This Netflix movie sure comes at the right time when the world is grappling with sexually exploitive videos of women and children. There’s the infamous Nth Room case in South Korea and now the case dubbed as the new Nth room with deepfake photos and videos spreading in Telegram, and the horror of child sex abuse in Malaysia’s charity homes. The world definitely needed this movie because we need a hero like Officer Black Belt.

And here we go…

Officer Black Belt starred Kim Woo-bin as Lee Jeong-do, a very chilled and carefree young guy who liked to do things that were fun like judo, taekwondo and kendo (I didn’t know these things are fun but hey, whatever rocks his boat), playing PUBG with his friends – Moisture (Kim Yo-han), Writer Kang (Kang Hyoung-suk) and Earthworm (Cha Wang-hyeon) and delivering chicken for his father’s fried chicken shop. But one thing is for sure, he liked all of these because he can win, very confidently. While delivering fried chicken, he came across two men fighting in an alleyway. When the man in an orange jumpsuit, whom he later found out was a parolee, started to stab an officer with a glass bottle, Jeong-do stepped in and easily knocked the man out, thus saving the officer’s life. Because of his bravery, he was awarded the brave citizen award. Through that, he was introduced to Kim Sun-min (Kim Sung-kyun) who asked for a favour to help the probation department that he headed to fill in for the officer who was recovering. He then learned that the department was dealing with violent offenders like murderers and sex offenders. After working with Jeong-do and realizing his talent, Sun-min recommended him for a full-time job in the department and Jeong-do thus became a martial arts officer.

I must say, short and sweet works very well. Officer Black Belt has a runtime of 1 hour and 49 minutes, which is relatively short and easy to watch. What I like about the movie, aside from the plot which fits with the current horror in the world with child sexual abuse and pornography, is that it is very clear-cut with its no-drama. Since it’s a K-movie, I was expecting some sort of drama with Jeong-do. Surely, the guy is not chill and carefree just like that. I was expecting some sad background story of him and his father that led to his personality but nope, the guy is really just like that. He does things that he wants and likes because his dad encourages that. Not very Asian parent mentality. Cool! Another thing that I find refreshing is that for someone who likes to do things because it is fun and he knows he can win confidently, he sure does not have any form of arrogance. He is still filled with humility and ever so polite with people around him. His friends are pretty much similar as well – there’s the street smart, book smart and the one that knows no anger.

I am actually quite thankful that the movie did not go dark with such a heavy topic. With such topic, it can certainly go the Taxi Driver way (heavy topic in 80% of an episode with 20% light-heartedness) or 100% dark like Through the Darkness (duh). But it didn’t – it managed to keep it easy to swallow and something for us to smile about. Like I said, we needed a hero like Jeong-do. You can think of it as Marvel – you can still laugh and smile despite whatever that is going on.

I also like that cameo from Ji Jin-hee who plays the President, a little nod towards his role as the interim president in Designated Survivor: 60 Days. I really like his role in that show so I absolutely love this cameo.

But here’s the thing: While I find it refreshing that it’s short and straightforward with no drama, I do wish that they show a little bit of how it became just him and his dad. What happened to his mom, why did his dad threw away his dream of becoming a stage actor, why was his dad okay with his unemployed son. I guess if they do get to these questions, it will be way longer than 1 hour and 49 mins and if the writer is not confident, they can get distracted and drift away from the actual story. And that’s a risk that I don’t think the producer would like to make. I’m fine by that.

I do find the subtitles a bit iffy though. For most Korean movies and shows, the translators would sub “Appa” as “father” or “dad” and “Imo” as “aunt” but the translator seemed to have kept the Korean terms, which is odd. Also, what is “3rd dan”? I had to Google the term! (Essentially, it means black belt. If you hold 3rd dan, it means you’ve been practicing as a 2nd dan black belt for 2 years. Basically, really good martial arts person.)

I give this movie a 4 out of 5. It’s an easy watch. You don’t have to spend so long to watch it nor is it heavy with the drama that requires your 100% attention. Honestly, I was watching it while ironing my clothes! Minus 1 because of the translations. If you are not learning Korean or don’t watch enough Korean shows and movies to understand some terms, you would be lost with the Korean terms that they kept in the subs.