[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/manfromnowhere_8592.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:215:Should've left me alone.]]

''The Man from Nowhere'', also known as ''Ajeossi'', is a South Korean action film that opened in August 4, 2010 and is directed by Lee Jeong-beom.

It centers around an ex-Army Intelligence Command operator turned [[TheStoic quiet]] pawnshop owner named Cha Tae-Sik, who is unexpectedly flung into a conflict between the Kkangpae and South Korean narcotics detectives. However, Cha later takes things personally when a child he knows becomes embroiled in the conflict.
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!!This movie provides examples of:
* ArchEnemy: Cha Tae-sik has the Seok brothers, a duo of organ traffickers who abducted his only friend.
* BadBoss:
** Mr. Oh. His first scene shows him beating Man-Seok for losing his product. When he learns that [[spoiler: the police are surrounding the golf course, he tells none of his mooks and leaves them to stall the cops as he escapes.]]
** Man-Seok has [[spoiler: Bear]] murdered as a fall guy, and beats a wounded mook for not loading money fast enough.
* BadassBoast:%%Quotes alone are not acceptable context.
** Tae-Sik tells the villains, ''You guys only live for tomorrow, don't you? You don't stand a chance against a guy living for today. I only live for today. I will show you how fucked up it's going to be.''
** Tae-Sik tells Man-Seok, before the climactic final battle, 'How many cavities do you have? I run a pawnshop. I take gold teeth. I'll keep the gold teeth... And I'll chew up everything else.''
* BathroomBrawl: Cha Tae-sik tracks down Du-chi and Bear to a nightclub bathroom and stabs Du-chi to get him to reveal where So-mi is. [[spoiler:Ramrowan walks in and fires off a gun that kills Du-chi in the crossfire. A fight ensues between him and Tae-sik which ends with the latter getting shot]].
* BattleDiscretionShot: For the first half of the film, most of Tae-Sik's fights is offscreen. His first onscreen fight is between him and Ramrowan.
* BerserkerTears: [[spoiler: Tae-Sik cries for So-Mi before his battle with Man-Seok's men, but instead of breaking down he starts shooting.]]
* BewareTheQuietOnes:
** Tae-Sik doesn't talk much, but you'd better listen when he does.
** Ramrowan has even fewer lines and is equally dangerous, though this is partly because he's Thai and barely speaks any Korean.
* BigBadDuumvirate: Man-seok and Jong-seok are brothers and the handlers of the heroin So-mi's mother stole and quickly [[spoiler:kill him to take over the criminal empire. As partners their outfit includes a drug running business staffed with enslaved children worked to death and then harvested for organs. Their kidnapping and holding of So-mi drives their conflict with Tae-sik]].
* BigBadWannabe: [[spoiler: Mr. Oh. the Seok brothers [[ManipulativeBastard masterfully set him up for a fall]] after he beats Man-Seok.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Tae-Sik's fellow [=AIC=] colleagues save him from being killed by the assassin after his wife got killed in a hit and run.]]
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The drug and organ traffickers are dead and gone, and So-Mi was alive after all, but it's heavily implied that Tae-Sik's killing spree is going to end up in him spending time in jail.]]
* BloodKnight: Ramrowan.
-->'''Man-Seok:''' ''I told you not to send'' (Ramrowan) ''alone!''
-->'''Jong-Seok:''' ''That sick bastard likes going rogue anyway.''
* BoomHeadShot: Done twice, both by Tae-Sik.
* BullyingADragon:
** It's bad enough that the Seok brothers manipulate Tae-Sik to be their fall guy and lead him around in his search for So-Mi. The fact that they relentlessly mock and deride him along the way makes his RoaringRampageOfRevenge all the more appropriate.
** Mr. Oh makes some dismissive and racially-charged remarks about Ramrowan in his first appearance. Later, Ramrowan [[spoiler: defeats all of Mr. Oh's men, disfigures him and brings him in for organ harvesting. Granted, he was following orders from Jong-Seok , but he made a point of confronting Mr. Oh alone, and watched him beg for his life with a smile before slashing his face open.]]
* CampStraight: Jong-Seok.
