Mission: Cross

{{Short description|2024 film by Lee Myeong-hun}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}

{{Infobox film

| image = MissionCrossFilmPoster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Promotional poster

| native_name = {{Infobox Korean film name/auto|hangul=^크로스|lk=Cross}}

| director = Lee Myeong-hun

| writer = Lee Myeong-hun

| producer = {{Plainlist|

  • Han Jae-deok
  • Cha Jin-kyung
  • Hong Jung-in
  • Kim Hyung-seok

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| cinematography = Park Jung-hoon

| editing = Kim Sang-beom

| music = Hwang Sang-jun

| studio = {{Plainlist|

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

}}

| released = {{Film date|2024|08|09}}

| runtime = 105 minutes{{cite web|title=Mission: Cross|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/mission-cross-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdizmzc4|website=BBFC|date=9 August 2024|access-date=10 August 2024}}

| country = South Korean

| language = Korean

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Mission: Cross ({{Korean|크로스}}) is a 2024 South Korean spy action comedy film directed and written by Lee Myeong-hun, and starring Hwang Jung-min, Yum Jung-ah, and Jeon Hye-jin. It follows the adventures of a former agent turned househusband, Park Kang-moo, who becomes entangled in a dangerous mission alongside his detective wife Kang Mi-seon, who remains unaware of his past. The film was released on Netflix on 9 August 2024.

Plot

Police detective Mi-seon goes on regular drug busts with her police squad. Her househusband, Kang-moo, meets up with an ex-colleague of his, Hee-joo, about a missing colleague, Jung-san. A couple of police detectives witness their meeting, and mention to their boss that Kang-moo is having an affair. Mi-seon overhears them speak, and later also sees some photos of Kang-moo with Hee-joo.

In a flashback in Russia 6 years ago, it is revealed that South Korean defense personnel, including Kang-moo, attempt to prevent a ship from sailing because they think it's working with North Korea, but are shocked to discover that it is actually working with South Korea. Kang-moo is captured and tortured for a passcode, which he gives away to save his colleague, and is asked to leave the force.

In the present day, Mi-seon follows her husband sees him with Hee-joo in a hotel room. She takes out a taser to stun them, but her boss pleads with her to take a look at the full picture before using violence. Mi-seon lifts fingerprints off a car that Hee-joo touched and determines her identity. She also places a location finder on her husband's phone to know his whereabouts. She learns from another police officer about the emblem of a traitorous South Korean army unit that looks like an "H".

Kang-moo disguises himself as a construction worker and breaks into the traitorous military unit's torture chamber and frees a prisoner. When the prisoner is in the hospital and believes he is free from danger, he reveals the secret code to Kang-moo, which the traitors come to know due to a hidden camera. The prisoner suspects something is amiss and calls Kang-moo to warn him, but is killed. Kang-moo is injured when an army truck rams into his car.

Mi-seon goes to the safe house where her husband was, and sees someone stealing a USB stick. She takes it from him and copies its contents to her phone and sends it to her husbands phone, and then destroys the USB drive. She is tortured and reveals the file location. Meanwhile, Kang-moo frees himself and arrives to save his wife, and they flee by truck. Kang-moo confesses to his wife that he is a special agent, and together they enter the safe house and arm themselves with weapons.

Kang-moo and Mi-seon go to the traitorous military unit's headquarters and fight with the guards and reset the computer systems just before the funds are transferred. Hee-joo tries to escape by car, but is stopped by Mi-seon. The husband and wife take the briefcase with the loot and hand it over to the South Korean army.

Six months later in a safe house, Kang-moo and Mi-seon work together on a Cocaine bust.

Cast

  • Hwang Jung-min as Park Kang-moo, a former agent turned househusband and Mi-seon's husband.{{Cite web|title=Review Mission: Cross movie review – Hwang Jung-min, Yum Jung-ah play couple in Netflix spy caper|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-movies/article/3273192/mission-cross-movie-review-hwang-jung-min-yum-jung-ah-play-couple-netflix-spy-caper|website=South China Morning Post|last=Marsh|first=James|date=5 August 2024|access-date=10 August 2024}}
  • Yum Jung-ah as Kang Mi-seon, an ace detective of Violent Crimes Division Team 1 at Seoul Police Station and Kang-moo's wife.
  • Jeon Hye-jin as Jang Hee-joo, a current agent and junior of Kang-moo who looked for him for help.
  • Jung Man-sik as Lee Sang-woong, Team leader of Violent Crimes Division Team 1 at Seoul Police Station.
  • Kim Joo-hun as Kim Jung-san, an army intelligence major who was partners with Kang-moo, and Hee-joo's husband.{{Cite web|title=Netflix action film 'Mission: Cross' starring Hwang Jung-min to premiere in August|url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-07-17/entertainment/movies/Netflix-action-film-Mission-Cross-starring-Hwang-Jungmin-to-premiere-in-August/2092373|website=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=17 July 2024|access-date=29 July 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809174102/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-07-17/entertainment/movies/Netflix-action-film-Mission-Cross-starring-Hwang-Jungmin-to-premiere-in-August/2092373|url-status=live}}
  • Cha Rae-hyung as Heon-gi, a detective of Violent Crimes Division Team 1 at Seoul Police Station.
  • Lee Ho-cheol as Dong-soo, a detective of Violent Crimes Division Team 1 at Seoul Police Station.
  • Ok Ja-yeon as Baek Seon-woo, Jung-san's capable assistant.
  • Kim Jun-han as Geum-seok

