Welcome back to Movie Recap. Today I'm gonna show you a 2017 South Korean crime action film called,
The Swindlers. Spoilers ahead. Sit back, relax and enjoy the video.
The movie starts in 2018, people are panicking about a big amount of money that is being taken
away by someone. They go inside the church and the man is informed that their money
cannot be brought back. Some people suddenly grab him, saying that he vouched for Jang,
the one who escaped with the money. He says he’s sorry and jumps from the building;
he falls hard into a car that ends him dead. Later on, he’s in the news as well as the scam,
which is the biggest Ponzi scheme in history; ten suicides were also made.
On the street, a group of men is following a man. He then changes clothes but they still
recognize him so he enters his dad’s place. He gives him a watch and sees what his father
is working on, Jang Do Chil’s passport. That night, the father goes to the area
and gives the passport while saying “Don’t come to me even if you fail.”
The next day, the building is full of police, and the father is hung up dead.
The son cries in despair as he sees his dad breathless. The autopsy revealed that there are
no signs of foul play; he decides to go overseas. Meanwhile, the news says that Jang flew to China.
Then, later on, was announced as dead but some do not believe it,
thinking that he faked his death as protesters filed to reopen his case.
Eight years later, a woman is trying some necklaces then he put the original in her bag,
switching it to a fake one. Not long after, two men handcuff her, giving back to the
old man the real necklace. The girl tries to escape but it only let her clothes reveal. The
“detectives” go inside the car and then laugh as the other one still gets the original necklace.
A prosecutor then comes out of nowhere giving the man a warrant of arrest because he bribed Jang.
The media goes to him about the issue but he says that the news stated that Jang’s dead so it is.
He goes back to another higher-up, being tired to cover up for people.
Back to the building, the prosecutor tells his people to look for Lee.
They go to his house the next day but he says that he’s the victim. Unfortunately, when he
plans to scam the man, that man scammed him in the end by pretending to be an old man. When
the prosecutor and his people play the security footage, they discover that man is a con swindler.
The men go into his condo but the swindler runs away faster so they get back to the car.
With his other people helping them, they manage to go the right way.
The swindler’s car stops so the men go to it but the window is tinted and suddenly,
the car escapes, even leaving damage to the prosecutor’s car. He chases him again
no matter what it takes. The prosecutor bumps into his car immensely that his head is bloody.
The con swindler wakes up in his place, it seems like he has been watching the prosecutor.
His man punches him because he got jailed for his fault. He says that he only conned Lee
because he is after Jang, making him the bait. The prosecutor scans him and sees no criminal records.
A man bids his presidency at a hall then the people chant for him;
the prosecutor together with the politician is in a gathering. He brings up that Jang is alive
and the others just shrug it off. Telling him to take care of it just like the usual.
The prosecutor gets home, tired from all the political stuff; he sees the swindler and
grabs him to the rooftop. He slightly pushes him down and asks him why he’s obsessed with
Jang when nothing will change after killing him. The swindler brings up his father’s death and he
says that he’ll kill Jang himself, without the prosecutor’s help even if he wants to.
In their basement, he told his people about his plan to kill Jang with the help of the swindler.
One of them says no but the swindler comes and says that he will plan the whole thing.
The prosecutor agrees with him leaving the others shocked.
He sets a plan into getting Lee back, punching one of the prosecutor’s men.
The next day, they go to jail, pretending to fight due to money. They make a play and bring up Lee’s
favorite, real estate. As the two play-acting, the target likes it, and even chases him.
The con even plans to make the man beg for him to the play. Their acting is indeed nice and
Lee’s expressions change throughout the whole time while the two men are in the
cell. The prosecutor’s people surround Lee’s house with tiny cameras for 24/7 surveillance.
The next day, Lee calls the phone number of the con. They fake a whole company for
the sake of conning him. The two are now in a meeting and Lee brings up the real
estate thing while the con replies that he’s over with it for he got scammed recently.
