Brilliant it may be ... but do we really need it?

Rating: 6/10 (26 February 2006)

Chan-wook Park's "Oldboy" is like a cross between a Beckett play and a Korean version of something David Fincher might have directed, (think "Se7en" out of "Fight Club"), with lots of Tarantino gore thrown in for good measure. Tortuously plotted in a distinctly Oriental way and very well done if it has to be done at all.
From the beginning we know things are not going to be straightforward when Dae-su Oh, (brilliantly played by Min-sik Choi), is kidnapped for no apparent reason, imprisoned by his captor for 15 years, then released back into the world complete with clothes, money and cellphone. Not so much a whodunit then, (that is revealed midway through), but why? The violence is excruciating; the set pieces quite extraordinary. The problem is, it does go on a bit.