TOP as undercover agent and oppa extraordinaire
by girlfriday
Here’s a peek at the new undercover spy movie Alumni (also going by the international title Commitment), starring TOP as a North Korean spy who goes undercover as a high school student. Was I the only one hoping for the comedic flower boy version of this story? The trailer turns out to be quite the opposite, with a dark thriller feel. Kim Yoo-jung co-stars as TOP’s little sister, his singular driving force throughout the film — she gets held hostage in order to get the hero to be a good little spy and do as ordered.
It seems like a pretty straightforward story: Little Sis is in trouble, and Oppa will stop at nothing to get her back. Cue tears and badassery. His mission involves going to South Korea and posing as a high school student while carrying out deadly assignments that grow increasingly dangerous over time, and all he can do is hang on to the promise he made that he’d return to rescue her. Or you could just save her first? Okay fine, then there’d be no movie.
The feeling that I can’t shake from the trailer is that TOP hardly has any lines, which is giving me flashbacks to his IRIS days. This is going to be better than that, right? I think I’d have a little more faith if the movie’s close-up poster of its hero were in focus, but apparently that’s too much to ask. Hire your oppa-lovin’ fans, poster people.
The movie is directed by Park Hong-soo, who was an assistant director on The Front Line, and co-stars go-to bad guy headliners Jo Sung-ha and Yoon Je-moon. Alumni hits theaters November 6.
Via Hankooki
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Tags: Kim Yoo-jung, TOP
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1 noernov
September 30, 2013 at 9:05 AM
I'll just take what I can get ;)
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2 zakin89
September 30, 2013 at 9:11 AM
Seems like an intense movie! And I know this is as shallow as can be but as long as I have eye candy TOP oppa I'm fine :D
Though I have to admit that I am more looking forward to Lee Joon's upcoming movie "Rough Play/An actor is an Actor"
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3 taegyo
September 30, 2013 at 9:13 AM
I've been feeling TOP-deprived lately, so I'm definitely looking forward to this.
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kumi
September 30, 2013 at 2:02 PM
Oh, you've been TOP-less! :P
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jademwong
September 30, 2013 at 4:23 PM
LOL!!
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Alinka
September 30, 2013 at 6:26 PM
Oh my, the myriad of puns XD
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Mama J
September 30, 2013 at 8:23 PM
Can't TOP that...
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tokkioncrack
September 30, 2013 at 9:21 PM
I think we are going off the TOP-ic here ;-)
sorry, couldn't resist that :-)
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kumi
October 1, 2013 at 7:53 AM
OK, I'm sTOPping here.
4 skelly
September 30, 2013 at 9:13 AM
So... somebody was so impressed with his job in IRIS, they decided to make a movie featuring more of the same? Just...LOL.
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5 shukmeister
September 30, 2013 at 9:15 AM
Pungsang Dog had no dialogue for the lead guy, but Yoon Kye-sang did an excellent job on the role. So there's hope for TOP, even though I'm a bit underwhelmed by his acting skills.
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houstontwin
September 30, 2013 at 10:14 AM
YKS was so expressive, not to mention beautiful, in that movie. Not every actor can match that standard!
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shukmeister
September 30, 2013 at 11:27 AM
HoustonTwin -
True, that movie made me shiver (in a delicious manner). And, yes, I have yet to see that kind if intensity from TOP. But, who knows? With the PD, it may be possible.
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houstontwin
September 30, 2013 at 4:23 PM
Your right, we can't really appraise TOP's potential based on such limited opportunities. I certainly wish him success!
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houstontwin
September 30, 2013 at 4:29 PM
*you're*
kyleD
September 30, 2013 at 11:30 AM
yea, i am a little surprised about YKS getting/being taken for a role in a film like this, as an ex-idol actor.
all films by kim ki duk (he did the script for poongsan) tend to not rely on dialogue alot.
that puts more focus on the film-specific aspects of a story, as opposed to ending up with something that is more of a book read aloud by actors on screen.
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reina
September 30, 2013 at 3:26 PM
true. his movies has no dialogue so the actor needs to be more intense and have more facial expression since they cant use their voice to convey their feeling.
remember my first film by kim ki duk , it was 3-iron. jae hee was intense. then after that Poongsan with kyesang oppa. god those 2 in those movie could cook me alive with their intensity...
