Gripping Revenge Thriller unlike any other

Rating: 9/10 (13 November 2016)

"Revenge is futile" is the theme of Old boy, a South Korean movie directed by Chan-Wook Park with Min-SIk Choi as the lead character of the story. It is a dark, twisted masterpiece of revenge fiction with terrifying plot twists.
The story follows Oh Dae-su, as he gets imprisoned for 15 years in a room and is finally released by his captor without any explanation. We are shown the changes brought about in Oh Dae-su over the course of 15 years as he is subjected to routine doses of television, drugs, valium gas and hypnosis. He is suddenly freed after 15 years and we look at a mentally unstable man with vengeance in his heart who sets out to find his captor and kill him. The second part of the movie then follows Oh Dae-su as he tries to find his captor, meeting a beautiful girl (Mido) in the process, and learning the truth about his captivity slowly as he gets closer to his captor. The end is a series of terrifying plot-twists culminating in an intense climax scene.
This movie is a piece of revenge fiction and shows us just how messy revenge can be. "Revenge begets revenge and this is where the justice system has to step in." This movie is a study on how horrible and twisted revenge can get and the extents to which vengeful men go to exact revenge on the people they were wronged by. The aftermath of this vengeance-filled story, as we see in the final scene, is tragedy and destruction.
I personally love this movie because of the intensity maintained throughout the movie. The direction is top-notch and a few scenes stand out as highlights with brilliant acting, cinematography and compositions. The plot twists are numerous with each one more sinister than the last and keeps you horribly fascinated at the unfolding of events. The psyches of the different characters are studied in detail as their actions unfold and hurtle towards the climax.
Overall, I would place this movie above other revenge fiction movies like Kill Bill, Count of Monte Cristo as this movie is darker, with more violence, more destruction and more revenge than the rest of them. A must-watch for sure.