Review of Oldboy (2013) by Jacob G — 29 Jun 2014

Better than expected, Oldboy remakes Oldboy. But it's still no Oldboy.

Everything here is pretty capable (although Samuel L. Jackson's role is more comedic than it should be), though a few things drag it down (big hallway battle, for example--made sense in the original, here its pretty laughable).

Perhaps the biggest problem is the lack of raw desperation out of Josh Brolin's acting performance. The gripping thing about the original Oldboy is his ferocity and animalistic pursuit of revenge. Brolin delivers a nuanced performance, one where the character actually feels calm and collected and driven by logic, not hate. Maybe this creates a more identifiable character. On the flipside, it is a more normal character and a much more boring character.

If Oldboy didn't have the shackles of the original Oldboy's brilliance holding it down, it would be as-is at worst an interesting movie. But it does not have that luxury; instead it can only be judged by what it isn't. Sort of unfair, but mostly just comes with the territory of remaking a classic.