Close Menu
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    The First Descendant Season 3: Breakthrough keyart

    The First Descendant Season 3 Looks Like A Gamechanger

    05/11/2025
    Mafia: The Old Country promotional still

    Everything We Know About ‘Mafia: The Old Country’

    05/08/2025
    Sunderfolk Phone Players

    10 ‘Sunderfolk’ Tips To Help You And Your Party Thrive

    05/02/2025
    Bob in Thunderbolts But Why Tho

    ‘Thunderbolts*’ Visualizes Depression As Only A Superhero Movie Can

    05/02/2025
    Games to Play After Expedition 33

    5 Games to Play After Beating ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’

    05/01/2025
  • Star Wars
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Blood of Zeus
  • MCU
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Officer Black Belt’ Brings A Surprising Balance To Its Narrative

REVIEW: ‘Officer Black Belt’ Brings A Surprising Balance To Its Narrative

Charles HartfordBy Charles Hartford09/14/20244 Mins Read
Officer Black Belt
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Lee Jung-do (Kim Woo-bin, Black Knight) spends his days playing video games and training in various forms of combat in Officer Black Belt, written and directed by Kim Joo-hwan (Bloodhounds). Fixated on only doing the things he enjoys, Lee coasts through life, wanting nothing but to enjoy it to the fullest. But when a chance encounter sees him save a probation officer from a violent felon, Lee’s life takes an unexpected turn when he is asked to be a Martial Arts Officer helping to keep an eye on recently released violent felons.

The opening third of this movie establishes a tone reminiscent of a buddy cop comedy. Lee is paired with an experienced and passionate officer named Kim Seon-min (Kim Seong-gyoon, Divorce Attorney Shin), who shows him the ropes of the job. The two become fast friends as they diffuse a couple of potentially dangerous situations and bond over pork belly dinners after a hard day’s work.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Kim and Lee develop fantastic chemistry. Thanks to how well the actors play off each other, the audience can feel the bond forming between the two characters. With a couple of easy wins and some celebratory meals, Officer Black Belt brings warmth and fun to its story.

Officer Black Belt

This changes at about the halfway point of the movie. When a violent sex offender is released from prison after serving his sentence, the film takes a dark turn. Almost immediately, the man returns to his old ways, lining up a job to provide videos for a dark web distributor involving himself and unwilling underage girls.

Even as I write this, part of me feels like this movie shouldn’t work. Shifting from the lighter vibe of the opening act to the darker and more violent tone of the back half should be a jarring move, especially when dealing with the nature of the crimes involved. However, the film uses the opening skillfully, enhancing the power of the movie’s back half.

At one point in Officer Black Belt, the police are dealt a crushing setback that leaves the situation in disarray. This moment forces Lee to realize the true nature of the work he does. The character feels the pain that comes with such dangerous work and relays skillfully to the viewer. As Lee hardens himself for what he has to do, the film shifts with him, making an impressive transition to the new tone it conveys.

Officer Black Belt

Helping ease the narrative into this darker tone is a shred of light that comes along to keep Officer Black Belt’s story from becoming too dark. This brightness that never gets fully extinguished is instrumental in balancing Lee’s goals and motives in the movie’s back half. After Lee comes out of the crushing defeat that befalls him, it would be easy for him to slide into full vigilante mode, wanting to do nothing more than punish those who have hurt him. It would feel almost natural for his arc to take him in that direction if not for this one spark of hope the story wisely leaves him with it. This focus point helps temper his character, reminding him he can accomplish good without crossing that final line.

As the name would imply, Officer Black Belt features numerous fight sequences. Much like the rest of the movie, the tone of these fights shifts as the film progresses to accommodate the rest of the movie. In the early fights, Lee’s vast training time makes his confrontations with his opponents laughable. He sweeps his first couple of opponents aside with little effort and more than a bit of playfulness. As the film goes on, the fights become harder, and the brutality grows with them. While no fight ever enters the realm of shocking in its displays of injury, the combatants’ increased drive and relentlessness ratchet up the intensity nicely.

Officer Black Belt does a surprisingly good job balancing its fun opening with its darkly themed back half. Great chemistry between its core cast and solid fight work make this movie a strong film worth checking out.

Officer Black Belt is streaming now on Netflix.

Officer Black Belt
  • 8/10
    Rating - 8/10
8/10

TL;DR

Officer Black Belt does a surprisingly good job balancing its fun opening with its darkly themed back half. Great chemistry between its core cast and solid fight work make this movie a strong film worth checking out.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘DanDaDan’ is Pure Excellence In GKIDs’ First Encounter
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Twilight Out Of Focus’ Episode 11 “Paths”
Charles Hartford
  • X (Twitter)

Lifelong geek who enjoys comics, video games, movies, reading and board games . Over the past year I’ve taken a more active interest in artistic pursuits including digital painting, and now writing. I look forward to growing as a writer and bettering my craft in my time here!

Related Posts

Josh Hartnett in Fight or Flight movie promotional still
9.5

REVIEW: ‘Fight or Flight’ Is The Single-Location Actioner You Need

05/06/2025
Jeanne Goursaud as Sarah in Netflix Original Film The Exterritorial
7.0

REVIEW: ‘Exterritorial’ Is A Netflix Action Movie Worth Watching

05/03/2025
Seohyun, Ma Dong-seok, and David Lee in Holy Night Demon Hunters
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Holy Night Demon Hunters’ Holds Nothing Back

05/02/2025
Oscar in The Rose of Versailles (2025)
3.5

REVIEW: ‘The Rose of Versailles’ Fails To Harness Its Potential

05/01/2025
The cast of the Thunderbolts
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Thunderbolts*’ Fosters A Half-Hearted Identity

04/29/2025
Spreadsheet Champions
8.0

HOT DOCS 2025: ‘Spreadsheet Champions’ Excels In Heart

04/28/2025
TRENDING POSTS
The First Descendant Season 3: Breakthrough keyart Features

The First Descendant Season 3 Looks Like A Gamechanger

By Kate Sánchez05/11/2025

At PAX East 2025, NEXON previewed the groundbreaking mega-update for The First Descendant Season 3: Breakthrough.

The Devil's Plan Season 2 key art
4.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The Devil’s Plan’ Season 2 Is Off To A Rough Start

By Charles Hartford05/07/2025Updated:05/07/2025

The Devil’s Plan Season 2 challenges its contestants to outsmart and outmaneuver each other. Unfortunately, it does so in pace grinding ways

Razer Joro product image
9.0
Product Review

PRODUCT REVIEW: The Portable Razer Joro Is A Travel Gamechanger

By Kate Sánchez05/08/2025Updated:05/08/2025

Reliable and uncompromising in its gaming features on the go, the portable Razer Joro is a travel gamechanger.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here