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eny
September 30, 2013 at 6:50 PM
3 iron is my most favorite korean movie, the story is unique, that movie left deep impression to me,it's memorable movie
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6 Sophia
September 30, 2013 at 9:17 AM
I've only seen him in IRIS and he did alright there, could definitely have been better. All I see when I look at him is pretty boy, lets hope that changes to include good actor with this movie. Who knows, maybe it wont be so bad since you take in the acting for a short period at a time.
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7 whilethemusiclasts
September 30, 2013 at 9:18 AM
Crossing my fingers that this isn't anything like IRIS. If, at the least, it reminds us of TOP in Into the Fire, then that's good enough for me.
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cheekbones
September 30, 2013 at 10:24 PM
Yes, he's quite alright in Into The Fire. I was pleasantly surprised.
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8 bboingbboing
September 30, 2013 at 9:21 AM
I know this is far from it, but I'm getting flashbacks of BigBang parody dramas.:))
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9 LangitBiru
September 30, 2013 at 9:27 AM
I think T.O.P must save a country in his previous life to act with Kim Yoo Jung.
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KatFish
September 30, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Funnily enough I'm pretty sure that's how Kim Yoo Jung feels about getting to do a movie with T.O.P. I remember from the bts of Seungri's VVIP music vid she said that her favourite out of Big Bang is T.O.P lol, even though Ri was the one that asked and was standing right there.
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10 Perrie
September 30, 2013 at 9:43 AM
Are we really suppose to believe he's 19? -_-
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11 Perrie
September 30, 2013 at 9:43 AM
Are we really suppose to believe he's 19? -_-
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elvira
September 30, 2013 at 4:44 PM
Agree.
He looks young though...
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12 Timewonderland
September 30, 2013 at 9:44 AM
I don't know what is the deal with Top, North Korea, and killing attempt.
Iris related to North Korea and he is an assassin.
71 into the fire is about student fighting war with North Korea which he learn how to kill.
In Commitment, he is a spy from North Korea and force to kill.
I know this is about brother emptional breakthrough whoch probably mostly fous on Top acting skill, but storyline make me feel like 'is that make sense?' Hope that won't bring this movie down though. I kind of fan girl him @^^@
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reina
September 30, 2013 at 3:35 PM
hahaha. right on.
maybe he will liberate north korea from communism... hahaha lol
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13 chouc
September 30, 2013 at 9:57 AM
wait ... is it me, or the last sequence with the graphite is a total rip off from The Pacific opening ? o_O'
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14 ilikemangos
September 30, 2013 at 10:01 AM
lol i just rememeber kim yoo jung admitting that top is her ideal type. She mustve been a happy child filming together with him for this.
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pogo
September 30, 2013 at 3:17 PM
ha, she and Kim So-hyun have ideal types around the same age/contemporaries then - I remember KSH talking about how much she adored Yoochun and then getting to work with him in I Miss You.
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elvira
September 30, 2013 at 4:48 PM
The girl must have had a hard time seeing TOP right in his piercing eyes.
I've watched a show where TOP said that some actresses who worked with him together in commercials have had hard times seeing him in the eyes.
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15 EX-DF user
September 30, 2013 at 10:05 AM
I thought he did a great job in Into the Fire. I'm looking forward to watching this. Of course, this is my completely unbiased TOP stan opinion ^__^
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16 kyleD
September 30, 2013 at 11:24 AM
oppa extraordinaire? that should definitely be a thing.
i vote to put that in dictionaries.
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17 HeadsNo2
September 30, 2013 at 11:33 AM
They should've hired THIS oppa-lovin' fan to take a better poster picture. But who cares? OPPA!
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18 DHM
September 30, 2013 at 11:54 AM
While the preview looks like he doesn't have any lines, to be fair, it looks like just about nobody has any lines. That can't be true, so I think it's just the preview style.
I didn't think he was awful in IRIS*, and I loved him in 71, and I thought he did fine in 19, too. So maybe I'm biased, but it's not oppa crushing- he's younger than my oldest three kids.
