Finally, after years of being on The List, I finally sat down and watched the Korean movie, Oldboy, and came to know why everyone on the Internet is always like “Ahhhh Oldboy! That’s some messed up shit!” And indeed, it was indeed “messed up shit” as people will say.
With a name like Oldboy and people saying the movie is disturbing, I was expecting it to be a little bit more horror. You know, chopped up body parts, an insane murderer, little girls crawling out of wells with hair in their faces? Nay, there was nary a bit of that stuff, at least not really. There was violence – the kind that made my face go weird and my hands cover my eyes. Somehow, I can handle watching a person on screen get stabbed or shot or whatever, but pull their teeth out and I feel like I just might barf. What is that? Is there a name for that? Is that a phenomenon? I have no idea.
Without spoiling much of anything, some guy is randomly imprisoned for 15 years and for a majority of the movie, he’s tracking down who did it and why. And all this stuff goes on – but it doesn’t drag. I was interested the whole time – for quite some time before finally there’s a big reveal that leaves the viewer thinking “What the fuuuuuuck?!” almost as much as the main character. And as I quickly discovered, this is the original ‘hammer-as-a-fatal-weapon’ movie, not Drive. Sorry, guys.
It was seriously a fascinating movie. There were some solid twists and turns and the ending took me by surprise. Seriously. Usually, movies are somewhat predictable to me but this one? I really wouldn’t have guessed it. So do yourselves a favor and don’t spoil it for yourself. I mean, I don’t know how long spoiler disclaimers last, but it’s been 10 years since the movie came out and if you haven’t been spoiled yet, stay strong – it’s worth it.
I’m giving this guy a 5 out of 5 stars. Mostly because the acting was so good, I was impressed with the plot, and I didn’t guess the ending. And I’ll be completely honest – the main villain is painfully attractive. If you’re in the mood for a quality mystery/crime/thriller movie with a touch of violence, bam! Here it is! Also, as far as I know, DO NOT GET THE DUBBED VERSION. Apparently it’s terrible. Deal with it and read the subtitles for two hours. I find that’s the case most of the time.
***** stars
Also, the American remake starring Josh Brolin is definitely going to be inferior. I think they just won’t go to the level of crazy that the original did. Plus, what the hell is SPIKE LEE doing directing it?
threesixfiveFILM 