Brilliant in every way. One of the most clever films you'll ever see.

Rating: 9/10 (13 January 2006)

Oldboy is one of Asia's most critically acclaimed films, worldwide, that has been released this millennium. On watching, it is not difficult to see why. The plot is quite simply fascinating to witness. The way it is unravelled, the narration and the direction are all fantastic; it is gripping to the point where almost two hours fly by without you even noticing. The way Chan-Wook blends past flashbacks with present goings on is very smooth and does well to further show off his obvious directing talents. The revelations at the end are extremely shocking but are done so cleverly that despite how the audience may feel about the issue in question, they must at least be impressed with how it is presented. Park Chan-Wook really does deserve an applaud for his directorial efforts in this film as it is such a stylish masterpiece and really focuses on the details, taking great care in making a great film.
Inside the amazing plot are two fascinating relationships. The main relationship is between Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), the main character, and Mido (Gang Hye-jung), a young woman who befriends Dae-su. The way they are strangers who immediately fall in love is very intriguing and their storyline develops fascinatingly. The other is between Oh Dae-su and Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Ji-tae), the antagonist. The way how Oh Dae-su's quest for vengeance is only greatened by his quest for the truth from Woo-jin is understandable and Woo-jin's complex character makes him almost a sympathetic character. Add a couple of thoroughly entertaining and well choreographed fights and some shocking imagery and you have a classic Asian film in the making. The score is intensely dramatic in parts and the frequent use of a piano adds a lot of depth to the overall atmosphere of the film. All the reasons why Asian cinema is very popular beyond its own continent are prominent in this film.
The acting by the leads in Oldboy are also excellent and done extremely convincingly. Choi Min-sik is brilliant to watch and is very convincing as Oh Dae-su. Min-sik is very good as a man who has lost everything and who has lost his socialisation. His ability at displaying madness, anger, sadness, joy and ambivalence make his performance impressively versatile. Yoo Ji-tae is brilliant as Lee Woo-jin and provides a fantastic contrast against Dae-su. Ji-tae is often moving in his portrayal, despite the fact he is playing a sick and twisted game. The confidence of his display is very impressive. Gang Hye-jung is very good as the female lead. Her performance shows her character's loyalty and naivety on a very good level and her childlike looks make the audience care for her very much. The great casting really helps the characters come to life and bring the film's point across.
This film does very well at manipulating the audience's emotion and feeling empathy towards the main characters which is a very powerful quality for a film to possess. Oldboy is very courageous in the subject matter it explores and definitely benefits from not being too concerned with how the public would respond to this film.
Oldboy, at only three years old, is already a classic and is a near perfect film. Subtitles are actually a benefit because they make you concentrate more which is important to fully understand this film. Well directed and acted, Oldboy is a genuine masterpiece.