Old Boy

Plot synopsis:
Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin) is a marketing salesman, but his drinking and roving eye causes him to lose deals. He's estranged from his wife, and misses his daughter's 3rd birthday party. He buys a toy duck from a street vendor, then disappears.Joe wakes up in a small room, where he is fed (primarily Chinese food) and provided for, but denied human contact. During his incarceration, forensic evidence is lifted from him and planted on the crime scene of his wife's murder. He makes friends with a mouse, only to have it served to him for his next meal. He's watched on camera by Chaney (Samuel L. Jackson), and has hallucinations about him. Joe is allowed to watch television, and he sees a story about his daughter, 8 years old, and tries to better himself in his cell.After 20 years, Joe makes plans to escape, but is suddenly gassed and released. He wakes up with a cell phone with his daughter's picture and a countdown timer. He sees the street vendor who sold him the duck (or so he thinks) and chases after her, using his new physical fitness to beat up a football team. He meets Marie (Elizabeth Olsen), a nurse who senses there's something wrong with him, but he won't open up her. She gives him her card.He returns to his friend Chucky (Michael Imperioli)'s bar and tells his story. He's then called by an anonymous man, who says Joe can earn forgiveness. Joe starts researching all the people he's wronged to see if he can find his captor. When Joe passes out again, Chucky find's Marie's number, and she comes over to help. She finds a stack of letters Joe has written to his daughter Mia, and agrees to help him. Joe starts sampling Chinese food at area restaurants, trying to find the same dumplings he lived on for years. In one restaurant, he sees a man picking up a large order and follows him. He finds Chaney and tortures him, only to find out he's only the caretaker of a facility that tortures many people. Joe fights off numerous guards and passes out from his wounds, only to be rescued by a mysterious stranger who drops him back at Chucky's.Joe recovers and finally meets the stranger Adrian (Sharlto Copley), who gives him proof of his involvement of his wife's murder. Adrian challenges Joe to find out who he is and why Joe was imprisoned, then leads him to Marie's house, where he's captured by Chaney. Before Chaney can start torturing him, Adrian pays him off. Adrian is seen watching Marie's house and she and Joe make plans.Joe and Marie track down Edwina Burke (Linda Emond), the headmistress of Joe's old prep school. While Marie distracts her, Joe finds Adrian's name in a yearbook. Chucky finds out something about Adrian's sister, but Adrian intercepts his message to Joe and kills Chucky. Joe and Marie make love, and Adrian watches.Joe and Marie break into the prep school and Joe begins to remember - Adrian's sister was caught having sex with her father, and the family was involved in a tragedy years later.Joe confronts Adrian and tells him what he knows. Adrian explains that their father was a pedophile who killed his own family (Adrian was wounded instead). He takes Joe to see Mia, and Joe sees that much of what he saw on TV during his imprisonment was faked. Joe realizes Mia is actually Marie; Adrian raised her as Mia to torture him!Adrian kills himself. Joe uses Adrian's money to try and make things right - with Marie/Mia and even Chaney, arranging to be re-imprisoned. End.

Tags: revenge, neo noir, murder, violence, flashback

Review:
For viewers unfamiliar with the history behind Spike Lee's "Oldboy," the 2013 film is a remake of the cult-classic 2003 South Korean film of the same name, directed by Chan-wook Park.
Iconic director Spike Lee's "Oldboy" is as a handsomely shot piece of genre entertainment, but it fails in its attempt to define itself, resulting into a completely pointless, watered-down underwhelming thriller.An alcoholic whose life is falling apart, Joe (Josh Brolin) is far from the ideal father who is willfully neglecting his three-year-old daughter, Mia. Drugged and kidnapped one night, Joe awakens in a small room with a television, only to learn that he's been framed for the murder of his ex-wife, and will spend the next 20 years trapped in this cell where he is held as a prisoner.
Hunting for the individual who locked him away, Joe spares no one as he works his way to Adrian (Sharlto Copley), a deranged man masterminding the mystery Joe and Marie are now determined to solve.Director Spike Lee, working from a screenplay by Mark Protosevich "I Am Legend" (2007), chooses to simply rehash the plot for his American remake, and quickly rushes through the unusual and unique storyline unable to establish an emotional connection with the audience which the original film develops so well.
The original film achieves a sublime blending of ultra-violence with extreme art, while the remake feels bogged down in its copycat status, and its overall lighter tone hampers its enigmatic, disconcerting story of revenge.
The original Oldboy is a 10 top to bottom, story, script, action, actors, direction, why did they try to remake perfection.
Spike Lee's 'reimagining' of the Park Chan-Wook cult classic 'Oldboy' is a queer creature despite the notable absence of the original's iconic octopus-slurping scene.
According to Lee, he and his writer Mark Protosevich had not sought to remake Park's movie; rather, they have returned to the manga by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi to shape a similar yet somewhat different story that keeps the essential baroque details intact.
And perhaps most significantly, Joe gets to restage the original film's iconic extended sequence where his character takes on an entire army of thugs with no more than a claw hammer and pure rage - a three and a half minute scene rehearsed for six weeks which to Lee's credit, loses none of its predecessor's visceral thrills.
