'The Roundup 4' returns with more action and comedy

From left, actors Ma Dong-seok, Kim Moo-yul, Park Ji-hwan, Lee Dong-hwi and director Heo Myeong-haeng pose at a press conference for the upcoming action film “The Roundup: Punishment,” held at Megabox Seongsu in Seongdong District, Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of ABO Entertainment By Lee Gyu-lee The hit film franchise "The Roundup" is gearing up for its fourth installment, promising audiences enhanced comedy, more intense action, and a deeper storyline, according to the film's director, Heo Myeong-haeng. A poster for the film “The Roundup: Punishment" / Courtesy of ABO Entertainment Scheduled to hit theaters on April 24, “The Roundup: Punishment” will revolve around bulky detective Ma Seok-do (Ma Dong-seok), who is investigating a drug-trafficking app. During the investigation, he uncovers a connection between the app’s developer and an illegal gambling cartel, which is led by a man in the Philippines named Baek Chang-gi (Kim Moo-yul). Ma teams up with fellow detectives and the cybercrime squad, embarking on another operation to track down Baek and his partner, IT genius Chang Dong-cheol (Lee Dong-hwi). The film is directed by Heo, who took part in the previous films as stunt coordinator. Under Heo's direction, the film seeks to maintain the unique flavor of the previous movies. “There was a sense of pressure (in leading the film). It’s such a successful series that many movie lovers are looking forward to watching it. So I contemplated a lot on what they would want to see while keeping the unique tone the series has,” the director said during a press conference for the film held at Megabox Seongsu in eastern Seoul's Seongdong District, Monday. “I focused on developing the story and upgrading its comedy and action.” The film series, which kicked off with “The Outlaws” in 2017, has built a strong fan base through the hit sequels, “The Roundup” (2022) and “The Roundup: No Way Out” (2023), which both surpassed 10 million ticket sales. For the first time in the series, the fourth installment was invited to the Berlin International Film Festival last month and had its world premiere there. “I developed ‘The Roundup’ 10 years ago in a small room, thinking it could become a franchise. And I’m thankful that we could present the fourth installment. Even though it’s an action genre entertainment film, I’m grateful that it was recognized for its cinematic value and got invited to Berlin. I’m looking forward to seeing how (Korean) audiences will respond to the film,” said Ma, who also serves as the film's producer. The actor hinted that the new film will have a different tone and style of action sequences than the previous series. “The tone of this film is different from the previous ones. We needed to create action sequences to fit the intense and dynamic tone. In the third series, there are strong and menacing villains but the actions are rather rhythmical. But this time, the action will be more solid and powerful. Even though we still used boxing techniques, we designed (the sequences) in different styles,” Ma said, adding actor Kim’s action scenes are also something to look forward to. “(The character) Ma also becomes more seasoned in each series, so we needed to craft his action to show that. Also, this time, I wanted the villain role to carry out challenging action sequences, so Kim did an excellent job delivering the action.” Kim shared that he put meticulous efforts into creating the ruthless villain role. “Baek crossed a line that an ordinary person can never cross. I tried to think what it would feel like for someone addicted to violence to inflict violence on others. Since there aren't many lines for him, I contemplated how I can portray it through gaze, actions, posture and vibe,” the actor said.