Most action-comedies pick a lane, they’re either big and over-the-top action or full of laugh-out-loud absurdity. However, Midnight Runners doesn’t choose. Instead, it combines both, and while it’s at it, Midnight Runners throws in as many bone-crunching fight sequences as it does comedic mishaps. In a nutshell, it’s a buddy-cop movie where the “cops” are still rookies, and the “buddy” dynamic is borderline chaotic. Here, Park Seo-joon and Kang Ha-neul star as Ki-joon and Hee-yeol, two police academy cadets whose night off-duty quickly spirals into something they never saw coming. The pair witnesses a kidnapping and reports it to the right authorities. But when the system seems to be moving at snail speed, they make the grave mistake of thinking they can do it on their own. Seeing as they’re still pretty green, their idea of “training” is more theoretical than practical, and their crime-fighting skills are fueled by sheer determination — and occasional dumb luck.
It’s the fact that they aren’t particularly suave that ends up selling Midnight Runners. Where most action heroes are usually larger than life and borderline invincible, these two are just trying to survive long enough to make it to the next brawl or high-speed chase. As a result, every punch hurts, every mistake matters, and every success feels like they just hit the jackpot. All in all, the film takes classic action-thriller tropes and transforms them in the goofiest and profound way possible — because what happens when the people meant to save the day are barely figuring it out themselves?
‘Midnight Runners’ Feels Different From Your Typical Buddy Cop Movie
For the most part, your run-of-the-mill buddy cop formula works. There’s an uptight veteran paired with a reckless rookie, and at the end of it all, they make each other better. In more ways than one, Midnight Runners is the complete opposite as it asks the question, “What if both of them were clueless?” Needless to say, the result is something quite different altogether, featuring two leads that are as equally inexperienced as they are hilarious. Here, Ki-joon played by Park Seo-joon and Hee-yeol played by Kang Ha-neul aren’t seasoned officers with years on the force. They’re still in the police academy, cramming for tests and trying their best to make it through the drills.
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It goes without saying that their “skills” are mostly theoretical, so they’re mostly running on confidence as opposed to real-life experience. But this is undoubtedly what makes their dynamic so refreshing. Instead of leaning into the classic duo relationship where one teaches the other, both Ki-joon and Hee-yeol learn as they go, even when it’s painfully embarrassing. One of the film’s best scenes shines a spotlight on just how unprepared they are. The pair jump into their mission so enthusiastically that they are literally “left to their devices.” They use Google searches and vague knowledge from class lectures to get by. Then, there’s their first big fight, which is as far from a well-choreographed action spectacle as it can be. It’s all sorts of messy and painful for them, even though they end up winning. By throwing two rookies into the deep end, Midnight Runners adds tons of unpredictability to the buddy cop genre. Suddenly, the stakes feel higher, and even the humor lands better because everything feels so unscripted.
‘Midnight Runners’ Offers a Coming-of-Age Story Disguised as an Action Movie
Contrary to popular belief, growing up isn’t always a deep and intense journey riddled with introspective moments. Sometimes, it involves chasing down kidnappers, getting beaten beyond recognition, and then realizing that maybe you should’ve stretched before jumping into a street fight. On the surface, Midnight Runners sells itself as a high-octane action-comedy, but once you look past all the punchlines, actual punches, and parkour, it’s really about two young men fumbling their way toward adulthood. When the movie kicks off, Ki-joon and Hee-yeol are typical college kids who are probably more concerned about finding dates than cuffing criminals.
Altogether, their training gives them the basics, but it isn’t until they stumble upon an actual kidnapping that they’re forced to put their skills to the test. Naturally, being a hero turns out to be a lot harder than “the movies” make it seem. The pair rush in headfirst, get knocked around, and quickly realize that justice doesn’t always come neatly wrapped up in a police report. Perhaps the real heart of Midnight Runners is Ki-joon and Hee-yeol’s personal growth. The moment they decide to go back and save the victims is when they truly come into their own. Sure, there’s still that element of juvenile recklessness, but at the end of the day, they stop being two kids playing hero.
Midnight Runners
- Release Date
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August 9, 2017
- Runtime
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108 Minutes
- Director
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Jason Kim
- Writers
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Jason Kim
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Sung Dong-il
Professor Yang
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