Lee also does himself little favour by undermining an otherwise grim and thoughtful story with cartoonish elements, most notably Jackson's garish performance (complete with blonde ponytail we may add) as Joe's chief jailer turned tormentor.Thankfully, Brolin anchors the titular role with his compelling presence, built on a single-minded embrace of his character's vengeance.
Spike Lee's Oldboy isn't completely terrible, but it does lose quite a bit of the dark, bruising, ambivalent flavour of Park Chan-Wook's 2003 Korean classic.Josh Brolin takes centre stage in Lee's version.
Olsen, too, stumbles around a bit, as if never quite sure how to play her part, and Sharlto Copley comes close to overplaying his hand when he emerges from the shadows to drop a few hints about the reasons behind Joe's ordeal.There's enough on display in Oldboy for the film to jog by at a fairly quick clip.
If the original version of "Oldboy" has a perfect 10 out 10, this one has a mixed 6 out 10.At first, I just came back from the theater and I found this movie a very poor remake if I compare it with the excellence, the complexity and power of the Asian film.
I don't have the intellect to understand every (or indeed any) foreign film without having to miss half the cinematography reading.If you haven't seen the original, watch this.
The original was brilliant, but it wasn't without flaw, and neither is this one.If you hate when someone makes a remake of a cult classic you love and you're not open to a new vision on that movie, stay away from this one.
With plenty of homage's to Chan-wook Park's 2003 original Spike Lee adaptation makes some minor changes to the story some are for the better including a more fitting closing.
Ultimately, those who want a gritty psychological thriller with a spot of action and a fantastic twist look no further.Possibly curious viewing for fans of Park's original but a compelling must see for viewers not familiar with the story..
This movie is a remake of an Asian original film of the same name.
Spike Lee's Oldboy is a farcry from Park Chan-wok's original Korean film of the same name, and it's a farcry from a good film in general.
this only leads to questions being asked that I'll presumably never get a straight answer to.There's almost no need to reiterate the storyline for the film because if you're reading a review of the Oldboy remake you likely have seen the original film or, at very least, have a good idea of it.
We feel as trapped as Joe does, and the fact that Lee seems to have focused on this segment of the story longer than Park Chan-wook did for the original film.
There has been a lot of internal controversy surrounding this remake, be it Spike Lee fighting with the marketing team, or the fact that Lee's original cut was heavily edited down, but regardless, the behind the scenes drama may make the choppiness and easy thing to justify.
For as much controversy Spike Lee drums up, the Oldboy remake could've been his retaliation in the way of, "I make what I want and I succeed, so deal with me." Instead, it's the equivalent of the art student who dyes his or her hair blue, sits in a corner, and begs "notice me" without ever making or doing anything worth noticing.Starring: Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen.
They forced it to be there cause they thought it HAD to be there.So, if you don't know the original movie, just go watch this one instead, even as a standalone film oldboy isn't good cause it builds on relationship and charactermotivations that totally felt forced and driven by clichés.If you're a fan of the original avoid this movie at any costs cause it will only make you angry...
I hope that people will not associate oldboy with this movie and will instead go watch the original.
Personally I like it better the Lady Vengeance (2005) - Chinjeolhan geumjassi - same director, same felling, better ending....BUT...comparing the 2 movie Original Vs. Remakeit's a no-brainer:ORIGINAL: 9.5 /10 REMAKE: 0.3/10I could list the numerous plot flaws, the unnecessary misplaced violence (damnn, they accomplished the impossible: ruined the corridor fight scene!) - to me this scene was epic, almost like the punch on brad pitt on fight club...
Though I saw a couple of people who reviewed the movie talking about a "remake" if you've never seen whatever the original is and don't know anything about it, then you're seeing it through fresh untainted, unbiased eyes.
Remakes will rarely be as "magical" as the originals, but they sometimes offer an alternate take on a well liked story for us that are familiar - and a brand new experience for those that do not care to see the original or are unaware of its existence.If you have never seen the original - watch this film.
I love the original and I really thought the Hollywood remake might be OK 'cause the actors are actually pretty good.
While you do have "Hammer Time" and a couple of other things that might remind you of the Korean original movie (haven't read the comic the story is based on yet), this is far inferior to it's source film.
Min-sik's performance was dominant, he embodied the role and put out the emotion and attitude to express perfectly what the protagonist was going through.The remake stars Josh Brolin, directed by the legendary Spike Lee, featuring the beautiful Elizabeth Olsen.
The movie didn't deviate all that much from the original.Sure, the fight scenes weren't as good as the original's and the plot was altered a bit, but I thought it was a relatively tight movie, with a script that was basically delivered from the original.Being rated a 4.9, to me it is obvious people are just bagging on it because it has been judged 'bad' not because it really is.
If you watched the first one and spend the whole time comparing both, asking why, well, you aren't going to like it that much.Elizabeth Olsen and Josh Brolin performed well.
I had very low expectations about this remake, i usually hate remakes specially when they are unnecessary due to the great quality of the source material but with that said, i must say that i was surprised to find that Spike Lee did a very good job and the result is a gory enjoyable movie that respects and pays several homages to the original.
