ignore the arrogant critics... this film is a breath of fresh air

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2006)

I apologise in advance as i'm going to rant at people who rant!
Just reading through some reviews, and stunned by negativity towards this film... Oldboy is superb!
It's clear that certain members of IMDb are perhaps trying to levitate themselves into movie critique stardom in a w*nky Simon Cowell sort of way. (I.e. their standards being much higher) Everybody is welcome to their opinion and I understand that this film may not be to everyone's taste, but even those who do not like it, should acknowledge its approach, its excellent score and wonderful presentation which is justifiably arrogant.
Most of the negative comments I've read tend to be aimed toward the story being far fetched..the violence, or the rationale of the main characters.. I don't know about others, but I have no benchmark as to how I would act if put through the same ordeal as oh dae su and whether you could resist such an intensive course of hypnotism.. and we shouldn't forget that we live in a world where there are individuals who walk into classrooms with colts ....... and there are others who can become so wrapped up in someone that they gain pleasure by spending all their time stalking them. so I ask why does it seem so unbelievable that someone could hold so much focused hatred and instead of releasing it suddenly, they gain pleasure and wish to draw it out. As to the rationale and thinking of the lead characters, It may depend on what you believe can be achieved with hypnotism and the depth and detail to which you can effect someone's thoughts. I firmly believe that 15 years to shape and plan the events of 5 days is sufficient time to create, according to some the 'too convenient' instances that occurred.
I'm sure my comments will be lost amongst review after review of people going through this film with a fine toothcomb...over-analysing finding things not quite right .... silly comments about "certain parts not being realistic".. "the villain conveniently finding gadgets at the right time" blah blah blah.... obviously fans of reality TV..
so in short...
I urge you to ignore those that rebel against the general clique, cos that is a clique in itself..
I can only hope the yanks change their minds and their film media just encourage people to watch the original.
A well acted, hard hitting story A wonderful score Great presentation Beautiful cinematography And a Great twist
OldBoy is superb
PtG