old boy deserves the win

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2005)

Set in Korea 15 years ago, Oh Daesu finds himself a captive in a hotel room that acts as a prison cell without knowing who his captor is or why he has been held. The movie follows Oh Daesu's emergence from his cell to find both himself and his captor of 15 years.
In short, old boy is a captivating revenge movie that doubles as a great, refreshing movie-going experience. While it is a polarizing film (i.e. Fight Club, Saw, movies that ppl HATE or LOVE), I guarantee most of you will like it. I came out of this one thinking, Man, I've never seen anything like this! While it may be heavily derivative of something else I don't know of, it feIt and looked highly original and well-imagined. There are some gory scenes, but nothing I would consider gratuitous within the context of a revenge thriller. Despite its considerable violence, it's not mindless and it's not cheap: the story is fantastic but the characters and their motivations are not unbelievable. The movie admirably attempts to enter the psyche of each of the pivotal characters, including one memorable scene with a large insect. This represents a great leap for Korean/world cinema, and the world would be a better place for brave cinema as this (not necessarily as violent, though).
I felt compelled to write this after reading the worst review of a movie I've read in my life. The fact that they are remaking it (as opposed to another remake of a 70's sitcom) prove that people enjoy and appreciate this story.