Hwang Jung-min is returning to action-comedy this October with Mission: Cross 2, but his next role isn’t the only reason to have the Korean actor on your radar. If you want to see him in a much darker kind of action movie, Deliver Us from Evil is available to watch on Amasian TV.
Set across Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, the 2020 crime thriller puts Hwang behind the wheel of a very different kind of story. He plays a professional killer who thinks his latest assignment will be his last, only to discover that a kidnapping has a deeply personal connection to him.
That makes Deliver Us from Evil a particularly good starting point for anyone discovering Hwang through Mission: Cross 2. The two films both put him in dangerous situations, but almost everything about his characters and the way they move through those situations is different.
What Is Deliver Us from Evil About?
Hwang Jung-min plays Kim In-nam, a former black-ops agent who has become a contract killer. After completing an assignment in Japan, In-nam intends to leave that life behind.
His plans change when he learns that a woman from his past has been murdered in Thailand and her young daughter has been kidnapped. In-nam discovers that the child is connected to him and travels to Thailand to find her.
The search puts him against Ray, played by Lee Jung-jae. Ray has his own reason for hunting In-nam: In-nam recently killed Ray’s brother during his final assignment.
From there, the movie has two characters moving toward the same confrontation for completely different reasons. In-nam is trying to rescue a child and settle unfinished business, while Ray is pursuing revenge with little interest in anything that might get in his way.
The Korean Film Council classifies the film as a 107-minute crime-action movie and records more than 4.35 million admissions in South Korea. It was released domestically on August 5, 2020.
Hwang Jung-min Plays a Much Colder Character
One of the most interesting things about Deliver Us from Evil is how restrained Hwang is as In-nam.
This isn’t a character who spends much time explaining himself. In-nam has spent years working as a killer, and Hwang plays him as someone who is already accustomed to violence before the main story even begins.
That makes the early scenes in Japan important. Before the kidnapping becomes the focus, the film establishes exactly what In-nam is capable of during the assassination that was supposed to be his final job.
Once he reaches Thailand, that controlled personality becomes a useful contrast to the chaos around him. In-nam isn’t looking for a fight simply because he enjoys fighting. He is trying to reach one specific person, and almost every violent encounter gets in the way of that objective.
The result is an action protagonist who feels more like a professional trying to complete a job than a conventional hero looking for a victory.
Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae Are the Real Draw
Deliver Us from Evil brought Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae back together seven years after New World, where they played very different characters in a crime drama about the Korean underworld. The reunion was one of the major talking points around the film before its release.
Their roles are almost reversed in terms of energy here.
Hwang’s In-nam is quiet, methodical, and focused on getting the job done. Lee’s Ray is considerably more theatrical. He enters the story as a relentless pursuer whose desire for revenge becomes increasingly extreme.
That contrast gives their eventual confrontations much of their tension. In-nam rarely needs to announce how dangerous he is, while Ray makes his presence impossible to ignore.
It is also worth watching Deliver Us from Evil specifically for the performances rather than treating it as another interchangeable action movie. Hwang and Lee approach their characters from opposite directions, and the movie gets much of its momentum from putting those personalities on a collision course.
The Movie Moves Across Three Countries
The setting is another major part of what separates Deliver Us from Evil from a typical Korean crime thriller.
The story begins in Japan before moving through South Korea and into Thailand, where most of In-nam’s search takes place. The Korean Film Council notes that the production was shot on location across all three countries.
Thailand isn’t simply a backdrop for the final act. Once In-nam arrives, the environment changes the way he has to operate.
He needs help navigating an unfamiliar city and tracking down people connected to the kidnapping. That brings him into contact with Yui, played by Park Jung-min, who becomes his unlikely partner during the search.
The location work also gives the film a different visual identity as the story progresses. Rather than keeping the action confined to a familiar Korean setting, the movie uses its international locations to make In-nam’s search feel increasingly difficult to control.
Park Jung-min Gives the Movie Another Dimension
Park Jung-min plays Yui, a Korean living in Thailand who becomes involved in In-nam’s search for the kidnapped child.
Yui is useful to the story because In-nam spends much of the film operating alone. Their relationship gives the movie someone who can interact with In-nam in a way that isn’t based entirely around violence or revenge.
Yui also helps In-nam navigate the local environment, making the character important to the practical side of his investigation. The Korean Film Council specifically identifies Yui as the person who assists In-nam during his search.
That partnership keeps the film from becoming nothing but a series of fights between In-nam and Ray. There is still an objective outside their rivalry: finding the missing child.
The Action Has a Different Feel From Mission: Cross 2
This is where Deliver Us from Evil makes the most sense as an Amasian recommendation for people discovering Hwang through Mission: Cross 2.
Mission: Cross 2 brings Hwang back as Kang-mu, a former special-operations agent caught up in another mission with his wife. The sequel leans into action-comedy, while Deliver Us from Evil is a much harder-edged crime thriller.
The difference is immediately noticeable. In Mission: Cross 2, Hwang’s character exists within a story built around a married couple and comedic situations. In Deliver Us from Evil, In-nam is largely defined by his profession, his past, and the increasingly dangerous search he has chosen to undertake.
If Mission: Cross 2 is what puts Hwang Jung-min on your watchlist, Deliver Us from Evil shows why he can carry a much more serious action role.
A Korean Action Thriller With Real Momentum
Deliver Us from Evil was directed by Hong Won-chan, whose first feature was Office. The film also brought together cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo and composer Mowg, who had previously collaborated on Lee Chang-dong’s Burning.
That production pedigree is noticeable in the film’s presentation. The action isn’t confined to one type of set piece, either. The movie moves between gunfights, close-quarters combat, pursuits, and larger sequences as In-nam gets closer to the people responsible for the kidnapping.
The story itself remains straightforward: find the child, stay ahead of Ray, and survive long enough to finish the job.
That simplicity works in the movie’s favor. There isn’t a complicated mythology or an elaborate criminal conspiracy that you need to keep track of. The film establishes In-nam’s objective, puts an increasingly dangerous opponent behind him, and keeps pushing the two toward their eventual confrontation.
Watch Deliver Us from Evil on Amasian TV
With Mission: Cross 2 arriving on Netflix on October 30, 2026, Hwang Jung-min is about to be back in the spotlight with another action role.
But if you’re looking for something you can watch now, Deliver Us from Evil offers a very different introduction to the actor. Here, Hwang plays a taciturn professional killer caught between a personal rescue mission and an enemy who wants him dead.
Add Lee Jung-jae’s volatile performance, Park Jung-min’s Yui, and the film’s three-country production, and there’s plenty here for fans of Korean crime and action movies to dig into.