* ChekhovsGun:
** The knife Tae-Sik grabs from the mook accompanying Bear lets him cut through the mesh net and chase Mr. Oh.
** Ramrowan [[spoiler: executes Mr. Oh while he's offering him money from his meth operation. This seems innocuous, but later in the film Tae-Sik stumbles upon a meth lab run by Jong-Seok.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Tae-Sik has no qualms about using his gun to thin out the opponents, use effective disabling moves or even [[spoiler: [[ManBitesMan biting]] ]] to get things done quicker.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Most of the posters show a gun-wielding Tae-Sik with So-Mi standing beside him. This never happens in the movie.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:Tae-Sik. He watched his pregnant wife get murdered in front of his eyes while he was still with the South Korean military.]]
* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: Happens throughout the entire film. Hundreds of children are manipulated and harvested, and Tae-Sik's pregnant wife dies when a garbage truck rams her car.]] Thankfully, each example is a GoryDiscretionShot.
* DecoyProtagonist: The lead detective at the beginning. He takes out [[TheBrute Bear]] single-handedly, despite being half his size, and has witty remarks for every occasion. He is still an important character, but after Tae-Sik's introduction he turns into an InspectorJavert.
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Tae-Sik was already suffering from this the moment his wife passed away. Eventually, it breaks him after believing that So-Mi died, causing him to almost commit suicide in the end.]]
* DirtyCoward:
** Mr. Oh. He happily beats Man-seok when he's at the top of the food chain with armed guards around but turns tail runs when the Seoks [[spoiler:set him up to take the fall on a heroin deal. When Ramrowan hunts him down and kills his remaining men all he can do is pathetically beg for his life and try to turn the mercenary against the brothers before being cut down]].
** The Seok brothers themselves. As soon as Tae-sik so much as sets foot in their club their strategy becomes to flee as quickly as possible. Jong-seok in particular is happy to torture helpless victims to death but once [[spoiler:Tae-sik turns the table on him all he can do is spew impotent threats at Tae-sik while hoping not to die gruesomely and Man-seok flees his penthouse the second Tae-sik starts shooting, even going so far as to call the cops himself and try frantically to dissuade Tae-sik from killing him when he's alone]].
* DisappearingBullets: [[spoiler: Near the end, Tae-Sik shoots at Man-Seok's car's bulletproof windshield repeatedly at the same spot. The glass starts to crack but the bullets (which failed to penetrate the glass) are nowhere to be seen]].
* DramaticIrony: Tae-sik admits that he can't remember So-mi's face anymore. When he arrives at the organ harvesting area, he finds the corpse a girl whose fingernails were painted by So-mi. The audience knows that it's the wrong girl, but Tae-sik mistakes her for So-mi. Strangely, Tae-sik is never really shown reacting to this misconception, and he sees the real So-mi immediately afterwards.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Tae-Sik after killing all the bad guys, prepares to kill himself, assuming So-Mi is already dead.]]
* DropDeadGorgeous: Hyo-jeong's corpse is found naked in a car's trunk.
* DysfunctionalFamily: So-Mi's family. Her mother is a dancer at a night club and a drug addict. So-Mi spends most of the time by herself and often steals to get money.
* TheDogBitesBack: Man-Seok eventually has enough of Mr. Oh, sets him up and [[spoiler: ultimately uses him for organ harvesting]].
* TheDragon: Ramrowan to the Seoks. While they scheme he's much of the reason they're as dangerous as they are: going solo to hunt down and eradicate what remains of their [[spoiler:former boss' faction]] and the only single member of their organization to provide a challenge to the near-unstoppable Tae-sik.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Ramrowan seems far more interested in finding a WorthyOpponent through mercenary work than he is loyal to Man-seok and Jong-seok. While he does happily kill for them, once he's faced with Tae-sik he mostly focuses on facing the hero and plays to his own rules such as [[spoiler:forming a friendship with and later sparing So-mi]].
* EarnYourHappyEnding: The heroes go through hell, but [[spoiler:So-mi is successfully rescued]].
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Tae-Sik's [[MundaneMadeAwesome pistol, given to him by an old comrade]], helps to thin out the mooks during the final fight.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler: When Tae-Sik has Jong-Seok captive, his brother Man-Seok grows visibly agitated, his voice rising and cracking as he makes threats.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler: Ramrowan has a soft spot for So-Mi, and when "500" puts her under to extract her eyes he turns on him and [[KarmicDeath kills him instead]].]]
* EyeScream: [[spoiler: Thankfully, we are only shown the preparation and the aftermath of the eye-removal process]].
* FinalFirstHug: [[spoiler: From Cha Tae-Sik to So-Mi at the very end]].
