Going by the BookMovies like Going by the Book
- Key Features:
- Police procedural, Simulation, Role-playing, Bureaucracy, Cop, Fish out of water, Comedy of errors
- Tone:
- humorous, satirical
- Target Audience:
- Comedy fans, Police procedural enthusiasts, Korean cinema aficionados
- Emotional Arc:
- ['Anticipation → Chaos → Resolution']
Going by the Book

The chief of Sampo City Police Office, Seung-u, organizes a simulation of a bank robbery, but a by-the-book cop gets too caught up in the role playing in which the simulation doesn't go the way he had anticipated.
Going by the Book
After trying to cover up a car accident that left a man dead, a crooked homicide detective is stalked by a mysterious man claiming to have witnessed the event.

Two apathetic police academy recruits who become best buddies through the tough training together witness a woman being abducted right before their very eyes. As they were taught in the academy, they quickly report the incident to the police, but the police are in no hurry to jump on the case. So the duo decide to take the matter into their own hands and rescue the woman.

Kyung-jin, a police officer who finds herself chasing down a suspected bag-snatcher on her day off. However, the man she catches turns out to be Myungwoo, a passer-by who was himself trying to apprehend the real criminal.

The 'Beast Cop' Ma Seok-do heads to a foreign country to extradite a suspect, but soon after his arrival, he discovers additional murder cases and hears about a vicious killer who has been committing crimes against tourists for several years.

Sang-hwan became a cop in order to help the downtrodden, but he doesn't get much respect. All that changes when he meets the Seven Masters.

Our favourite police men are called together to deal with a gang who rob banks and jewelers. Using their various talents as well as their extraordinary luck, the crooks stand no chance against our men and women in blue.

'Monster Cop' Ma Seok-do investigates an illegal online gambling business led by a former STS Baek and an IT genius CEO Chang. Ma proposes an unexpected alliance to Jang and begins hunting down the criminals.

Min-jae, a rookie police officer with a natural born talent for driving, is assigned to the perfect team: the Hit-and-Run Squad. But at the same time, for police detective Si-yeon, it is a place she is unjustly demoted to for doing her job. The two team up to arrest the rich and powerful speed maniac Jae-chul who is suspected of committing crimes for his obsession for speed.

When an old collaborator gets severely injured, a veteran policeman tries to figure out the way to bring to justice the ultimately suspected aggressor, a spoiled young executive, heir to a mega corporation, who believes he is above the law.

A serial killer, nicknamed Le Ver(s) Solitaire (The Lone Worm) for the alexandrines left at the crime scenes, is spreading terror. Under the orders of a commissioner, Clarisse Sterling, a rookie in the crime squad, can only rely on her instinct, 200g of chouquettes and the virtues of a well-placed pineapple to solve this investigation and save her skin.

On his way to work, a bank manager receives an anonymous call claiming there's a bomb under his car seat, and if anyone exits the car, it will explode unless he can pay a ransom.

A black comedy about the events that are set into motion in a town after a man-eating boar goes on a rampage.

The veteran detective Seo Do-cheol and his team at Major Crimes, relentless in their pursuit of criminals, join forces with rookie cop Park Sun-woo to track down a serial killer who has plunged the nation into turmoil.

A young man drops out of university and goes to the police. He's done nothing wrong he just wants a job. A particular job. Playing the victim in murder reconstructions. Maybe by getting close to death he can manage to cheat on his own.

A notorious dirty cop makes an honest attempt to catch a serial killer who even murdered his own parents.

Ha Yoon-ju becomes the newest member of a unit within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Department that specializes in surveillance activities on high-profile criminals. She teams up with Hwang Sang-jun, the veteran leader of the unit, and tries to track down James who is the cold-hearted leader of an armed criminal organization.

Chasing speed, dreams and money, a team of drivers get involved in the slush fund investigation of a powerful figure during the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

A drug squad attempts to take down a criminal organization and they must go undercover to do so, so they begin working at a chicken restaurant, that becomes famous for its delicious chicken. Due to the unexpected popularity, the detectives find themselves in a situation they never expected.

Arvid is an ordinary bank clerk who lives a rather unassuming life with his dear girlfriend. But his life is turned completely upside down when he bravely manages to avert a robbery against the bank where he works.

Virgil Starkwell is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil and his not-so-budding career, he is completely incompetent.