*Okay, yes, he was bad when he had to speak English lines, but I find that I think most non-English speaking actors are really embarrassing when they are given English lines, and I imagine it's the same for monolingual English speaking actors when given lines in languages they don't speak and cannot understand.
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19 Quiet Thought
September 30, 2013 at 12:51 PM
He looks beat up and probably in need of a T.O.P. Medical Team diagnosis. I see a cameo about twelve episodes in.
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20 csh
September 30, 2013 at 12:52 PM
Oh thank goodness Kim Yoo-jung plays his sister. Saw this preview w/o subs and was worried it was the other kind of "Oppa." EVERYONE knows that TOP is into older women, right?
Right?
....
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Ennayra
September 30, 2013 at 3:42 PM
Of course ;-)
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daria
September 30, 2013 at 4:36 PM
right :) & he's the lead actor in MY noona romance fantasy... mmmmmmmmm...
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anna
September 30, 2013 at 5:05 PM
Lol she's 14, did you really expect the other kind of "oppa"?
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csh
October 5, 2013 at 3:13 PM
Forgive my ignorance, Anna. Thought she was 16. Which would still be sketchy.
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dfl123
October 1, 2013 at 12:24 AM
yes...this noona is certainly hoping he is (into older women) :-b!!
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21 TS
September 30, 2013 at 1:12 PM
Gaah, I'm crying! I hope TOP & little sister live happily ever after in Seoul at the end.
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22 canxi
September 30, 2013 at 1:53 PM
I don't get any IRIS feelings..but, I would like the idea of him acting in a film with few lines. That would really push him as an actor--I want him to keep on improving. I think it's just the style of the trailer, though. It didn't have much action in it either, so I'm guessing they just want you to lure people in with the emotional aspect at the moment.
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23 Angel Yi
September 30, 2013 at 2:31 PM
I'll just look at his pretty beat up face. that's good enough.
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24 Ennayra
September 30, 2013 at 3:40 PM
Okay, I used to love TOP, which I'm mostly over (mostly), but Jo Sung-ha is my one and only ahjussi crush. Love that man. First saw him in that drama where the maids win the lottery and yet it's exceedingly boring, oh yeah Romance Town.
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Nana
September 30, 2013 at 6:04 PM
my absolute ahjussi crush is Kim Gab-so but Jo sung-ha is my favourite Jeon-ha ever.. it's kind hard to see him in modern roles but i still watch his dramas :-)
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25 Yue
September 30, 2013 at 3:55 PM
*que fangirl scream* I've been waiting for this movie after they cast TOP. VIP forever. I loved him IRIS, but, I gotta admit, I had wished for more. I hope this role will have a lot more lines, and maybe some sinister smile - what? I love that sinister smile as he was shot to death in IRIS. I am such a weirdo. Anywho... Looks like it's gonna be a decent movie. Still, I'm not gonna put my hopes up too high, just in case...
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26 daria
September 30, 2013 at 4:47 PM
i'm incapable of exercising any objectivity when it comes to TOP so i have & will watch anything with him in it :)
taking baby steps towards a fruitful acting career, i'm more than happy to see him work with a range of non-speech expressions then combining the delivery of speech & expression together as he goes along. this is only his movie numero #2, no?
if all else fails, he might turn into the kind of actor takeshi kaneshiro is which isn't exactly a bad thing :)
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DHM
September 30, 2013 at 5:48 PM
It's his fourth movie, fifth if we count the first one where he had a cameo role playing himself, but let's not.
Nineteen- he was the lead, and I thought he played his role very well
Iris the Movie- didn't see it, but I assume he reprised the role of Vic the assassin.
71: Into the Fire- loved him in it.
He's also done the drama I Am Sam way back in 2007- I liked him well enough, but I wasn't able to finish it because I find teacher/student romances creepy in the extreme, and this drama had older male teacher and a high school student and I did not find them romantic.
Add all that to his MV experience and the numerous product endorsements he's done, and he probably should be better at line delivery, but the camera sure does love him.
