Remember Michael Davis' action-packed Shoot 'Em Up from 2007? Even though it went on to become a favourite among action fans, the reviews when it first came out were divided. Some found the plot to be non-existent and had nothing appealing besides gunfights and explosions. Carter, a new South Korean action thriller about an amnesiac agent who is given an impossible mission, is another movie that follows the Shoot 'Em Up formula, where only action makes sense.
Directed by Jung Byung-gil, Carter is set two months into a deadly pandemic originating from the DMZ that has devastated the US and North Korea. A man named Carter (Joo Won) wakes up in a motel room with no recollection of his past. In his head, there is a mysterious device and in his mouth is attached a lethal bomb. There's also a strange voice in his ears that gives him orders. The bomb may go off at any time unless he rescues a kidnapped girl, who is the sole antidote to the virus. However, the CIA and a North Korean cop are hot on Carter's heels.