Between his tax problems and his legal battle with his wife for the custody of his daughter, these are hard times for the action movie star who finds that even Steven Seagal has pinched a role from him! This fictionalized version of Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to the country of his birth to seek the peace and tranquility he can no longer enjoy in the United States, but inadvertently gets involved in a bank robbery with hostages.

A detective accidentally kills a man and disposes of the body to protect his career. The next day he sees that someone has hanged the corpse from a crane for all to see. He takes charge of the murder investigation to protect himself and find out who did it.

A shady cop finds himself in over his head when he gets caught between Internal Affairs and the city’s corrupt mayor.

When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to watch the action from the sidelines, Lee and Carter form an unlikely partnership and investigate the case themselves.

An idealistic policeman must bring down his estranged older brother, now a powerful gangster in a South Korean port city.

On the eve of the new year, the Barvikha Severnoe police station is threatened with closure. To save his own department, a police officer from Rublyovka Grisha Izmailov is forced to go to extreme measures and, together with operatives, decides to rob a bank. He is counting on the fact that his colleagues, together with the head of the department, Yakovlev, will easily disclose this matter, the money will be returned back, and everyone will keep their work next year. But everything is not going the way Grisha planned ...

Agent Lam (Tony Leung) sets out to track a pair of plates used to make fake American dollars. When he discovers the plates, they are conned out of him by enigmatic US Embassy workers Owen (Richie Ren) and JJ (Shu Qi). With the trail now leading to Korea, Lam sets off in hot pursuit. There, amidst the dangerous and glamorous urban landscape of Seoul, Lam finds himself confronting an underworld crime boss known as the Polar Bear, head of the biggest counterfeiting organisation in Asia.

Over three episodes, three respectable middle-aged men find themselves behaving badly. A teacher hides his pornographic magazine from a female student. A jogger steals milk and blames it on a newspaper delivery boy. A drunk man desperately searches for a public toilet late at night.

Three kindly old men decide to light up the dimming twilight of their lives with a last blaze of glory – by sticking up a Manhattan bank in broad daylight.

A female detective investigates the cause of a high school girl’s death and uncovers a disturbing truth.

Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, three lifelong pals risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.

While pursuing his dream of having car sex, a goofy middle-aged man makes all the wrong moves and ends up enrolling in a number of crazy escapades.

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

Once a legendary detective and a new mom, Mi-young, now works a desk job. But when overenthusiastic newbie Ji-hye is assigned to Mi-young's civil complaints team, the two female cops get caught up in a serious criminal case that triggers an action-filled comedic investigation.

A talented martial artist who can't walk past a person in need unites with a probation officer to fight and prevent crime as a martial arts officer.

Follows Rim Chul-ryung heading back to South Korea in pursuit of a brutal and secret criminal organization. He teams up again with Kang Jin-tae, who volunteers to work with the North Korean in order to get back on the investigation team after a mistake landed him in the cyber crime department.

When an overeager community officer and a reckless ex-detective are forced to team up, plenty of chaos ensues on the streets of Rotterdam.

A biker is forced to deliver a ticking time bomb by a mysterious caller who has put an explosive helmet on his ex-girlfriend.

A struggling restaurant owner, caring for his sick mom, finds a bag of cash in a sauna locker, while a customs officer gets into trouble when his girlfriend runs off with money he borrowed from a loan shark.

Ho Sheung Sang finds himself wrapped up in another cat-and-mouse game, this time against a tricky magician.

After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, while Jang Dong-su wants K dead, Jung Tae-suk is determined to bring him to justice. With a deal in place—whoever finds K first will decide his fate—the hunt begins, blurring the lines between crime and law.

A serial killer reappears 15 years after his murder spree with a book detailing his crimes. The resentful cop who failed to catch him before is assigned to protect him. The families of the victims plan revenge. And as the media circus spirals out of control, a masked man called "J" appears claiming to be the real killer.

Inspired by one of the longest and bloodiest real-life events in police history, Officer Mike Chandler and a young civilian passenger find themselves under-prepared and outgunned when fate puts them squarely in the crosshairs of a daring bank heist in progress by a fearless team of highly-trained and heavily-armed men.

Only one week left until South Korea will go under sovereign default. Han Shi-hyun is a leader of the monetary policy team at the Bank of Korea. and is assigned to a crisis team.

The police track down a notorious burglar in order to apprehend him. However, he is given a chance to make up for his ways by working with the police on a case involving stolen diamonds.

Targeted by a dirty cop after witnessing a murder, bank clerk Mario flees to Puerto Escondido, Mexico, where a couple of oddball Italian expats drags him into a journey of self-discovery and bad decisions.

