Review of Oldboy (2013) by Patrick L — 25 Aug 2014

"Spike Lee has made a stylish and hard-edged retelling of the South Korean cult classic".

DVD Movie Review: Oldboy.

Date Viewed: March 31 2014.

Directed By Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever and Inside Man).

Screenplay By Mark Protosevich, Based on the 2003 South Korean film by Park Chan-wook, Im Joon-hyeong and Hwang Jo-yoon.

Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Michael Imperioli, James Ransone, Max Casella, Linda Emond, Elvis Nolasco, Lance Reddick, Hannah Ware, Richard Portnow and Samuel L. Jackson.

I loved the original "Oldboy" from director Park Chan-wook. It was great art and it is one of the best foreign-language films ever. Ten years later, acclaimed director Spike Lee has dared himself into remaking the infamous cult classic. Is it better than the original? No, but what Spike Lee has done with his version is fascinating. It has a big turn in the third act that I found way too confusing. Nevertheless, Josh Brolin is outstanding in the role originally played by Choi Min-sik in the 2003 version.

Brolin plays Joe Doucett, an advertising executive who is addicted to alcohol and doesn't spend much time with his family. When he spots a young woman holding a yellow umbrella, he gets knocked out unconsciously. Joe wakes up in a hotel room and finds out that he is a prisoner. He doesn't know who his captor is but he frames him for the rape and murder of his wife and his daughter, Mia had been adopted. After 20 years, Joe is mysteriously released from prison and he vows to find the people responsible for his imprisonment.

Joe soon gets a phone call from the man responsible for taking away 20 years of his life. He calls himself "The Stranger" (Sharlto Copley) and he asks Joe two questions, 1. Why did I let you go? 2. Why did I imprison you for 20 years? Joe soon gets help from his bar owner friend Chucky (Michael Imperioli) and a nurse named Marie Sebastian (Elizabeth Olsen). Joe finds out that the place where he was held prisoner for two decades was an abandoned factory and he confronts the owner, Chaney (Samuel L. Jackson, who previously worked with Spike Lee in three films, "Do The Right Thing", "Mo' Better Blues" and "Jungle Fever").

To remind you, "Oldboy" has lots of grisly violence and blood. I wasn't concerned about the brutal violence in the film, I was mainly concerned about how director Lee and screenwriter Mark Protosevich put this whole movie together. The cinematography by Sean Bobbitt (12 Years a Slave) is great to look at and I liked the performances from Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Sharlto Copley but the third act of the movie turned me off. I won't reveal the shocking twist too you but it made me cringe and the end of the movie was way too weird.

When the movie ended, I was bitterly divided on it. Even though, the third act of the movie turned me off, The great looking photography and the performances are enough to recommend it. Spike Lee is one of our best filmmakers and he did his best trying to remake the Park Chan-wook cult classic but I just hate it when Hollywood tries to remake something I like and it ends up being a massive disappointment.