Not So Shocking

Rating: 6/10 (30 November 2007)

I'm very surprised by the extreme dislike some have expressed for Oldboy. I just finished watching it and while I too am somewhat disappointed with the ending shocker I don't feel that much of the negativity is warranted.
Many have criticized the deux ex machina nature hypnosis plays in the film and the fantastic concept that Dae-Su could train himself to be such an amazing fighter but what seems to be lost here is that there is NO pretense that this is a realistic film. While it is not Kafka, it is a surrealist piece and has to be viewed as such. Park even has a VO commenting on "can training yourself...work?" to draw attention to the fantasy nature of the movie.
I think what most are punishing Oldboy for is the hype. I went in having heard about the amazing/shocking/unbelievable ending and then it simply turns out to be an Oedipal story where fate is cruel and named Woo-jin. It was a let down because I was expecting a "Sixth Sense" level ending but in all reality the main story was far more interesting and well made than the Sixth Sense. It simply did not deliver in the end and with all the hype that can be unforgivable to people (disappointment can color everything sometimes).
I think if anyone is looking for thematic meaning what they can see is that Oldboy is about how such small, meaningless things can destroy your life. It is about talking less (Woo-Jin: "Oh Dae-Su talks too much") and asking the right the questions ("You should not ask 'Why was I imprisoned?' but "Why was I released?'") it is only through forced introspection that Dae-Su understands why his life is the way it is and that revenge is meaningless, not because it is your own fault but because the forces that often times act against us are beyond our control and must just be accepted (Woo-Jin's "omnipotence" as some have pointed out). This is what I took away from the film.