Review of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) by Shawn-Ray M — 12 Apr 2010
Oldboy was a hard hitting movie, both visually and emotionally. The story was deep and disturbing and warrants multiple viewings. Mr. Vengeance, however, seems to be the warm-up movie for Oldboy. The story is tight, the composition is amazing.
.. but it all feels out of place... like it belongs somewhere else. The pacing is just so far off that the movie seems twice as long as it actually is. The random dropping of sound was a huge distraction (yes, I get the lead is deaf, but it happened in more than POV shots).
The emotional impact seemed to be missing, as well. The movie does deserve respect, however, for its allowing Park Chan-wook to practice the techniques he would later use in Oldboy to near-perfection.
You can see on the screen that the man knows his craft. This one just didn't really do much for me, though.
This review of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) was written by Shawn-Ray M on 12 Apr 2010.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance has generally received positive reviews.
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