Production

=Casting=

In July 2022, Hwang Jung-min and Yum Jung-ah were reported to star in lead roles.{{Cite web|script-title=ko:[단독] 염정아, 황정민과 부부 호흡...'크로스' 주연 캐스팅|trans-title=[Exclusive] Yeom Jeong-ah and Hwang Jeong-min as a couple... Cast as the lead roles in 'Cross'|url=https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/109/0004661214|publisher=Naver|language=ko|author=김보라|date=20 July 2022|access-date=10 August 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809172741/https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/109/0004661214|url-status=live}} Hwang and Yum confirmed their involvements in the following month, with Jeon Hye-jin, Jeong Man-sik, Kim Chan-hyung, Kim Joo-hun, {{ill|Cha Rae-hyung|ko|차래형}}, and {{ill|Lee Ho-chul (actor)|lt=Lee Ho-chul|ko|이호철 (배우)}} added to the cast.{{Cite web|script-title=ko:[공식] 황정민X염정아X전혜진, 첩보 액션 코미디 영화 '크로스' 출연 확정..지난달 첫 삽 떴다|trans-title=[Official] Hwang Jung-min X Yeom Jung-ah X Jeon Hye-jin confirmed to appear in spy action comedy film 'Cross'.. First shovel broke ground last month|url=https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/076/0003899517|publisher=Naver|language=ko|author=조지영|date=1 August 2022|access-date=10 August 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809172424/https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/076/0003899517|url-status=live}} Kim Jun-han was announced to have a cameo appearance later in the same month.{{Cite web|script-title=ko:[단독]'안나' 김준한, 영화 '크로스' 우정출연|trans-title=[Exclusive] 'Anna' Kim Jun-han, friendly appearance in movie 'Cross'|url=https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/477/0000379212|publisher=Naver|language=ko|author=강효진|date=31 August 2022|access-date=10 August 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809172427/https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/477/0000379212|url-status=live}}

=Filming=

Principal photography began in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on 24 July 2022.{{Cite web|script-title=ko:'크로스' 황정민X염정아X전혜진 코믹 호흡..7월24일 크랭크인[공식]|trans-title='Cross' Hwang Jung-min X Yeom Jung-ah X Jeon Hye-jin's comical chemistry.. Start of filming on July 24 [Official]|url=https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/609/0000609852|publisher=Naver|language=ko|author=배효주|date=1 August 2022|access-date=10 August 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809172430/https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/609/0000609852|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|script-title=ko:[공식] 황정민X염정아X전혜진, 첩보 액션 코미디 영화 '크로스' 출연 확정..지난달 첫 삽 떴다|trans-title=[Official] Hwang Jung-min X Yeom Jung-ah X Jeon Hye-jin confirmed to appear in spy action comedy film 'Cross'.. First shovel broke ground last month|url=https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/076/0003899517|publisher=Naver|language=ko|author=조지영|date=1 August 2022|access-date=10 August 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809172424/https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/076/0003899517|url-status=live}} Filming spanned across four months, and wrapped on 13 November.{{Cite web|title=Hwang Jung-min-Yeom Jeong-ah-Jeon Hye-jin 'Cross' crank-up [Official]|url=https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/382/0001018100|publisher=Naver|language=ko|author=정희연|date=24 November 2022|access-date=10 August 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809172817/https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/382/0001018100|url-status=live}}

Release

Mission: Cross was initially scheduled for release in February 2024, but the release date was postponed by the distributor Plus M Entertainment.{{Cite web|title=Jeon Hye-jin's upcoming comedy action flick, 'Mission: Cross,' delays release|url=https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231229000343|website=The Korea Herald|last=Kim|first=Da-sol|date=29 December 2023|access-date=29 July 2024|archive-date=28 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728230525/https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231229000343|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Jeon Hye-Jin's Korean Movie Mission: Cross Gets Release Date Window on Netflix|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/k-drama/news/1791639-jeon-hye-jin-korean-movie-mission-cross-release-date-window-netflix|website=ComingSoon.net|last=Narayanan|first=Varsha|date=5 July 2024|access-date=29 July 2024|archive-date=29 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729132818/https://www.comingsoon.net/k-drama/news/1791639-jeon-hye-jin-korean-movie-mission-cross-release-date-window-netflix|url-status=live}} The film was released on 9 August 2024.{{Cite web|title=Two veteran actors play as a mismatched couple in the Netflix film|url=https://www.chosun.com/english/video-en/2024/08/05/4JO5N4DN3VBQPGXCFLGIV5FTAM/|website=The Chosun Ilbo|last=Kim|first=Seo-young|date=5 August 2024|access-date=9 August 2024|archive-date=8 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808221539/https://www.chosun.com/english/video-en/2024/08/05/4JO5N4DN3VBQPGXCFLGIV5FTAM/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Mission: Cross, Korean spy caper on Netflix, is an action-packed romp|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-movies/article/3273192/mission-cross-movie-review-hwang-jung-min-yum-jung-ah-play-couple-netflix-spy-caper|website=South China Morning Post|date=5 August 2024|access-date=11 August 2024}}

Reception

James Marsh of South China Morning Post gave the film 4/5 stars, describing the film as hilarious and packed with an endless stream of gags, while also featuring well-executed action and strong performances from the actresses. Kim Da-sol of The Korea Herald praised the film as a delightful action comedy that follows the familiar troupe of a couple with secret pasts, but is elevated by the weighty presence of the lead actors Hwang Jung-min and Yeom Jung-ah, who are capable to balance the comedic and action elements of the film.{{Cite web|title=[Herald Review] 'Mission: Cross,' a high octane action flick with comedic elements|url=https://koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240807050664|website=The Korea Herald|last=Kim|first=Da-sol|date=7 August 2024|access-date=9 August 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809001138/https://m.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240807050664|url-status=live}}

References

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