It's been a long time since I struggled to rate a movie and even now I'm not sure how I feel about it. For one, emotions came first in this. There was very little room for me to ponder on things because of the way this movie delivered. However, in the end, I found myself a touch disappointed because while the movie approached this topic very intellectually, it still felt a touch hesitant, a touch too cautious and a little muddled. The biggest reason being that this movie at times felt a touch too muddled in what it was trying to convey. It deeply explores an issue very well but yet not deeply enough. Deep issues are at times downplayed due to very stereotypical assumptions, and the end for me felt like a cop out. I admit, that viewpoint can be countered but I felt in the grand scheme of things, it allowed the audience to still retain their view of "normalcy". However, this isn't what made me dock points largely. This movie deals with a topic that I rarely see and as a review mentioned, where a man trying to become a woman isn't the butt of a joke. Here, there is no laughter, little room for it. This movie cleverly approaches the topic as it takes this Herculean and manly guy who isn't happy with himself. He wants to become a woman. It creates an interesting and refreshing dichotomy as here is a guy who can easily fight any man and easily conquer a horde of attacking gangs yet he wants to be a woman. The strong point is definitely Cha Seung Won's character (Ji Wook) and he carries this movie for me. The rest of the plot for me is kind of fodder as are a bunch of the characters. There were certain characters in here that for me had no legitimate reason to be here or to be included in the story as they were. Mainly because they muddle vs aid the story. There are other characters though I recognize their importance because they add to Cha Seung Won's character. For example, the antagonist here the sub-leader of a gang and while I find his character to add very little in terms of plot, he brings out Ji Wook's character. What I mean is that most of the action sequences come from the interaction between the two which allows for the story to cement the manly image that Ji Wook has. However, while a good portion of the action scenes are relevant, I have to pick a bone with a good number of them. I feel this way about a lot of movies and dramas that bring to the table an unsettling topic or a very intelligent topic. There are always dramatic actions sequences involved. Yes, it's a way for the director to sell the plot but it would be nice to just directly approach the topic. In this case, the topic is interesting enough to be the sole focus. I just feel that the action sequences at times distract from the main topic. On a personal note, there were quite a few things in this movie I wish I could alter. I also wish I could make this movie go hard in terms of really exploring this theme. I feel like this movie should have shocked the viewer more than it did. It makes it feel a little regrettable in that regard. Nonetheless, definitely one to watch.