What a positive surprise. For all those who are not afraid of the brutal, merciless milieu of gang wars and drug cartels: "Worst of Evil" offers intense characters with dynamic profiles, especially of the two protagonists - the rural police officer who joins a new Gangnam gang as an undercover agent, to help uncover the organized drug trade between China, South Korea and Japan, as well as the boss of that Gangnam gang.
In particular, Ji Chang-wook as Park Jun-mo alias Kwon Seung-ho puts his heart and soul as well as quite some muscles and fighting into it. Whatsoever, he is impressive. But so are the others. It´s well cast and Disney+ apparently didn't skimp on anything...
For me personally, gang stories like this one aren't really my first choice. Too much crude violence, too much highly concentrated testosterone... "Worst of Evil" is no exception. Sharp blades and baseball bats are in high demand, especially in the first half. Nicotine seemingly acts as nutrition and even the fanciest suits can't hide the fact that a lot of blood is being shed unscrupulously...

Nonetheless.
“Worst of Evil” features complex characters and highly explosive relationship dynamics that is touching, gripping and, more importantly, provides emotional substance, too.
Eventually, undercover operations are psychologically demanding. The boundaries between true and false identity are blurring. A solid compass for right and wrong can easily be lost. The reality of living the undercover life creates new truths in which even the 'false' identity becomes a ´true´ part of one's own life. Coming to terms with this obviously is not easy. The return to the old life as it was before, even less so. In the case of "Worst of Evil", these internal and external conflicts of our undercover investigator become even more difficult by the fact that his wife has a history with the gang boss that he knew nothing about. She, his wife, herself a police officer and officially not ´his´ wife in terms of the new undercover identity, is now drawn into current affairs in a way that the small special investigation team could not have foreseen.
Not to mention the fact that the drug cartels involves powerful partners, not only in South Korea, but also in China and Japan. At last, the homicide police also get involved in dealing with everyday gang activities and murder cases in Gangnam. None of those involved is squeamish whatsoever. So danger lingers everywhere. Not only fists and fights, but also intelligent, diplomatic solutions are required. High-end improvisation is on the agenda for our hero.

"Worst of Evil" is thrilling, stirring, gloomy and – despite all the blood that boils over and over again (and all the copious amounts that are spilled) – it has its soulful strings, too. It's about trust, loyalty, bromance, the relativity of 'right' and 'wrong', and ultimately the ethical question of which end justifies which means...

Is the story predictable? Well, I can't fully deny that. But in "Worst of Evil" the journey is clearly the destination - what the undercover special operation DOES with this once "mother-in-law's favorite" and how he comes to terms with it. In addition, his counterpart, the self-proclaimed, brash, brilliant gang leader, is also quite interesting. With his vita, his goals and desires, he doesn't really fit into the usual cliché and thus brings additional dynamism. In addition, several other characters in the cartel (and police) environment impress with strong profiles, too.

As I said, I was pleasantly surprised. "Worst of Evil" had me. It's pretty well made all around and has actually more to offer than just ruthless gangs and action. (Nevertheless, be prepared, it still is about the milieu of ruthless gangs...)