix has bagged the rights to one of the most exciting and action-packed spy thrillers in years, with the popular streaming platform now set to debut the movie next week. Boasting all the espionage, paranoia, and slick John Wick meets Jason Bourne-style action that your heart could ever possibly desire, the spy thriller made waves when it was released in theaters back in February. Now, just two months later, it’s all set to hit streaming with a (silenced) bang.
Hailing from writer and director Ryoo Seung-wan, who is best known for elite action thriller fare such as The City of Violence and the Veteran franchise, as well as the critically acclaimed crime drama Smugglers, Humint (which is the real-world term used for covert intelligence-gathering by agents) centers on a South Korean spy tasked with hunting down a drug ring in Russia, during which he finds himself going head-to-head with a North Korean operative — pulling both into peril amid tangled secrets.
Starring Zo In-sung (Moving, Escape from Mogadishu) as Manager Zo, the South Korean NIS agent, and Park Jeong-min (Hellbound, Time to Hunt) as Park Geon, the North Korean State Security official at his back, with the supporting cast including Park Hae-joon (The World of the Married, My Mister) and Shin Se-kyung (Run On, Arthdal Chronicles), Humint marks the exciting return of Ryoo Seung-wan, with the spy thriller completing the filmmaker’s unofficial “Overseas Location” trilogy, which also includes the 2013 spy thriller The Berlin File and 2021’s political thriller Escape from Mogadishu. Humint will land on Netflix worldwide on March 31, 2026, and you can check out the newly released trailer and synopsis courtesy of the streamer below…
Set in Vladivostok, the film follows four characters whose paths cross in the city in search of leads tied to a series of incidents along the North Korea-Russia border. With their own motives and pasts, they become entangled in a dangerous web of shifting alliances, hidden agendas, and escalating confrontations.
It’s possible you’ve never heard of Humint before, but no doubt, after watching the trailer, you’ve now added it to your ever-growing “must-see” list. Featuring bare-knuckle fist fights, stylishly gritty shootouts, white-knuckle car chases, and all in a range of action styles that reflect each character’s personality, Humint impressed audiences when it was released domestically earlier this year, and will be available with subtitles in 33 languages, including French, German, and Chinese, and dubbed in 21 languages, including English, Spanish, and Japanese, on Netflix at the end of the month.
Humint has flown so far under the radar (something which is sure to change quickly when it makes its streaming debut) that hardly any reviews have emerged. The ones that have, however, have praised the action spy thriller as the perfect “homage to John Woo” that expertly merges neo-noir and neo-Western sensibilities as Ryoo Seung-wan’s “distinct” action style “hits a new peak of classic spy-action elegance.”
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
