Like many of his SK-action peers, director Park Hoon-jung has a knack for staging violent set pieces but comes up lacking in terms of character development, narrative clarity, etc.
– David Fear,
Time Out New York,
19 Mar 2013
fresh:
Writer-director Hoon-jung Park tells this twisty story of internecine warfare within a Korean corporate crime syndicate with patience, elegance and no small amount of bloodshed.
– Gary Goldstein,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar 2013
fresh:
No one in American movies has made a crime opera this good in years.
– Andrew O'Hehir,
Salon.com,
21 Mar 2013
fresh:
"New World" is both less bloody and more thoughtful than most of its genre, the shifting-alliances plot becoming more engrossing as it progresses.
– Jeannette Catsoulis,
New York Times,
21 Mar 2013
rotten:
New World tries to expand the genre with nods to The Godfather but can't escape the over-the-top acting, expansive violence and overdone story typical of Seoul-made crime dramas.