* GunFu: Plenty of guns used through the film, but Tae-Sik is shown to have advanced skills.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Quite frequently used. Most notable is [[spoiler: Mr. Oh getting killed by Ramrowan, the harvested body of the kid whose nails were done by So-Mi, and though we see the aftermath, Ramrowan kills "500" by ripping his eyes out.]]
* GratuitousEnglish: Ramrowan speaks English and is largely spoken to in English, apparently because he's Thai and uses it as a lingua franca.
* HazyFeelTurn: [[spoiler: Ramrowan; he still fights Tae-Sik to the death, but that was out of their mutual respect as warriors. He saves So-Mi from a horrific fate, though.]]
* TheHedonist: Jong-Seok dresses lavishly, spends his time in hot tubs and night clubs and surrounds himself with pretty women. Man-Seok calls him out on it.
* HeroicBSOD: Tae-Sik suffers this for a moment after he's presented with [[spoiler: what he believes are So-Mi's eyes in a tube]].
* HidingBehindYourBangs: This being Korea, Tae-Sik's BeardOfSorrow takes the form of a shaggy head of hair that always falls over one eye. His ImportantHaircut signals his return to focus.
* HollywoodHealing: [[spoiler: Tae-Sik, after taking an almost-fatal gutshot and get the bullet dug out, does not show ''any'' sign of the still-healing wound in the final part of the film. Or he's just that badass.]]
* {{Homage}}: Tae-Sik is pointedly shown caring for a small cactus in his apartment window early in the film. This is an obvious reference to Leon's houseplant in ''Film/TheProfessional'', to which this film owes a lot.
* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: Man-Seok warns Tae-Sik against hurting his brother Jong-Seok. Tae-Sik responds by [[spoiler: shooting at Jong-Seok's leg a few times with a nail gun]]. Tae-Sik, interestingly, never uses this phrase. Instead, he insists that he will kill the Seok brothers no matter what they do or say.
* IgnoredExpert: Ramrowan notices Tae-Sik wasn't shaken by the sound of a gunshot right next to him. He [[TheCassandra mentions this]] to Jong-Seok, but the latter [[NotNowKiddo isn't interested]].
* ImportantHaircut: Tae-sik gives himself one about halfway through the film.
* InspectorJavert: Kim Chi-gon, a detective with the narcotics squad.
* KarmicDeath: If they're evil, odds are they die a very, very appropriate death for their crimes. To note:
** [[spoiler: Mr. Oh, the initial BigBad, winds up getting his organs harvested in his own meth lab.]]
** [[spoiler: Jong-Seok]] dies the most [[StuffBlowingUp horrifically karmic death in the film]]. Especially so since he has to watch helplessly as it happens.
** [[spoiler: "500", the "expert" in organ harvesting, is killed and has his own eyes harvested.]]
** [[spoiler: Ramrowan, a Knife expert, is killed by Tae-sik's knife.]]
* KickTheDog: 500 mocking a child about killing her mother before preparing to harvest her organs.
* LaserGuidedKarma: The mook accompanying Bear spikes the drink of a girl to have sex with her. Two scenes later he [[spoiler: gets stabbed by his own knife and shot down in the restroom after having sex with the girl.]]
* LightningBruiser: Tae-Sik.
* ManBitesMan: [[spoiler: Used by Tae-Sik against Ramrowan. He bites ''hard'' into Ramrowan arm, so he can use both hands for a fatal knife stab]].
* ManlyTears: Shed by Tae-Sik on a few occasions.
* ManOfWealthAndTaste: Jong-Seok is incredibly stylish in every appearance and is usually seen entertaining multiple women with drinks.
* NobleDemon: Ramrowan is plenty violent and serves the Seok brothers but clearly develops a respect for Tae-Sik, noticing his skill and resolve early on when the other thugs are writing him off. He clearly relishes their fights, and [[spoiler: during the final battle, waits for Tae-Sik to finish the mooks before engaging him one on one in a knife fight, despite having a gun.]] It's also hinted that [[spoiler: he has a soft spot for kids, trying to protect So-Mi from seeing her mother being tortured, bringing her snacks in the ant's nest and ultimately saving her from getting her eyes removed by 500, going so far as disobeying and lying to his boss.]]
* NonActionBigBad: Neither Mr. Oh nor the Seoks are fighters themselves. While all are happy to beat or torture powerless people none to any actual head on fighting and as soon as any of them are [[spoiler:left without their men it's right to the begging to live]]. Ruthless crime lords they all may be but hands on combatants they are not.
