"The King" is a great movie, which reminded me of Scorsese's days of glory, and a film that proves that Godard was right when he was saying " It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to".

The sound and fury negates subtlety or cause, but this whirlwind drama is a telling primer on South Korean white collar rituals.

Despite its ambitious scope, The King is longer than it needs to be -- the middle section, especially, would benefit from some judicious editing. But the acting is strong and the archetypes solid.

a slick, snarky, breathless ride through hidden corridors of power