Amid the massive success of The Roundup in South Korea, Ma Dong Seok’s movie gets banned in Vietnam.
The action comedy film is the sequel to The Outlaws released in 2017.
The Roundup, also known as The Outlaws 2 stars Ma Dong Seok, returning as the badass detective Ma Suk Do, alongside Choi Gwi Hwa, reprising his role as Chief Jeon.
For the highly anticipated sequel, a new villain was introduced through Son Seok Koo’s character, Gang Hae Sang.
The Roundup Rakes 12.5 Million Viewers in Korean Box Office
The sequel made its premiere on May 18 and has dominated the box office for weeks.
With almost two months after its debut, The Roundup garners 12.5 million audiences in South Korea.
It is safe to say that Ma Dong Seok and Son Seok Koo’s film will gain more viewers and fans as the action-comedy movie will screen internationally.
Viewers from Asian countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand will expect to see The Roundup on the big screen. The same goes for some parts of the United States and Canada.
Unfortunately, the sequel for The Outlaws was barred from being released in theaters in Vietnam.
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The Roundup Barred to Premiere in Vietnam
In a report cited by a Korean news portal, Lotte Entertainment, the company responsible for the overseas distribution, submitted a request back in May for the movie to be released in Vietnam.
However, the Film Bureau under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Vietnam rejected the citing that “there are too many violent scenes in the movie” as reportedly stated by the censorship authorities.
On top of it, besides violent scenes, the film bureau thinks that The Roundup depicted their country “as a lawless area.”
In the action-comedy sequel, detective Ma Suk Do and his men are on a hunt to track down the South Korean criminal, Gang Hae Sang who flee from the country and went to Vietnam where he kidnaps and murdered tourists in Ho Chi Minh, known as Vietnam's largest city.
Unfortunately, this is not just the issue that the film is facing.
The Roundup encounters backlash from mental health groups, pointing out how the film depicted people who suffer from mental disorders.
The Roundup In Hot Water After Mental Health Group Slams the Movie
According to a report, the Research Institute for the Rights and Interests of the Disabled and the Korea Association for Mental Disorders held a press conference at the Human Rights Commission as they called out a scene featured in The Roundup.
The groups expressed their disappointment in how people with mental health issues were depicted in a negative way.
"The scene in which a person who escapes from a mental hospital engages in sword fighting and hostage play expresses the mentally disabled as a violent and dangerous criminal, and makes them perceived as unpredictable and violent,” the group cited as obtained by the outlet.
On the other hand, representatives of the movie addressed these concerns and explained that "it was not intended like that.”
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Stay tuned to EpicStream for the latest news and updates about Ma Dong Seok’s The Roundup movie.