Review of Oldboy (2003) by Andrew W — 09 Nov 2012

Being a gripping, thrilling and harrowing tale of revenge, Oldboy attacks the audience with its unsettling atmosphere and graphic scenes of brutality. From the very first minutes the film successfully grasps one's attention and doesn't stop to astound until the final, shocking moments.

It's an intriguing, mysterious, and bloody seductive movie, which presents a story so gruesome and unforgiving that it's almost unbearable to watch. When Oh Dae-su is imprisoned for 15 years for unknown reasons and eventually gets out, he has only two questions in mind: why and who? While trying to capture his oppressors he wants to uncover the real purpose behind this outrageous event that ruined his life for good.

With the help of a lovely young girl, he succumbs to the lone warrior's way and finds out more about himself and his life than he intended to. In the film the revenge goes both ways, and as soon as we discover what the whole story is about we won't be able to forget how powerful and, at the same time, discomforting the film really is.

Chan Wook Park did an amazing job, but probably his greatest decision was casting the superb Min-sik Choi in the titular role. His frighteningly beastly attitude serves everyone right, as he defeats his enemy with cold blood and uncovers all the clues one after another, only to arrive at a conclusion that has much to do with a forgotten past.