Is this the greatest film Tarantino never made?

Rating: 9/10 (12 May 2006)

No doubt about it, OldBoy is all about extremity. You want torture? Try getting your head around the idea of being in solitary for 15 years or the new dental work courtesy of a hammer. Violence? Check out the one-take corridor brawl in which psychologically ravaged Dae-su takes on a score of goons... with a claw-hammer.
You want to know how far someone could go to wreak revenge? Well, we advise you to brave South Korean writer-director Park Chan-wook's helter-skelter descent into the dingiest pit of human behaviour, even if at times it is tough going and ludicriously unfeasible.
As a sequel to the first in Park's 'Vengance' trilogy. We are greeted by a reality drenched in atmosphere and the grotesque. Like Se7en but we see the murders this time round. The live octopus scene and torture by hammer are without a doubt the most horrific moments. But there's plenty else to shock even without them - and all done with such unabashed verve that you'll be as compelled as you are repulsed.
OldBoy recalls Fincher in its CG-assisted flourishes and doom ridden themes, and Tarantino with its sharp-suited, stylised bloodletting. But it's unlikely either of those guys would ever be allowed to push it as far as Park has with this. Not to everyone's tastes, but if you have a strong stomach, OldBoy is sure to impress.
Like I said, the word is extreme...