“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

Bad Guy
Drama · Thriller · Romance · 2002
A pimp enforcer takes revenge on a woman who rejected his advances by tricking her into prostitution, but complications arise.
Bad Guy
“Trapped in a world of pleasure and pain...”
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.6 / 10
10.9K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
45 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
49 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A pimp enforcer takes revenge on a woman who rejected his advances by tricking her into prostitution, but complications arise.
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Bad Guy?
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their caseThe Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Kim Ki-duk
Written by
Kim Ki-duk
Put Bad Guy on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.





