Pipeline explores the underground world of oil heist for an action movie fused with comedy.
Famous for drilling holes in pipelines, Kang Se-dol who is often called “Pindol” (Drill-bit) (Seo In Guk), is recruited by Hwang Gun-woo (Lee Soo Hyuk) to drill into the biggest pipeline in Korea. Along with Se-dol, a civil engineer, a welder, and an excavator also join the team.
Hwang Gun-woo is the head of an oil refinery company, and he is willing to offer a hefty amount of money to each member of the team in advance with the assurance that the job will be completed in a month.
As the four members agree to the contract presented by Gun-woo, they are restricted from going out of the hotel they are staying at. He also hires Song Eun-joo (Bae Da Bin) as surveillance from the hotel counter who sends warnings when to stop drilling. Moreover, she also reports to Gun-woo about the happenings with the workers.
The civil engineer of the team, Mr. Na (Yoo Seung Mok), begs Se-dol to allow him to visit his wife in the hospital. Aware of the dangers of violating the contract, Se-dol accompanies Mr. Na, but welder Woo-sung (Eum Moon Suk) tags along so that his burn may be treated.
Coming back to the site, Gun-woo with his men awaits for them, and they force them back to the tunnel together with Eun-joo to speed up the labor. Mr. Na falls weak after enduring the pains from his sickness, and they push their way out to bring him to the hospital. However, Gun-woo shoots Mr. Na dead, and they leave the hotel as they hear the cops coming.
Moving forward with the deal, Pindol offers to finish the job in two days from the pipelines in the sewer system. Gun-woo reveals his real plans with the siphoned oil, and Se-dol realizes its possible impact.
In the end, the water tanks explode, but Pindol and his team ruin Gun-woo’s plans by filling the tank with sewer water instead of the siphoned oil. Gun-woo is caught, and he is sent to jail. The team is also sent to jail, and three years later they are still together even after their release.
Marcie Line watched Pipeline on iQiyi
Movie Rating: 
Pipeline movie Peak Points
The Depth of Human Greed
Rich or poor, the movie highlights how greed is manifested in humans despite how much they earn. Betrayal for the sake of money may be seen in the movie several times, and it just proves its point that some humans are willing to do anything when it comes to money. Like Woo-sung, he betrayed the other members several times even though he was aware that they were all struggling in life.
On a larger scale, we are mistaken with the main goal of Gun-woo. At first, his goal seems like he just intends to steal oil for his company’s reserve. However, it turns out he has a bigger plan of detonating the pipeline and the water tanks.
As he is the head of an oil refinery company pressured to pay his loans, Gun-woo does not mind if thousands of lives would be affected for his personal gains. He doesn’t care if people die since he believes that money is made with people’s blood and tears. For him, the siphoned oil is unsatisfyingly worth just a few billion of won, and he aims to have more than that.
Reality Inside the Oil Industry
The movie opens the eyes of its viewers to the world of oil siphoning as it depicts the process that oil thieves follow in order to steal from the pipeline. As shown by Pindol and his team, the activities underground necessitate skills other than just physical strength.
Brains and teamwork are also needed when working underground. A civil engineer like Mr. Na is relevant when digging a tunnel as it poses a lot of dangers when digging and drilling underground.
Furthermore, the movie tackles the possible reality inside oil refinery companies. As represented by Hwang Gun-woo, there is a possibility that even a known company can still engage in illegal activities for their company’s gains. Companies may have manipulated the demand in order to favor the increase of the value of their products offered in the market.
Lastly, Se-dol taunts Gun-woo with the nearing end of the era of oil. He continues to provoke Gun-woo by saying he will greet him in an electric vehicle in the future. As new technology enters the market, more and more vehicles begin to utilize other sources of energy for power.
Camaraderie in a Hopeless Situation
Pindol appears to be arrogant to the newbies of his team, but in the latter part of the movie, he learns to become one with them. The members of the team realize how they are all in a similar situation, which brings them together.
Woo-sung is an icon of betrayal in the movie, but towards the end, he realizes the sincerity of his team. He lets go of Gun-woo, and collaborates with Pindol. With that, they are able to fight the injustice brought about by the greed of Gun-woo.
Pipeline movie Musings
Oil siphoning is a unique type of crime to tackle, and this movie successfully visualized its operations to its viewers. Pipeline brings awareness about the various processes of how such an illegal act is executed. After watching the movie, viewers can be familiar with pipelines existing underground.
Individual stories of the characters are not that much explored, as well as the development of the team’s bond. However, it is able to clearly deliver the narrative about the oil siphoning. The movie has a happy ending wherein the team is released from jail and returns to working together.
The cast has successfully delivered their characters in the movie. In addition to that, viewers may also appreciate more of the visuals of Seo In Guk and Lee Soo Hyuk. Seo In Guk may be seen drilling in designer clothes, and it is visually pleasing, but maybe impractical if set in real life.
Since the movie touches on sensitive topics but blends them with humor, it may be categorized as a black comedy. It somehow successfully brings some comedic scenes in a movie that features crime. People who intend to view a movie with a serious topic blended with comedy may consider watching Pipeline.
Pipeline is now available on iQiyi!
Photos: Little Big Pictures
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