Didn't deserve best picture, but still a wild ride

Rating: 7/10 (14 March 2020)

The 2020 best picture winner is a sleeper hit that started to get some buzz last summer, translating positive word-of-mouth into Oscar gold in February. 'Parasite' may be the first foreign language film to win the honor, but it's fair to say it isn't the best foreign language film to make an impression on audiences.
Still, there's no denying the cultural impact Bong Joon Ho's dark family thriller has had since making the rounds at film festivals and theater chains. The two families at the center of 'Parasite's plot deserve much credit for what they were able to deliver - a gripping thriller that also serves as a social commentary on modern South Korean society. Aside from the acting, the execution of the plot, filled with more twists and turns than you'd expect from a best picture honoree, is top-notch. And then there's the climax - talk about a series of events that were not expected. Understandably, this earned Ho a "best original screenplay" award - and for that, 'Parasite' did deserve the recognition.
While it is not the highest quality film released in the past year, 'Parasite' is a edge-of-your-seat, original effort that borrows some of the best elements from previous releases in the genre and takes things to another level.