Fantasia 2022: ‘Special Delivery’ Review – Car Chase Heaven

Forget the speedometer and enter the pearly gates of car chase heaven in Special Delivery. The second Eun-ha (So-dam Park) turns on the ignition, you know you’re in for a loop de loop Joy Ride of mouth watering car stunts.

Built like 80s action cinema with the soul of an American muscle car, this Fantasia Festival trek is a highlight from the curtain opening.

This Special Delivery Review contains spoilers. The film was screened at Fantasia International Film Festival 2022.

Special Delivery opens with Eun-ha behind the wheel awaiting shady clientele looking to make their escape. When the ‘mastermind’ crime boss spots Eun-ha, he has second thoughts about letting a girl drive a getaway car. But a leading henchman reminds him they’re out of time, so they get in sans seatbelts.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park drives getaway car as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

What follows is the most thrilling acrobatics you’ll see this side of the Olympics. Eun-ha glides through traffic, drifts sideways to avoid an on-coming train, parallel parking on a dime, engine/lights off to confuse their pursuers.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park drifts past train as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

Action Flick Basics: Meat & Potatoes

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

Special Delivery follows the classic action formula of taking up a job that’s layered with spikes from all sides from the onset… But with a honey jar full of money at center being too tempting to ignore. Everything about the job says put the car in reverse and cruise on home but sometimes you have to take a few stings to cash out.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

A corrupt head of police, Jo Kyeong Pil (Song Sae Byuk) is after baseball player Doo-shik (Yeon Woo-jin) for going to the media about rigging bets. Jo Kyeong Pil wants a Bank Key Fob from Doo-shik containing millions of dollars and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.

He finds Doo-shik practicing in a baseball field before savagely beating him to no reward. Not realizing at first that the Bank Key Fob has been given to Doo-shik’s son Seo-won (Hyun-jun Jung) who’s rushed off as the Special Delivery in Eun-ha’s getaway car.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha and Jung Hyeon-jun as Seo-won. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

Eun-ha almost doesn’t let Seo-won get in, momentarily questioning the whole gig silently in her mind. But Seo-won’s tears and the henchman advancing sway Eun-ha and another car chase commences. This time cumulating with an exciting game of chicken between Eun-ha and Jo Kyeong Pil’s cars.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park drifts past train as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

From then on, Eun-ha goes AWOL on her delivery boss Baek Sa-jang (Kim Eui-sung) because she cannot bare to let Seo-won go. Seo-won tells Eun-ha his mother is out there, because he tried calling every female contact on his father’s phone and they all said they’re weren’t his mother… Except one, who just cried.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha and Jung Hyeon-jun as Seo-won. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

Eun-ha finds Seo-won’s mother at karaoke club, drunk. The mother claims Seo-won is mistaken to Eun-ha but it’s obvious she’s lying.

She simply doesn’t want to take responsibility or deal with the fallout of her husband’s dealings.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha and Jung Hyeon-jun as Seo-won. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

In a painful, heartbreaking moment, Eun-ha admits to Seo-won that he’s right… It is his mother after Seo-won confronts her. But his mother doesn’t want him. A permanent mental wound on the psyche.

Eun-ha’s words hits Seo-won like an arrow hitting a bullseye to the chest.

Scene of the film: Car tug of war ends with rooftop parking lot drop

Neither gets a chance to collect themselves as Jo Kyeong-pil’s top henchman interrupts. A man known for never taking a ‘half measure’ and always going overboard. Eun-ha and Seo-won manage to make an escape in a getaway car while being pursued.

Eun-ha iniates one of the most innovative car chase tactic we’ve seen in ages. She initentionally hit’s her drivers side door clean off so it’ll fall backwards into the windshield of her pursuer. In his own words, “Who drives like that?” The car tug-of-war then begins as Jo Kyeong-pil attempts to accelerate and push Eun-ha’s car off a rooftop parking garage.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

But at the last second Eun-ha shifts the car sideways and the henchman (and his car) flies off the multiple story rooftop. It’s easily one of the coolest, smoothest scenes you’ll see in Special Delivery and in car chase films as a whole.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

We won’t give away the ending but we will say Special Delivery is a high octane powerhouse. If you’ve missed action movies the way they used to be without 90,000 computer generated effects or overly convoluted plots, Special Delivery is a must watch. A feel-good action flick.

So-dam Park does a fantastic job behind the wheel and balancing being a mercenary with compassion.

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

The character of Eun-ha is just grey area enough where you can contemplate her ditching Seo-won multiple times.

Special Delivery Film. Song Sae-byeok as Jo Kyeong-pil and So-dam Park as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

For a payoff from Jo Kyeong-pil himself and to get heat off her and her friends back at the ‘delivery firm’. But she never does.

Special Delivery Review Score: 9.0 out of 10

Special Delivery Film. So-dam Park as Eun-ha. Photo Credit: M Pictures Co., Ltd / Next Entertainment World

– Read more about So-dam Park’s leading role in the action-packed film by Director/Writer Dae-min Park at Fantasia Festival.

Special Delivery Action Trailer

More Fantasia Film Festival 2022 Coverage at The Natural Aristocrat

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