* OhCrap: [[spoiler: Jong-Seok realizes that he's screwed the moment his facility blows along with him. This is evident as he cries for help, but eventually stops when the flammable lamp falls on the room full of leaking gas. His older brother Man-Seok also has this when he has nowhere else to run and Tae-Sik still has "one bullet left" to deliver a killing shot.]]
* OrganTheft: One of the income sources for the bad guys.
* PapaWolf: While technically not So-Mi's father, Tae-Sik is practically this. So-Mi views him as something of a surrogate father-figure as well.
* PetTheDog: Ramrowan shields So-Mi's eyes when she walks in on her mother being tortured by Jong-Seok. [[spoiler:He later gives her a snack at the "ants nest," and she returns the favor by putting a bandage on his cut. He ultimately saves her from a grisly death]].
* PoliceAreUseless: The only useful thing they did was [[spoiler: informing Tae-Sik the location of the ATM where So-Mi withdrawn a large amount of money, as she was being used to transfer money by the Triads.]]
* PreAsskickingOneliner: From [[TheQuietOne Tae-Sik]] no less.
--> '''Tae-Sik:''' How many cavities do you have?
--> '''Man-seok:''' What?
--> '''Tae-Sik:''' I run a pawnshop. I take gold teeth. I'll keep the gold teeth. And I'll chew up everything else!
* PsychoForHire: Played around with by Ramrowan. He obviously [[BloodKnight enjoys his job]], but he avoids harming innocent bystanders and children (see his reaction to accidentally killing the drugged girl at the nightclub) if he can help it. He's fine with letting the evil people go about their business, but when he's put in charge of [[spoiler: ripping So-Mi's eyes out, he kills the surgeon instead.]]
* TheReveal: Tae-Sik [[spoiler:is a former black ops commando of the South Korean military's Army Intelligence Command.]]
* RobbingTheMobBank: So-Mi's mother stole the heroin sample from the mob boss, kickstarting the whole story.
* RoaringRampageOfRescue: After So-Mi gets kidnapped, Tae-Sik starts one.
* RecycledInSpace: The movie has elements of ''Film/{{Taken}}'', ''Film/ManOnFire'', ''Film/TheTransporter'', and of course, ''Film/TheProfessional''.
* RuthlessForeignGangsters: Chinese and Japanese gangs factor heavily into the plot, while the hero's main rival is Thai.
* WhamShot: [[spoiler: When So-Mi's mother's harvested corpse was revealed inside the car and So-Mi's "eyes" inside the glass bottle.]]
* SiblingYinYang: Man-Seok is average-looking or a little chubby, business-oriented and conservatively dressed. Jong-Seok is hedonistic, laid-back and wild, with a pretty face and lavish clothing.
* SissyVillain: Jong-Seok is somewhat prissy and fashion-obsessed.
* SlasherSmile: Jong-Seok always has a sickening grin on his face when he's committing various atrocities. Ramrowan also delivers this to his target Myung-Gyu as he delivers a killing slash.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: Man-Seok and his brother betrayed their boss early in the film]]. Later, [[spoiler:Ramrowan killed "500".]]
* ShirtlessScene: A memorable one featuring a very ripped Won Bin cutting his own hair.
* SuperWindowJump: Tae-Sik performs this in a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. Watch it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0Q9iLWTCM here]].
* TranquilFury: After his HeroicBSOD Tae-Sik [[spoiler: takes out a room full of mooks in a matter of minutes, with no emoting but tears and concentration.]]
* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: The main villains are Chinese gangsters operating in South Korea.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: The Seok Brothers constantly taunt and belittle Tae-Sik. [[CurbStompBattle You can guess how that turns out.]]
** It borders on TooDumbToLive, when they ''continue'' to belittle him when he already traced them down [[spoiler: and starts a killing spree]].
* WeHaveToGetTheBulletOut: [[spoiler: After Tae-Sik gets shot by Ramrowan, his old comrade does this.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Ramrowan sees Tae-Sik as this. During the final fight, as Tae-Sik butchers the other mooks, he [[VillainousValour refuses to shoot him]], instead challenging him to a one on one knife fight.
* WouldHurtAChild: The bad guys, who [[spoiler:use children to produce and smuggle drugs, and have them killed and their organs harvested.]]
* WouldntHurtAChild: Ramrowan might be a PsychoForHire, but EvenEvilHasStandards.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Several of the villains in the film wind up dead at the hands of another villain.
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