[MOVIE] Korean star Rain plays top henchman in "The Prince"
"The Prince" explodes in a series of scenes where the past finally catches up with long-time enemies Paul Brennan (Jason Patric) and Omar (Bruce Willis), Rain plays a skillful assasin working for Willis' character.
We meet Paul who owns his own small garage - a widower whose daughter attends college in another town. Late one night, he sees a past due notice on her daughter's tuition. He calls the bank and is told that the check he sent her cleared weeks earlier. Fearing the worst, he flies immediately to Louisiana to check on her. He hits the streets to track her down and finds her best friend, Angela. She tells Paul that Beth had been high on illegal drugs for the longest time. Devastated, Paul asks Angela to take him to New Orleans, the last place in the world he wants to go. They track down Beth's last of boyfriends, Eddie and head to a bar called Barney’s to meet him. Scared, Eddie fesses up and says that Beth is probably with a crazy drug dealer named THE PHARMACY (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson). As Paul leaves the bar, one of the thugs makes a phone call to Omar. As each new bit of information gets Paul closer to Beth, it also exposes him to Omar (Bruce Willis), “a very powerful man in the city of New Orleans who put a price on Paul’s head the day Paul mistakenly killed Omar’s wife and daughter,” explains Miller. Enraged, Omar orders his right hand man MARK (Jeong Ji-Hoon, A.K.A. “Rain”) to find him.
We learn that Paul is responsible for the car explosion that killed Omar’s wife and daughter. Omar and Mark get away with Beth, forcing Paul to track them down and face them on his own. “Bruce is an old school pro that can just turn on the charm; I would whisper in his ear and wound him up a little bit, and then just let him go,” recalls Miller, of the character that does little to hide his thirst for vengeance. Omar, finely dressed with an air of power about him, tightens his grip on the phone, as a car follows Paul’s Explorer through an industrial part of town. The voice on the other end assures Omar that everyone in the bar knew The Prince the second he walked in the door.
Omar instructs his henchmen to bring Paul to him, but Mark (Rain), measures his words carefully before counseling, Let him do whatever it is he came here for and crawl back to whatever rock he’s been hiding under. “Mark is cool headed and charismatic,” says South Korean actor and singer Rain, who plays Omar’s quick-on-the-draw, right hand man. With finality, Omar glances at a photo of Susan and Rachel, sits down at his desk and declares, If The Prince is here, he’s mine. “Bruce just turns it on and becomes this character that you will see unfold on screen,” Miller says with a smile.
Rain, known as a superstar musician in Asia, crossed over into acting with his debut in the hit South Korean television series Sang-Doo (Let’s Go to School). He solidified his position as an actor with his lead role in the Korean mini-series "Full House," and became recognized throughout Asia as not only as a singer, but an actor as well. The drama was aired throughout most of Asia, including Japan and China, with an average program rating of over 50 percent. This was the start of Rain Fever that seemed to cross borders throughout the east and Southeast Asia.
During his latest Korean television mini-series, “A Love To Kill,” Rain’s headstrong approach to trials and challenges made him more versatile as an actor. One of the most acclaimed filmmakers in Korea, Chan Wook Park, known internationally for his “Vengeance” Trilogy (“Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance,” “Oldboy,” “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance”), chose Rain to star in “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok.” It was a great honor and opportunity for Rain to finally break into films, and he was featured alongside stars Ji-Hoon Jung and Soo Jeong Im. The film won the Alfred Bauer Award for Particular Innovation in Filmmaking, one of the eight main awards at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival, and Rain received the Best New Actor Award for his role in the film at the 43rd Baek Sang Arts Award in Korea in 2007.
For his Hollywood debut, Rain was cast as a rookie racer in the Andy and Lana Wachowski’s action adventure film “Speed Racer,” based on the classic series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida. This movie boasted the kind of revolutionary visual effects and cutting-edge storytelling that have become the benchmarks of the Wachowskis’ films, taking “Speed Racer” into the 21st century and giving Rain his first chance to leave his mark in the American entertainment industry. Impressed by Jung’s work ethic and his huge talent, the Wachowskis’ chose Rain for the lead in their next movie, “Ninja Assassin.” In the 2009 release, Rain plays Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world.
“The Prince” opens September 10 in theaters nationwide from Axinite Digicinema.
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