The Man From Nowhere

The Man from Nowhere is a South Korean action film that opened in August 4, 2010. It centers around an ex-Army Intelligence Command operator turned quiet pawnshop owner named Cha Tae-Sik, who is unexpectedly flung into a conflict between the Korean Mafia and South Korean narcotics detectives. However, Cha later takes things personally when a child he knows becomes embroiled in the conflict.

This movie provides examples of:
"You guys only live for tomorrow, don't you? You don't stand a chance against a guy living for today. I only live for today. I will show you how terrible it's going to be."
 * Badass: Tae-Sik, hands down.
 * "He didn't flinch." "What?" "When I shot the gun, he didn't flinch."
 * Bad Boss: Mr. Oh. His first scene shows him beating Man-Seok for losing his product. When he learns that
 * Man-Seok counts too, since he has  murdered as a fall guy, and beats a wounded mook for not loading money fast enough.
 * Badass Boast:


 * Big Bad: Mr. Oh looks like this.
 * Big Bad Wannabe:
 * Bittersweet Ending:
 * Earn Your Happy Ending: Surprising, given the movie's bleak tone.
 * Blood Knight: Ramrowan.
 * Chekhov's Gun: A surprising amount of them.
 * So-Mi's nail paintings allow the audience to identify
 * The knife Tae-Sik grabs from the mook accompanying Bear lets him cut through the mesh net and chase Mr. Oh.
 * The cell-phone Man-Seok gives Tae-Sik leads him right into a mob nightclub.
 * Ramrowan
 * Dark and Troubled Past:
 * Decoy Protagonist: The lead detective at the beginning. He takes out Bear single-handedly, despite being half his size, and has witty remarks for every occasion. He is still an important character, but after Tae-Sik's introduction turns into an Inspector Javert.
 * The Dog Bites Back: Man-Seok.
 * The Dragon: Ramrowan.
 * Even Evil Has Standards:
 * Five Bad Band: Vague, but it works.
 * Big Bad: Mr. Oh.
 * The Dragon: Ramrowan fits this to a T.
 * The Brute: Bear. Also counts as a fall guy, too.
 * Evil Genius: "500", given his extensive medical skills.
 * The Dark Chick: Jong-Seok. He is the most expressive of the villains, and
 * Hazy Feel Turn:
 * Important Haircut: Tae-Sik
 * Gratuitous English: Ramrowan, the Viet Cong assassin, speaks nothing but English the entire film. May or may not be Fridge Brilliance considering the American involvement in Vietnam.
 * Karmic Death: If they're evil, odds are they die a very, very appropriate death for their crimes. To note:
 * dies the most horrifically karmic death in the film. Especially so since he has to watch helplessly as it happens.
 * Kill Em All: At least for the villains.
 * "Even if So-Mi is found... you two will die."
 * Knife Nut: Ramrowan.
 * Heroic BSOD: Tae-Sik, when he receives what appears to be So-Mi's harvested eyes.
 * Laser Guided Karma: The mook accompanying Bear roofies a girl to have sex with her. Two scenes later he's being murdered by Ramrowan for being in the way.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: We only learn  around half-way through the movie, so when Bear threatens him at the pawnshop the audience is reasonably certain he doesn't stand a chance. One Gilligan Cut later and Bear is on the ground, unconscious and bloodied.
 * Organ Theft: Man-Seok's MO.
 * Papa Wolf: While technically not So-Mi's father, Tae-Sik is practically this.
 * Psycho for Hire: Played around with by Ramrowan. He obviously enjoys his job, but when it comes to women and children (see his reaction to accidentally killing the drugged girl at the nightclub), he wants little to do with them. He's fine with letting the evil people go about their business, but when he's put in charge of
 * Recycled in Space: It's Taken / Man On Fire in SOUTH KOREA! That doesn't diminish the merits of the film.
 * Super Window Jump: You know the scene.
 * Underestimating Badassery: The Seok Brothers constantly taunt and belittle Tae-Sik. You can guess how that turns out.
 * Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him: Ramrowan has two golden opportunities to headshot Tae-Sik, but refrains. The first time, it was because Man-Seok wanted him alive. The second time...
 * Worthy Opponent: Ramrowan sees Tae-Sik as this; During the final fight as he watches Tae-Sik butcher all of the other mooks and refuses to shoot him out of respect, instead challenging him to a final showdown.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: All over the place! A lot of the villains in the film winds up dead at the hands of another villain. If you see Ramrowan, odds are he's killing a villain for getting in the way of his job.
 * Worthy Opponent: Ramrowan sees Tae-Sik as this; During the final fight as he watches Tae-Sik butcher all of the other mooks and refuses to shoot him out of respect, instead challenging him to a final showdown.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: All over the place! A lot of the villains in the film winds up dead at the hands of another villain. If you see Ramrowan, odds are he's killing a villain for getting in the way of his job.