Lee states that his father in States has numerous money and
has no company to invest it with so the con says he has something in mind that
made Lee eager. He says it’s illegal so he can’t elaborate nor continue it but Lee interrupts him,
saying that he loves illegal stuff and he replies that he’s looking for a partner.
The con needs a million dollars then the money will grow 80% more in two months.
Getting home, Lee calls someone as he wants to be lent a million. The con thinks that there’s only
one who has that money, Jang. Lee makes another international phone call. It’s Jang. He says he’ll
bring someone because he doesn’t trust the con. The next day, Jang’s person is together with Lee,
and the con is introducing the fake casino to them. The con even shows them a huge pile of
money that he calls a “jackpot.” However, when the person reads the terms, he immediately feels
that he’s a con. The con walks out, saying that they should forget the whole thing.
Later on, Kwak, Jang’s person, met the only girl on the prosecutor’s team. She fakes her trip in
her walk which she used to get Kwak’s wallet. After a few minutes, Kwak approaches her and
searches her bag but his wallet is not there, it’s with the café worker. He immediately apologizes
and offers to buy her a drink. Meanwhile, the woman gets his key card, so her teammate installs
cameras all over his place. The girl even forces herself to drink thus her drunkenness.
At the workplace, the con offers himself to go to Thailand to search for Jang while the
prosecutor’s man finds it weird and sketchy. The woman then fell asleep at Kwak’s place then she
returned the next day with wine. She turns on the TV and it opens with news about Jang being alive
so Kwak gets panicked and left the woman. He gets off the Seoul Tower and the woman
follows them. Jang comes back to Seoul because of some business and he misses his home country.
The prosecutor and his man arrive at the place and they immediately run to find Jang.
He takes the cable car and they were too late to catch him. His people are very tired but
the prosecutor continues to run until he shouts in the middle of the road because he lost him.
While at their workplace, someone calls the prosecutor saying that the con is in Korea
together with a reporter, talking about the Jang bribery list. However, looking back at the past,
he reminisces that he’s one of the reasons why the con’s father got dead. He calls him
about Jang being in Korea and he replies that he’ll take the first flight from Thailand.
Ji-sung, the con, gets back to Korea and the prosecutor gives him the gun to kill Jang
tomorrow. His other man gets a word from him to make it look like Ji-sung and Jang
shot each other, killing the con as well. The next day, Kwak goes to the restaurant,
so they follow him. They realize he’s in the basement so they go their way.
Ji-sung already has a gun ready but the prosecutor asks him to pull out;
he didn’t want to so his man hits his head. When the prosecutor gets to their workplace,
Ji-sung gets angry at him so he replies that they need to get the money first and he will
give the bribery list to him once he kills Jang. Back in the office, Kwak offers him $300,000;
he goes to the prosecutor’s hiding place saying about the increase of money percentage to 30%.
He gives him the last 30% and he agrees; even saying that each of his men can also
have the 10%. Ji-sung lets the prosecutor handle it to show how much power he has.
The next day, in Kwak’s office, his things are getting taken away because
he gets an arrest warrant. Someone handed the reporter Jang’s list and, in their workplace,
they notice that Kwak is gone. They go to the restaurant’s basement and see everything’s gone.
Kwak calls Ji-sung about the money and tells him he changes his number for an urgent matter.
At the government office, the prosecutor asks them for $30-M; he even creates a scene because he’s
tired of covering up their mistakes. He’s now in the car with Lee then he locks him up with deadly
smoke. He asks why he has to spread baseless rumors so he shouts that a bastard told him to.
They let him out of the car and Lee explains that a con gives him money for him to do it.
The next day, they transport the money and Ji-sung tells them that Magumpo Port is where they’ll meet
with Jang. They cover Ji-sung’s head while the prosecutor finds Jang through his man.