An out-of-town heist becomes a nightmare for a crew of French burglars when they mistakenly rob the head of the Chicago mafia. Unaccustomed to the ways of the American underworld, it is not long before they have the mafia, the FBI and a couple of street gangs on their backs as they attempt to make their way back to Paris.

A timid and extravagant bank clerk, Dae-ho is considered inefficient at his workplace. As he tries to be recognized by his superior, his efforts only cause more bad situations. But he has an explosive energy that nobody knows about. One day, after yet another day of suffering at work, he goes to a wrestling gym to persuade its owner to become his bank’s client. And, by accident, he starts to learn how to wrestle. From then, he starts to live a new life. And his personality starts to change…

When a crime organization from North Korea crosses borders and enters South Korean soil, a South Korean detective must cooperate with a North Korean detective to investigate their whereabouts.

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.

Louis just found the corpse of a man in front of his apartment building. Taken in for custody by Captain Buron, he finds himself on the wrong end of a surreal interrogation. But how can you prove you are innocent when the cops are crazy?

An imprisoned ex-police inspector discovers that the entire penitentiary is controlled by an inmate running a crime syndicate and becomes part of the crime empire.

Sami, Tacchini, Yaya and Kader are four small-time crooks from the suburbs of Paris. After a failed robbery, their boss, Carlito, sends them to Canada to spy on his fiancée. There, they are mistaken for a band of professional killers and are hired to assassinate the heiress Léonore de Segonzac...

A lawyer is given the mission of revitalising a bankrupt zoo that has no animals. When he and a group of zookeepers come up with the idea to dress like animals and his fake polar bear goes viral, the zoo becomes a hit, before his law firm’s real intentions are revealed.

On the run from a dogged internal affairs agent, a corrupt cop reluctantly teams up with a defiant teen to unravel a conspiracy before it's too late.

A Romanian police officer teams up with a small crew of bank robbers to pull off a heist by convincing everyone at the scene of the crime that they are only filming a movie.

While heading to the town where his sister, Marci, lives, big-city banker Bill Campbell is robbed by a woman who takes everything he has, including his clothes and a business document worth millions of dollars. Bill eventually reunites with Marci, who is in a tizzy because she thinks their stepfather has been killed. While trying to determine if his sister is right, Bill must also get back his valuable paperwork.

A small-time thug who collects debts for the local triad is torn between his criminal aspirations and his devotion to family.

A bank robber tries to turn himself in because he's falling in love and wants to live an honest life...but when he realizes the Feds are more corrupt than him, he must fight back to clear his name.

When the police discover that a mob hitman has moved in next door to the Robbersons, they set up a stakeout in the Robbersons' home. Hard-nosed, tough-as-nails Jake Stone and his young partner Tony Moore are assigned to the stakeout, but now it is a question of whether Jake can last long enough to capture the bad guys. The Robbersons want to help, and by doing so, drive Jake crazy.

To nab a sales manager who's at large after murdering his family, a detective investigates the man's colleagues, who seem to be hiding something.

Follows Diogenes as he goes about his day as a police officer. He's prone to do things the right way, surrounded by a pretty much corrupt & citizen distant police department, & always resolves his duties with a personal method.

The movie is a fictionalized account of a disgruntled cop who has been wrongly implicated in a torture video that went viral. It begins on his last night of duty, as he is about to leave for abroad for better job prospects.

Yoon-jung accidentally calls a stranger, instead of her boyfriend, and has phone sex with the unknown man. When Yoon-jung's relationship with her boyfriend turns sour, Yoon-jung meets Hyun-seung, the stranger she had phone sex with.

When a childhood friend from Miami gets killed after he comes to warn of encroaching drug gangs, Baaba moves to Miami and teams up with a local officer to bring down the criminals.

Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime syndicates.

The story revolves around three members of a police surveillance squad conducting an investigation into a financial investment group involved in criminal fraud. The focus of the plot, however, is actually on the three officers themselves who stumble upon an opportunity to capitalize on information they gathered during their surveillance.

In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard and eager rookie Constable Stalker take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

A quartet of disaffected Korean youths have robbed a Seoul gas station. After taking the gas station over, their wacky antics ensue; forcing the manager to sing, kidnapping customers that complain about the service, and staging fist-fights between street gang members and gas station employees; all of these reflect their own gripes against society.

Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp, who's in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting with right now.

