The Best Adapted Manga So Far

Rating: 7/10 (31 January 2011)

(7.5/10) Oldboy is depressing. It is dark. It is bleak. It is bizarre. And most importantly, it is absolutely brilliant. A thrilling tale about Monte-Cristo-styled revenge. The cinematography was quite, quite good. The screenplay was superb. The art direction for the sets were very good and very Matrixy. However, it was in the revelation scene: Oh Dae-Sue discovers that he has slept with his daughter and thus he scissors off his own tongue as a "symbol of silence" that we reach the worst of climaxes. The entire film up to this point was the best adapted manga so far. It had everything that manga offers and manifested these elements in a motion picture. However, the idea that this film, the mystery and the revelation, was based around something as revolting as incest was the real downer. It makes this film ultimately depressing and tragic. It clamps down on any further brilliance and magnificence. Hope for this film disappears into the bloody waters like Oh-Dae Su's tongue.