Kim Woo-bin (Our Blues and Black Knight) is back and this time in an action film that also stars Kim Sung-kyun. Officer Black Belt, directed and written by Jason Kim of Bloodhounds fame, relies heavily on Woo-bin’s ability to pull off an action-comedy that’s pretty straightforward.

Woo-bin plays Lee Jung-do, a master of sports. He has a total of nine black belt degrees in taekwondo, kendo, and judo. While he hates losing in sports and e-sports (nicknamed diarrhea for friends), he also helps his father deliver chicken part-time. Jung-do does whatever he wants as long as he has fun doing it. During one such incident, he accidentally saves a probation officer and meets Kim Sun-min (Kim Sung-kyun), who asks for his help in supervising ex-convicts to prevent crimes. “Will it be fun?” Jung-do asks. “There will be a lot to learn from this,” Sun-min promises. Thus, Jung-do takes on the role of a martial arts officer under the Minister of Justice.

Seeing Woo-bin having fun with blonde hair is a relief after watching some of his previous work. It is reminiscent of the actor’s light-hearted personality, which he has shown in shows like The Heirs and The Con Artist. The film doesn’t show Jung-doo much. The big focus is on his physical strength as a martial arts expert, which is a stark contrast to his personality as a soft-hearted guy. It also doesn’t make any statements and focuses mostly around the strange working hours and complications that probation officers face. It focuses on the problems these officers face when dealing with ex-convicts with a low budget and lack of resources.

Jung-do finds the initial days in this new workplace awkward, before a complicated case involving a repeat sex offender comes into play. The writing for the film is pretty much predictable and simple, but it works because it seems to have its heart in the right place.

Given that Jung-do is a trained athlete, I expected the action choreography to go several notches higher, but it falls more or less in line with traditional action pieces, which is a bit disappointing. However, the camaraderie between Woo-bin and veteran actor Sung-kyun is quite enjoyable.

The film could have been made better with a good OST, but it just makes the whole film completely dominated by Woo-bin. In that sense, Woo-bin did a good job, but I wish he had more to do with Jung-do. Still, Officer Black Belt is worth watching and is perfect to watch on a lazy weekend.