On-screen chemistry spills over to press conference with actors taking jabs
| "Hitman: Agent Jun 2" (BY4M STUDIO) |
A secret agent-turned-webtoon artist faces another identity crisis in "Hitman: Agent Jun 2," but this time with bigger stunts, wilder animation and more ad-libs. The sequel, hitting theaters Jan. 22, finds Kwon Sang-woo's Jun battling both a mid-career slump and a terrorist organization -- his life seeming to copy his webtoon plots.
Friday's press event at Seoul's Yongsan CGV played more like a variety show than a typical press conference. Complete with mock awards and a traditional gourd-breaking ceremony, the cast's chemistry spilled off-screen in a display of constant banter.
"There's a unique comedy inside the work," said Kwon, who cites Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow as his main influences. "I did plenty of workouts for the action scenes. This might be my best one yet."
Jung Joon-ho returns as spy bureau chief Cheon Deok-gyu, though he claims, jokingly, that his junior co-star Lee Yi-kyung kept undermining his improvisations. "He wasn't too helpful with my ad-libs," Jung quipped, adding that he "got beaten up a lot" by Lee in action scenes.
Lee, now a regular on the variety show "Hangout with Yoo," fired back with his own jabs. "I don't see him (Jung) as my rival. I think it's time for him to pass the baton to the next generation," he said, before adding with mock reverence, "I've never seen Jung get mad. He's always so relaxed, like a monk."
Director Choi Won-seop promised a grander scale for the sequel, particularly in its signature blend of live-action and animation. "It makes possible things that are impossible in real life," he said, praising Kwon's knack for adding entertaining twists to action sequences.
The original "Hitman" reached 2.4 million viewers after its January 2020 release, barely clearing its break-even point as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Now its sequel aims to start the New Year with bigger laughs -- and according to its cast, plenty of unscripted ones.
The film opens nationwide on Jan. 22, 2025.
