Review of Oldboy (2003) by Wes S — 21 Mar 2012
This second film in Park Chan-wook's "revenge trilogy" is probably the most violent of the three, but what the first two films Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance & Oldboy have in common is showing the futility of revenge.
Unlike most other revenge films that paint a black and white picture between the hero and the villain, this one adds so much depth and complexity to each character who is out for revenge for his own reasons, that by the end it is hard to really know what to make of it or where to stand.
Oh Dae-Su (Min-sik Choi) is just an average guy with a drinking problem, on his way home to his daughter's birthday he disappears. The story then picks up with him locked in a small room with a bed, a shower, and a television where he spends the next 15 years as a prisoner without knowing why or who put him there.
After 15 years he wakes up on a roof in his old neighborhood, and starts on a path of revenge against the people who stole 15 years of his life. But as he gets closer to the truth things become a little more complicated.
This is a smart, seamless, & genre bending revenge film.
This review of Oldboy (2003) was written by Wes S on 21 Mar 2012.
Oldboy has generally received very positive reviews.
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