No Other Choice

Criminals in the films of Park Chan-wook tend to be brilliant, devious, Machiavellian creatures, adept at the long game and staying several moves ahead of those who would bring them to justice. Not so Man-su (“Squid Game’s” Lee Byung-hun), the endearingly klutzy protagonist of “No Other Choice”. A former paper mill middle manager whose job is abruptly terminated, Man-su turns to desperate and increasingly deadly measures to secure reemployment in a shrinking job market. He is, it becomes clear, supremely ill-suited to a rampage of violence.

But while the crime spree may be inept, Park’s filmmaking is as elegant as ever, in a wildly enjoyable picture that balances psychological tension against giddily hilarious comic set pieces.