In the year 2043, an evil crime lord is trying to take over the world. Only one government official stands in his way, and plans to send him to prison, so The General and his minions Kent, Thai King, and Toyota travel to the year 1993 to kill the official before he has a chance to get into office. During a battle with The General's minions, the Future Cops Lung, Broom Man, Ti Man, and Ah-Sing hear of their evil plan and devise a plan of their own to travel back in time to protect the official.

A professional lady con makes herself the pharmacist's fiancée overnight, and faces a disastrous blemish in her impeccable con-woman career.

Kang Seong-hee, a famous lawyer, takes up a case wherein he has to defend a man who is the main suspect in his wife's death. However, a formidable public attorney tries to test his mettle in court.

Jang Tae-Young is a popular trouble shooter in the criminal world. He is cold and ambitious. He dreams of building a casino hotel one day. A reporter then goes to Jang Tae-Young.

A good looking female social welfare worker makes Egon Olsen forget about crimes for some time, but when an American gangster breaks into a local bank and the police think its Egon's work, he has to get back to work to prove he's innocent.

After Gyeong-bae's son is kidnapped, he receives a call from the kidnapper asking for 100 million won. The detectives are teamed up for the case, yet the culprit gets away at every opportunity.

After losing their respective nest eggs thanks to a bumbling bank employee, three men use him to plot a bold and batty heist to get their money back.

In real life, Kwon Yoo is unemployed, but in the virtual game world he is the best leader. Kwon Yoo is then framed for a murder. With the help of hacker Yeo-wool, he tries to uncover the truth behind the murder case.

A scientist plots a bank robbery based around his newest invention -- a time travel gadget that will send its user 10 minutes into the past. Everything goes according to plan, until he encounters a group of thieves who've planned their heist for the same day.

A debt collector who looks intimidating, but actually has a warm heart, ends up becoming the guardian of a child, who has been left behind as collateral by her illegal immigrant mother.

With the aid of his girlfriend, Phyllis Potter, and best friend, Loomis, Grimm enters a Manhattan bank dressed as a clown, creates a hostage situation and executes a flawless robbery. The only thing left for the trio to do is make their getaway out of the city and to the airport. It sounds simple enough, but it seems that fate deserts them immediately after the bank heist. One mishap after another conspires to keep these robbers from reaching freedom.

After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.

Returning home and finding his town drastically changed, a former soldier falls in with gangsters.

Dong-hyun is a high school student. One day, he falls from the rooftop and bumps into Pan-soo who is a passerby. Pan-soo is a member of a criminal organization. When the two men wake up in the hospital, they discover that they have switched bodies.

A doctor tries to woo a grieving, widowed firefighter in her attempt to get him to testify on her behalf in a medical malpractice case.

Two boys are becoming real adults during a turbulent time as they experience a world that doesn't go their way.

A young Korean man surpasses his difficult childhood by becoming a powerful prosecutor, but soon learns that real power comes at a price.

Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.

Assigned to recover sensitive stolen data, a gruff FBI agent goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher, but the school's liberal, politically correct environment is more than he bargained for.

Officer Carey Mahoney and his cohorts have finally graduated from the Police Academy and are about to hit the streets on their first assignment. Question is, are they ready to do battle with a band of graffiti-tagging terrorists? Time will tell, but don't sell short this cheerful band of doltish boys in blue.

A man with a mysterious past flees the country to escape his own personal hell... only to arrive somewhere much worse. In an effort to survive this new horror, he turns to his personified conscience.

LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday -- the equally straight-laced nephew of the famous police sergeant of the same name -- is paired up with a young, freewheeling detective named Pep Streebeck. After investigating some strange robberies at the local zoo and the theft of a stockpile of pornographic magazines, they uncover cult activity in the heart of the city and are hot on the case to figure out who's behind it all.

When three friends open a hot pot restaurant in a former bomb shelter, they discover it’s linked by a single wall to the bank vault next door. While deciding to take the easy money or go to the police, they find out one of the bank’s employees is a former classmate and look to enlist her in deciding their future.

Prasad and Sreeja are a couple planning to set up a new life in Kasargod. On a bus journey they end up being robbed by a thief also named Prasad and this lands them up in a police station.

A South Korean woman in her sixties enrolls in a poetry class as she grapples with her faltering memory and her grandson's appalling wrongdoing.

Betrayed and on the run, a former North Korean agent tries to seek revenge on the man who killed his wife, find his missing daughter, and uncover the secrets hidden inside the eyeglasses of a dead man.


