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All Movie Info
Starring:
Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong Kang, Dae-han Ji, Dal-su Oh, Byeong-ok Kim, Seung-Shin Lee, Jin-seo Yun, Dae-yeon Lee, Kwang-rok Oh, Su-hyeon Kim, Seung-jin Lee
Directed By:
Chan-wook Park
Written By:
Chan-wook Park, Garon Tsuchiya, Jo-yun Hwang, Chun-hyeong Lim, Joon-hyung Lim, Nobuaki Minegishi
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Oldboy (2003)
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Movie Review by Nick 
March 30th, 2005
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See OLDBOY.
I know that logic states I should not be divulging that information so early on in a review, negating your need to bathe in the incoherent ramblings that my examinations carry with them, but I did it anyway. Why you may ask? First, I'm crazy like that. But more importantly, while this latest Asian film to hit American big screens is not a new film-- it was originally released in its native land of Korea in 2003-- it is so fresh and different that if I were the athletic sort I would climb the highest mountain and scream "SEE OLDBOY!!" and possibly "I CAN SEE MY HOUSE FROM HERE!!" However, considering I spend all my time watching movies I'm probably better off doing all my shouting here rather than wasting all that energy mountaineering.
Normally, I would expound a bit on the plot of OLDBOY, however in this instance I feel this may be a hindrance to the experience OLDBOY brings with it and I suggest avoiding any but the most vague of plot explanations (for example, the one to follow). Dae-su Oh is kidnapped and held captive for fifteen years with nothing but a television and his thoughts of who did this to him, why they did it and how he is going to kill said kidnapper(s) when he escapes. In a nutshell, OLDBOY is about retribution; however, from beginning to end the film itself is one revelation after the next, allowing the viewer to experience the events in the film with Dae-su Oh (portrayed masterfully by Min-sik Choi) as they unfold.
Director Chan-wook Park has a history in the revenge business, creating what some have called "The Vengeance Trilogy" (SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGANCE, OLDBOY and the soon to follow SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGANCE) and it shows in his work. Park's direction brings out the primal urges in Choi, as a man pushed beyond human boundaries and left fueled by his deepest animal instincts, leading to the tag line "End of confrontation, one must die."
See OLDBOY. See it now. Take a road trip to a theatre that is playing it, plan a vacation around it, just whatever you do, see this film before it's too late and its limited theatre run is over. Already slated for a 2006 American remake (rumored to be starring Nicolas Cage), you still have the opportunity to be the first on your block to say "The original was SOOO much better." OLDBOY also boasts one of the most magnificent fight scenes put on celluloid and if an otherwise amazing film isn't enough to get you to the theatre, this fight scene alone should be enough to pull you in.
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