Review: ‘Steel Rain: Summit’ simmers but doesn’t come to the boil

‘Right, we will have to work out bathroom privileges. I suggest the Great Leader goes first, then President Han, and finally POTUS. Because I saw what he ate for dinner.’

One of the good things about the 2017 South Korean thriller Steel Rain was watching its stars Jung Woo-sung (as a taciturn, committed North Korean soldier) and Kwak Do-won (as a shrewd but seemingly freewheeling South Korean government official) bond over skinny noodles, fat jokes and K-pop superstar G-Dragon.

Their chemistry as unlikely buddies helped lift the film over some of its formulaic (sometimes tedious) action and violence, and gave a human face to Steel Rain’s tale of the two Koreas brought to the brink of war.