Review of Oldboy (2003) by Beau D — 30 Aug 2012

Oldboy (Oldeuboi) is the second installment of the 'Vengeance trilogy' directed by Chan-wook Park and is by far the best of the three.

The first time I watched Oldboy it blew me away. Dark, slick, gritty and twisted, revenge has never been portrayed sweeter. I fell in love with the film instantly, I became gripped to my TV within the first five minutes. It kicks off right from the beginning and unlike some other films you don't have to wait half an hour to get intrested. It seems quite straight forward a man (Oh Dae-su played by Choi Min-sik) is suddenly kidnapped and is imprisoned for 15 years without explanation and one day he is suddenly released. Now the protagonist is on the hunt for the man who's behind his imprisonment to get his revenge, however the story is more complex and gripping than that.

Like me most people would probably assume that the film will go on and in the end the villain will be revealed however Oldboy is quite unique. After Oh Dae-su is released his captor Woo-Jin (Yoo Ji-tae) one day reveals himself. Oh Dae-su instant reaction is to kill this man however Woo-Jin tells him that if he kills him he won't ever find out his motives behind his imprisonment. Woo-Jin then tells Oh Dae-su to discover his motives within the next five days or else he will kill Mi-do (Kang-Hye Jeong) a young sushi chef who Oh Dae-su meets at the restaurant she works at after he got released, she becomes Oh Dae-su's love interest. If Oh Dae-su succeeds in finding out Woo-Jin's motive then Woo-Jin will kill himself. With the captor revealing himself begins the protagonist's desperate journey to find out why he was kept in a room for 15 years, which leads him to dig in his past. This makes the story so intense and entertaining.

Oldboy is more than just revenge, blood and the typical overdose of violence it has a very intriguing plot portrayed very sleekly. For people that don't have a strong stomach it will disturb and disgust you(still watch it), some scenes will make your jaw drop, other scenes will make you speechless. There is nothing quite like Oldboy, it has all the correct ingredients. Chan-wook Park filmed every scene as if it's a piece of art; so stylish, bold and dark it seems as if we was to watch and feel the emotions of Oh Dae-su throughout the film. There's some amazing soundtrack and even better dialogue, everything just fits perfectly.

Choi Min-sik's portrayal of Oh Dae-su is one of the best performances I have ever seen. It's gripping and mesmerising, it sticks with you no matter however many times you watch it, such a powerful and striking performance. I've never seen anyone get in to the role and portray anger in such a breath taking way as well as Choi Min-sik. Yoo Ji-tae and Kang-Hye Jeong also gave outstanding performances.

For the people who haven't watched Oldboy I encourage you to watch it ASAP, it's a must see. I guarantee that you will not leave your seats, it's that entertaining. This film takes cinema to a whole new level, it breaks every barrier in ever aspect whether it's direction, acting, cinematography or background score. Oldboy has changed my outlook of cinema and after watching it everything else seemed mainstreamed to me; that's how much of an impact Oldboy has on me. I've lost count of the amount of times I've watched Oldboy, even though I know what will happen next, I was still gripped and entertained. Oldboy is in my top 5 all time favorite movies and I don't think any movie will be able to take it's place.