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Craig Younkin
Movie Review
Oldboy
By Lee Tistaert Published March 30, 2005
US Release: March 25, 2005
Directed by: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Min-Sik Choi , Ji-Tae Yu
R
Running Time: 120 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $707,391
Directed by: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Min-Sik Choi , Ji-Tae Yu
R
Running Time: 120 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $707,391
C+
Oldboy is mostly recommended for film buffs who like their flicks stylish and dark, but will likely leave many others asking for the door a third of the way through.
Oldboy was a hit at least year?s Cannes Film Festival and lost out to Fahrenheit 9/11 in the competition for top prize. This is a Korean revenge thriller for filmgoers who love bad asses who will stop at nothing to get what they want. This genre can play either way with me, as I don?t always have enough reason to care for a character?s motivation. That was one of my issues with Training Day, but I thought Kill Bill was an entry in this genre that worked gangbusters.
Oldboy is like Man on Fire in that you're expected to root for the hero in any situation and think he kicks ass. I thought Man on Fire (C+) was a style-over-substance affair ? it used many editing tricks for flair and yet it was just a formulaic revenge thriller. Oldboy isn?t as overtly stylish but the cinematography is impressive, and the look of the film is very smooth. However, that doesn?t make up for the shallow story. The film merely revolves around "cool" characters trying to do cool things, or giving ?cool? facial expressions in close-up shots, and we?re supposed to be swayed over by that.
The film is about a businessman named Oh Dae-su who is imprisoned in a mysterious apartment complex for fifteen years, having been kidnapped and taken there. He doesn?t know who is responsible and doesn?t have any connection to the outside world. He has been forced to create his own world in this room, whether it?s watching television to keep up with the times or working out physically in hopes of seeking revenge on whoever put him here.
When he is released, he befriends a sushi chef named Mido, a woman who is drawn to him. Soon, an anonymous person hands him a cell phone, and after answering it, he is told that if he doesn?t figure out why he was imprisoned, something will happen to Mido in five days. Dae-su then begins his journey of looking up his former arch enemies to figure out the big mystery.
Oldboy is more concerned with looking cool than applying any sense of depth to a character. Dau-su is introduced as a silly, obnoxious drunk who has been hauled into a police station, and rebels against the officers who are trying to tame him. Watching Dae-su in this opening stretch is like watching a group of drunks come out of a bar at two a.m. ? it might be amusing for a few seconds, but ultimately you want to start moving toward your car. After a friend bails him out, he is abducted and then taken to the apartment. The police station is the setup for Dae-su, and we never know anything else about him.
Being imprisoned for fifteen years in such a condition has to be very harsh, but the viewer needs to feel imprisoned with him for the right effect. Years go by in only a matter of minutes as we see a montage of events on television from over the years. And Dae-su gets released from the apartment by the end of the first act, which leaves very little time to get caught up in his situation. I realize this film wasn?t trying to be the next Shawshank Redemption in keeping us imprisoned for 90% of the story, but there?s still not much behind its story arc.
Oldboy plays a little like Memento (B+) in terms of mystery, but that film was very smart by telling the story backwards clip by clip, rather than in continuity, which forced the viewer to keep up. The framework in Oldboy is fairly traditional and relies on whether or not the apartment worked for you ? if you don't "buy" it, chances are the rest of the film will be boring. And when pieces eventually add up, the twist is more ridiculous than surprising (it's quite simple in the end).
The film has twisted layers, including torture and brutal fights, and issues dealing with the heartbreak of the human spirit, but the characters don?t have enough backbone. Torture scenes just seem to happen for the sake of shock and brutality, and they don?t have an emotional resonance. And the one big fight sequence that is supposed to leave us cheering (in which Dau-su takes on a bunch of men while a knife sticks out his back) lacks intensity, as there?s only one static camera angle that doesn?t allow us to get in on the fight.
