Oldboy Synopsis:
US remake of the seminal Chan Wook-Park ultra violent South Korean classic Oldboy.
Oldboy Movie Review:
It's day 1 of the 2004 Edinburgh International Film Festival and already a contender for film of the year has up and hammered it's way into contention for film of the festival, Park Chan-Wook's ultraviolent Old Boy.
When Old Boy was shown at this year's Cannes Film Festival it was widely thought that this was Jury President Quentin Tarantino's own choice for the Palmes D'Or, unfortunately for Old Boy, Fahrenheit 9/11 was in competition and snatched it. Any other year and Old Boy would have been a shoo in, such is it's brutal, brilliant quality.
Oh Dae-Su is a business who gets kidnapped and kept in a room for FIFTEEN years with only a TV for company. He is then released and this is where the movie really goes into overdrive both emotionally and physically. I'm not going to go into the plot in any detail at all, as although you may be thinking this sounds pretty much like your standard Death Wish type revenge movie, the journey you are taken along with the characters is so good it really deserves to be viewed with fresh eyes. There's also a massive twist near the end of the movie, that some might say is similar to M. Night Shyamalan's cheap theatrics, but trust me when I say, although it is a huge twist, the emotional payoff and the ruination this causes all the cast is just utterly amazing.
The movie has some of the best dialogue I have heard (read as it is subtitled) in a LONG time, being poetic and so moving at times. Few movies are able to play with their characters so much, in such a hackneyed genre, but OldBoy really does find new ground, with great depth and beauty, all the while ripping out our teeth with it's visceral nature.
There's so much to see within the movie that can be revealed without runing for anyone, such as the scene where Oh Dae-Su fights takes revenge on his captors that is filmed in one single take for four minutes in one left to right scrolling pan, sheer brilliance, and betters Tarantino's House of Blue Leaves sequence in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Very reminiscent of early 80's left to right scrolling beat em up games, but much more classy. The attention to detail, such as the way that Park Chan-Wook sets the movie NOW, with TV footage indicating exactly the timescale that things are happening, making this all the more real. The scene where Oh Dae-Su is released on the top of an apartment building, takes the standard kidnapping release sequence and imbues it with a fresh, dangerous view.
Referencing Tarantino again, Park Chan-Wook out Tarantino- Tarantino with an off-screen piece of ultraviolence, that although we do not actually see, is more visceral and gut wrenching than Reservoid Dogs famous ear cutting scene.
Fantastic performances from the lead characters, and I must single out Choi Min-Sik for his fantastic, damaged performance as Oh Dae-Sue, rarely have I seen an actor give so much, in his journey from a fat drunk businessman, to a man desperate for revenge, then emotionally destroyed by his tormentor, and finally redeemed. A joy to watch.
There's so much movies that OldBoy has touches of including Seven, 1984, Cube, Reservoir Dogs, The Matrix, Being John Malkovich, Sliver and many more, it's a true movie geeks paradise spotting all the reference's, although to be said, for the non movie geek this will not make not a jot of a difference to their enjoyment.
This is no Saturday night blockbuster, being brutal and extremely dark in it's torment of it's participants. I guarantee you will not come out of this with a feel good emotion, but if you want a thriller that has much more to give, then I wholeheartedly recommend OldBoy. No doubt Hollywood will come calling looking to remake this, but a remake would be a waste of time for a movie as perfect as this.
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Oldboy review written by: Gary Gray
11th October, 2008 
