Slick and interesting

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2005)

I don't know where the hate for this movie is coming from, unless it's from those with weak stomachs. A lot of critics seemed to really enjoy it, if they reviewed it at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and think of it as the best thriller to come along since Memento. Both movies have their gimmicks - short-term memory loss in Memento and a small hypnosis bit in Oldboy, but it's just one twist of many in these movies. The thing that strikes me the most about this movie is the lead actor who plays Oh-Daesu. He is transformed from a happy drunk in the beginning to a worn and broken shell of a man, full of anger and remorse. All good stories show the character going through a journey of change, and Oldboy succeeded very well. The lead actor really carries the picture.
This film is also a visual joy to watch, particularly the early scenes of his imprisonment and the passage of time in his cell. I'm a Takishi Miike fan, so the violence didn't bother me at all, except for one scene that put The Marathon Man to shame and made me scream. It's been a long time since I did that during a movie and it was a lot of fun. I really loved the cinematography - it never felt overdone. The infamous hallway fight scene was extremely cool, just one of those technical feats that make you say "How did they do that?"
I didn't see the big "secret" coming, so it made the ending a disturbing shock to me, but it also seemed consistent with the characters. Don't let anyone try to ruin the ending for you! The ending alone is the whole reason I can never see an American remake for this picture, despite Nicholas Cage's desire to produce and star in one. It just wouldn't fly in these moral majority times. Also, the only western actor I could imagine reprising the role of Oh-Daesu is Gary Oldman. All in all, this was a dark movie, filmed with a lot of energy and even some interesting things to say about personal guilt and revenge, things that Kill Bill, for example never touched on.