Ji-sung is now tied up in a chair while the prosecutor beats him up for not behaving
and spreading rumors. Meanwhile, Jang escapes with the money which gives him more headaches.
He tells his men to just go to Magumpo Port tomorrow.
Someone is calling him and he says that the rats following him were his men,
it was Jang Doo Chil. Unfortunately, many are in the line and that includes Lee.
The prosecutor then gets heated up and says that he will kill Jang and even give him his head.
After he gets off, he immediately goes to Ji-sung and points him a gun saying he should lure Jang
to Magumpo tomorrow. Ji-sung then doesn’t want to follow him because he’ll also die either way.
The woman is now healing his wound from the prosecutor’s violence; their men tell him to
escape and live. He refuses because he needs to finish this. Jang told him back in Thailand that
he didn’t kill his father. It was the prosecutor all along who lured him and killed his father.
After the talking and from all those information to the prosecutor’s men,
he asks them for their help as he needs it. The woman gives important
files and pictures to someone saying that Prosecutor Park had all of it.
At the restaurant, he talks with two men about the money which they ask for a hundred million
in advance, and the rest will be in six months, the prosecutor agreed.
Ji-sung then handles the situation on the phone. After that, he asks the prosecutor for the list
but he just laughs so he says that he will regret this and expose everything he has done.
The prosecutor shows them a flash drive. One of his men manages to retrieve all of the files.
The rest of his men get punished and rid of. While waiting, someone calls the prosecutor
saying that the money looks so real they almost got fooled, it was all counterfeits. They call the
deal off and also say that they need their advance back. He immediately stands up as the other line
says that he will need to pay some penalty and if he messes with them again, he’s dead. He
throws the phone and sees that a car is on its way, it was supposedly Kang and Jang Doo Chil.
The huge door opens while the men are on the side of it, the prosecutor then grabs “Jang Doo Chil”
and asks if he is trying to fool him. He asks where is the money and as Jang Doo
Chil is removing his hat, it reveals that it was Ji-sung. Prosecutor Park gets shocked as he says
that he should not have to trust him because he is a swindler. He gets flashbacks of all
Ji-sung has done; he is always one step behind the real plan and he makes a different plan.
From the day he met him, his man told him that he should not trust him. Ji-sung meeting with
Reporter Choi about the bribery list and he said that he will set up the plan as well as do it his
way. He also went to Thailand in a fake manner in search of Jang Doo Chil. Back at the Seoul Tower,
he even conned Jang Doo Chil himself. After all of the realizations of the prosecutor about Ji-sung,
he pushed him angrily. He loads his gun and points it at him when suddenly, one of his men points a
gun at Prosecutor Park saying, “That’s a wrap.” and everyone in the room smiles including Kwak.
Unfortunately, his man, Ko Seok-dong, lost his loved one to suicide due to Doo-Chil’s scam.
Kwak, on the other hand, lost his wife in the same situation as well. Prosecutor Park’s men, Kwak,
and Ji-sung, all of them seek revenge and plan to lure the Prosecutor who helped Jang escape.
They have a secret hideout where they also made the fake money as
well as installed a camera in Prosecutor’s office. Back in the present time, Ji-sung tells Prosecutor
Park that now, the world will know everything he has done. He questions him if he planned all of it
for a petty swindler and Ji-sung points a gun at him. Suddenly, the prosecutor’s political friend
is also there together with his men, he punches Park and asks for an apology from Jang’s victims.
A police alarm gathered at the port which gives their arrival together with the media.
Prosecutor then sees a hidden camera, all the happenings were live on social media.
The prosecutor gets handcuffed while his men together with Kwak and Ji-sung are now visiting
the place where his dad used to work. They see a huge pile of money in the room, their hideout.
They look at the bulletin board where their plan has been made, all of the
people involved had an “X” except Jang Doo Chil. The movie ends with all of them saying that they
have one more person left to kill and it is Ji-sung’s job to mastermind it.