I can?t say that I was surprised by my mixed reaction. I was actually expecting more of an action movie than a revenge thriller ? but even so, I tend to think imported action movies can be terrible. The directing isn?t over the top like many of those flicks and the script is a lot better, but the storytelling still suffers. But considering my track record with this genre, I may not be the best judge. Oldboy is mostly recommended for film buffs who like their flicks stylish and dark, but will likely leave many others asking for the door a third of the way through.
Oldboy is like Man on Fire in that you're expected to root for the hero in any situation and think he kicks ass. I thought Man on Fire (C+) was a style-over-substance affair ? it used many editing tricks for flair and yet it was just a formulaic revenge thriller. Oldboy isn?t as overtly stylish but the cinematography is impressive, and the look of the film is very smooth. However, that doesn?t make up for the shallow story. The film merely revolves around "cool" characters trying to do cool things, or giving ?cool? facial expressions in close-up shots, and we?re supposed to be swayed over by that.
The film is about a businessman named Oh Dae-su who is imprisoned in a mysterious apartment complex for fifteen years, having been kidnapped and taken there. He doesn?t know who is responsible and doesn?t have any connection to the outside world. He has been forced to create his own world in this room, whether it?s watching television to keep up with the times or working out physically in hopes of seeking revenge on whoever put him here.
When he is released, he befriends a sushi chef named Mido, a woman who is drawn to him. Soon, an anonymous person hands him a cell phone, and after answering it, he is told that if he doesn?t figure out why he was imprisoned, something will happen to Mido in five days. Dae-su then begins his journey of looking up his former arch enemies to figure out the big mystery.
Oldboy is more concerned with looking cool than applying any sense of depth to a character. Dau-su is introduced as a silly, obnoxious drunk who has been hauled into a police station, and rebels against the officers who are trying to tame him. Watching Dae-su in this opening stretch is like watching a group of drunks come out of a bar at two a.m. ? it might be amusing for a few seconds, but ultimately you want to start moving toward your car. After a friend bails him out, he is abducted and then taken to the apartment. The police station is the setup for Dae-su, and we never know anything else about him.
Being imprisoned for fifteen years in such a condition has to be very harsh, but the viewer needs to feel imprisoned with him for the right effect. Years go by in only a matter of minutes as we see a montage of events on television from over the years. And Dae-su gets released from the apartment by the end of the first act, which leaves very little time to get caught up in his situation. I realize this film wasn?t trying to be the next Shawshank Redemption in keeping us imprisoned for 90% of the story, but there?s still not much behind its story arc.
Oldboy plays a little like Memento (B+) in terms of mystery, but that film was very smart by telling the story backwards clip by clip, rather than in continuity, which forced the viewer to keep up. The framework in Oldboy is fairly traditional and relies on whether or not the apartment worked for you ? if you don't "buy" it, chances are the rest of the film will be boring. And when pieces eventually add up, the twist is more ridiculous than surprising (it's quite simple in the end).
The film has twisted layers, including torture and brutal fights, and issues dealing with the heartbreak of the human spirit, but the characters don?t have enough backbone. Torture scenes just seem to happen for the sake of shock and brutality, and they don?t have an emotional resonance. And the one big fight sequence that is supposed to leave us cheering (in which Dau-su takes on a bunch of men while a knife sticks out his back) lacks intensity, as there?s only one static camera angle that doesn?t allow us to get in on the fight.
I can?t say that I was surprised by my mixed reaction. I was actually expecting more of an action movie than a revenge thriller ? but even so, I tend to think imported action movies can be terrible. The directing isn?t over the top like many of those flicks and the script is a lot better, but the storytelling still suffers. But considering my track record with this genre, I may not be the best judge. Oldboy is mostly recommended for film buffs who like their flicks stylish and dark, but will likely leave many others asking for the door a third of the way through.
Lee's Grade: C+
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
'Old Boy' Articles
- Scott's review C
March 30, 2005 The story crumbles into an ultra-confusing freak show that is hard to watch on several levels. -- Scott Sycamore - Craig's review B+
March 26, 2005 Grabs hold of us and refuses to let go. -- Craig Younkin
