The Roundup: Punishment trailer delivers the Ma Dong-seok punches you crave

Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee) is one of the most exciting action stars in the world, bringing even the most charmless projects to life. Since 2017, he has anchored the action franchise The Roundup, delivering consistent bangers that have lit up the Korean box office and the hearts of action fans around the world. And now we have a trailer for the fourth episode — The Roundup: Punishment.

This time, Ma’s lightly veiled self-insert character Detective Ma Seok-do takes on a cybercrime who runs a gambling operation. The films thrive on Ma Dong-seok’s unique combination of laid-back charm paired with his absolutely massive build, as he delivers pounding blows (with great sound design) to anyone who gets in his way. (A lifelong boxer, Ma punch supercuts created in honor of his prowess in this field). His strengths are on full display in the trailer, with about a dozen of the film’s many, many hard punches, including an absolutely thunderous seven-second punch that looks like he might kill a man.

The third entry The Roundup: No Way Out released in limited US theaters in June 2023, but only recently available to watch on VOD. It’s the best in the franchise yet (although I haven’t seen it yet Punishment), and was one of my favorite movies of the year (and had one of my favorite action scenes).

Punishment sees a change in the director’s chair, as former stunt choreographer Heo Myeong-haeng takes over the reins of the franchise. Heo recently made his directorial debut with the fun science fiction B-movie Badland Hunters (now on Netflix), starring Ma, and has been working with the action star for quite some time, including working with him on Train to Busan And The good, the bad, the weird. Prior to the release of No way outMa praised Heo’s work while speaking to Polygon.

Image: Capelight Pictures & Blue Fox Entertainment

“Because it is a challenge, coordination and synergy with the stunt team are crucial,” Ma wrote in an email. “Heo Myeong-haeng, the martial arts director, and the stunt teams in this film have been working with me for 20 years and they understand my intentions very well. This allows us to create more realistic action scenes.”

Each of the last two films was a major success at the Korean box office. 2022 The Roundup was the highest-grossing film in the country that year, and No way out was number 2 in 2023. The Roundup: Punishment opens in Korean theaters on April 24 and comes to North American theaters on May 3 via Capelight Pictures and Blue Fox Entertainment. While you wait, all three previous films are available to stream: The bandits on Tubi, The Roundup on Peacock and Tubi, and The Roundup: No Way Out on Hoopa. All three can also be rented or purchased digitally, and they’re all enjoyable, with each episode better than the last.