In the world of male-dominated cinema, it’s always rare to
find a female-led film that doesn’t overly sexualize the protagonist, give her
a cliché love interest or make her so fiercely strong and independent that
she’s considered robotic instead of human. If you’re looking for a film with
tense, edge-of-your-seat moments, fast-paced action and a respectable portrayal of its leading lady, search no further
because “Cold Eyes” is the movie for you.
This South Korean action-thriller focuses on Ha Yoon-joo
(played by Han Hyo-joo), a rookie detective who’s just joined police force to
work in the surveillance unit. Although she’s new to the team, her ability to
recall images is so high that it can be considered photographic. Her
intelligence proves incredibly useful as she teams up with the rest of the
surveillance unit to track down the leader of an international crime ring.
Ha Yoon-joo is the heart of the film, not only is she the
main character but she’s also the most humane. The problem with a lot of female
characters in film (especially action films) is that their physical strength
acts as a replacement for their personalities; poor character development is at
fault because there isn’t enough effort being put into making female characters
relatable, unlike male characters that get all the focus and attention. This
film succeeds at making Ha Yoon-joo relatable; we have an emotional connection
to her because we know who she is as a person. We root for her because she’s
more than just her strength; she has emotions and reasoning behind her actions.
During an outside mission with her surveillance unit, Yoon-joo
notices that a kidnapping is taking place; she tells her chief that she’s going
to intervene and he says that police are already on the way. Knowing that the
victims won’t have that much time, she rushes in to take on the kidnappers
alone. She nearly beats all of them, but her chief shows up at the last minute
to finish the job. He scolds her: “Even if someone were to die in front of you,
do not help.” She interrupts him with, “My sight and hearing don’t allow that.”
She’s constantly in an internal battle with her duty as an officer but also as
a person who cares for the safety of others.
Her instinct to detect danger is what often puts her in
these moral situations, but her heart always tells her to protect then serve.
When the lives of her team members are threatened, she has her moment of emotion but she remembers that she has a task at hand and she quickly composes
herself to continue on with the job. This is why we root for Yoon-joo; she’s
strong enough to defend herself but at the same time she’s also
someone you can trust. Her chief essentially tells her to have the mindset of a
robot in order to succeed, but Yoon-joo shoots down that idea because she
didn’t join the police force to be a robot—she joined it to protect lives.
This is the type of role model female audiences need; never
is she a victim of poor character development or having a love interest simply
to make her relatable to women. She proves that she’s humane with her
consistent actions to help those around her. You want her to win because you
understand her. Audiences flock to see their favorite heroes kick ass and save
the day while Yoon-joo does the exact same thing without the mask or the
superpowers. She’s just as relatable as someone like Captain America, and the
fact that she’s a female doesn’t hinder her. “Cold Eyes” succeeds at providing
the audience with great suspense and action, but the film should really be
praised for finally giving us a true female hero.
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