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daria
September 30, 2013 at 8:50 PM
funny you should mention MV cause the first time i caught a glimpse of his acting potential was in this red roc MV in this scene where he was shaving his head :)
'iris: the movie' is just a mashed up, cut-&-paste version of 'iris: the drama'... take it from me, don't!
i actually sat through the entirety of 'i am sam' & i'm not ashamed to admit that it was all for tabi ;)
hahahah, to add on to your list of experience, he has also always played the male lead in all the bigbang drama parodies.
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27 elvira
September 30, 2013 at 4:52 PM
I KNOW!
This fall is a blessing!
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28 anna
September 30, 2013 at 5:04 PM
This is like the second half of Secretly, Greatly, in other words,
[SPOILER]
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29 Ili
September 30, 2013 at 5:54 PM
I hope this movie can achieve what covertly,grandly can't seem to achieve >_<
On the other hand, TOP, i've missed u!
So glad to see you're back on screen :)
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30 jamie
September 30, 2013 at 7:00 PM
may i know the title and the singer of the song that is playing in the background! thanks in advance
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31 kfangurl
September 30, 2013 at 8:04 PM
I'm pleasantly surprised, actually. I saw Iris - yes, ALL of it - and found TOP fittingly mysterious but terribly wooden. He seems way better in this trailer, tbh. It's hard to say how it'll pan out in the movie proper, but from the little that we get to see, TOP's definitely improved since his Iris days :)
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32 Abbie
September 30, 2013 at 8:08 PM
I love TOP as an idol. He wasn't too bad in IRIS, but maybe he's gotten better, I don't know.
In The Man From Nowhere, I remember that Won Bin had very few lines. I seem to recall that most of the dialogue came from the baddies. But, it's been a while since I've seen it, so maybe I'm wrong?
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Mama J
September 30, 2013 at 8:26 PM
Yes, but Won Bin can do more than destroy ovaries with his eyes...
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Abbie
October 1, 2013 at 3:14 PM
Hmmmm. I see your point. Okay. Still like TOP though, whether he can act or not. The man is just sexy.
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33 queencircles
September 30, 2013 at 8:52 PM
I feel like this movie was made forever ago. It's only coming out now?
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34 alice20
September 30, 2013 at 9:06 PM
This is TERRIBLE. Why am I already feeling so many feels?
It's those eyes, man. Those damn eyes just hook you.
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35 cheekbones
September 30, 2013 at 10:26 PM
Woohoo !
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36 kDkiddo
October 1, 2013 at 2:22 AM
Is it me or this child actress is actually an A+ list lool
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37 wtfgil
October 1, 2013 at 4:10 AM
wow handsome top.look forward to this. he need more line.. but he look bad ass.
wondering why no review on rough play? or #배우는배우다 its going to play on biff lee joon is one to watch idol wise
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38 NaHyun
October 1, 2013 at 4:49 AM
Woot this one looks pretty good. The premise is pretty simple and straightforward so a thumbs up for me!
And I think I read Yoon Je-Moon as the baddie correctly yes? I think I'll watch it for him. Yoon Je-Moon will forever be the best bad guy ever♥(LOL. best bad guy)
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39 mysterious
October 1, 2013 at 7:01 AM
I've been dying to hear more about (and see) this movie since it was first announced. I love TOP!
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40 ....
October 1, 2013 at 9:24 AM
well... even if the film isn't good at least he looks good right? (got to find something good in this...)
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41 naninoona
October 3, 2013 at 4:19 PM
wow so many doubters. how long ago was iris? yeah 4 YEARS yo. he was green back then and not to mention we can see how he improved just a year after with into the fire, imagine what 3 years did in terms of his skill. come on. at least leave some margin for benefit of the doubt eh? maybe i'm biased because i mean come on the guy is sexy as hell, but speaking as a person here, let's give him a chance huh. it's not like he did a lot of acting projects for us to measure by anyways. let's wait it out yeah? okay? cool.
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42 TenLotus
October 3, 2013 at 8:27 PM
TOP improved significantly in Into The Fire and even though he didn't have much lines to have a bigger impact, he conveyed emotions relatively well. Now I'll just have to wait and see if he's realized his full potential yet and seeing as how he's choosing his roles meticulously, there should be no questions about his sincerity. His heart is in the right place, and that's all that matters for now.
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