The Old Woman with the Knife

While it features an enticing premise, slotting a 65-year-old woman into the underground assassin genre (a position usually reserved for grizzled men and young vixens), its story has an inordinate amount of detail, which the film metes out in awkward ways

There’s plenty that is familiar in this extravagantly bloody action picture. But Lee is terrifyingly effective in the role, and the fight sequences are impressively visceral.

A compelling, bloody and intense thriller that shows heroines come in all ages with Lee Hye-young shining as a badass.

[Full of] choppy flashbacks [that] only distract from the already disappointing action, while also failing in their bid to add earnest emotion.

“The Old Woman with the Knife” is not just a great action film featuring astounding ensemble performances, production values and complex narrative structure, but the underlying themes are deeper than expected.

Filmmaker Min Kyu-dong, whose previous features have veered unsteadily from marital dramas to horror shockeroos, must have been out of his mind to put a senior citizen through such an ordeal. But the audience will remember it.

Mixes spectacular fight sequences with an intricately constructed, if ultimately rather simple, revenge plot...engrossing despite its often funereal pacing and complicated structure.

The Old Woman with the Knife is a captivating, spectacularly convoluted thriller that twists and turns through a myriad of subplots. Its slick cinematography and editing can't overcome an excessive flashback structure that builds to an overblown finale.

As sharp and attention-getting as a knife to the throat.

The Old Woman with the Knife succeeds in drawing an entertaining thriller with a few narrative tricks up its sleeves to keep the audience invested.