Although it isn't a masterpiece it's one of the best remakes i have seen and one that may be easier for non-Asian audiences to watch therefore letting people who aren't fans of Asian movies enjoy an amazing plot with only a few changes.I enjoyed it and recommend it..
It's a Spike Lee film for Christ's sake.To the people who rated this movie 1 star, you should get your heads examined.I saw a lot of movies and this one is very good.
OK to start of whats with the awful comments about this movie judge this movie by itself try not compare.I've Never seen the original gave this a chance after some terrible reviews..glad i gave it a go great fight scene great story kept me wondering till the end give it a go you wont be disappointedI also just created this account just to review this movie and actually on valentines night with my boyfriend and he also loved it.so if your a fan of the original by majority of comments here you should skip it.if you have an open mind and enjoy violence give this a view.
In the end, I thought an episode of CSI was better directed and scripted than this total mess.I feel bad for Sharlito Copley, he is a good actor in district 9 and the A-Team, but this movie made me laugh at him.
it is a remake, but it does have subtle differences, but the overall movie has its own style.I was pretty excited that they were going to make an Americanized version of Oldboy, I heard about it as it was just being pre-produced.
At times, it even gets diabolically funJosh Brolin in this film carries that quiet Charles Bronson-esque persona, he's bent on one thing and one thing only, too bad they didn't give Brolin's character, Joe Douchett, that Dae- su Oh crazy big Asian fro, but that would probably be distracting and it would end up be the only thing of Josh Brolin that people would talk about.
With OLDBOY, I feel that Protosevich and Spike Lee focus more on inviting the audience in on Douchett's investigation rather than trying to copy the Korean film or the manga comic frame by frame.
Samuel has a unique way of swearing in the entire Hollywood and you will love that in every movie.Technology is changing and telling an old story in a new way is not a bad thing.
first off i hate when people say it was not as good as the original foreign movie, or...it was not like the book, who cares !If you're like me and don't read books or watch foreign movies...i mean I speak English, subtitles,is like reading a book,and I don't read books.This movie was a good movie,It was entertaining,yes no academy awards for this movie,like Schwarzenegger will never get an academy award,yet the guy gives you 90 minutes of good entertainment....like the Ramones or Kiss will never be in the same camp as Beethoven...still they entertain you just the same.the movie had some dull moments and the main character didn't smile much,I mean if 20 years were taken away from you,you'd probably have little to smile about as well.
The performances aren't too bad either but then you'd expect that with the cast.In summary, whilst this has been created as a standalone it's still a decent film and stepping back from it, I can't help thinking that had this been 'the original' offering rather than the Korean version, it would have been well received.
You look at the cast - Samuel L Jackson, Josh Brolin and Sharlto Copley and say "wow, this film has to be at least decent because these guys would never sign onto a project that could be a total dud." This is an example of a one trick pony director (Spike Lee) who built a name around race-based films trying to actually do something other than his usual shtick and having his agents hook these names onto a project which they all probably regret.IMPORTANT: WATCH THE ORIGINAL FIRST.
THEN START THIS FILM, WATCH 10 MINUTES AND THEN DECIDE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TORTURE YOURSELF FOR THE ENTIRE RUNNING TIME.Mistake #1 - You've got to be pretty darn arrogant to think you're going to do at least a good job if not better of remaking one of the greatest original films made.
The rating on this film is only in the 5.x grade because Spike Lee clearly had his marketing people stuff the ballot box.WATCH THE ORIGINAL FIRST.
I know the studio (releasing the film) cut over 30-minutes out of Lee's preferred version (Brolin preferred Lee's cut as well) and that possibly could have been an even better movie; supposedly the huge central fight scene (involving a hammer) was all done in one cut, originally (which was displayed in the extended version).
I liked Josh Brolin in 'Labor Day' and yet again he was not bad in this film except if you compare him with his counterpart from the Korean movie, Choi Min Shik.
In conclusion I liked this film, it was a good hour and 45 minutes of entertainment and I didn't based everything off the fact that its a remake and its directed by Spike Lee. I mean the point of seeing a movie is to be entertained by it because it is a form of entertainment, I understand if you just thought it was just boring, but giving it a poor review because it can't match the standards of the original is just silly, be honest and stop comparing..
This Movie is pretty good and you may want to switch off half way through but I bet you won't be able too.Although the endings twists and turns into what you'll least expect and quite frankly not for the easily shocked.This film overall is well worth a watch and is worth far more than the rating it has.Recommend a watch..
Not that I am saying that the 2013 version all by itself is a good movie - far from it, even if you have never seen the original, the Spike Lee's movie is pale and far from a masterpiece.
I had so much respect for Spike Lee, but that has changed with this movie - it seems like a painfully simplified, dull and dumb version of the original.
"Oldboy" (R, 1:44) is a terrible name for this movie because it tells you nothing about the film, but director Spike Lee took the name from the 2003 Korean version, so we can let it slide.
Ever since the success of the Grudge, 10 years ago, American filmmakers have been looking to popular overseas films for original ideas, many times simply remaking them.
It seemed like the entire movie was trying to be edgy, but at the very end, the writers took a much more conservative move.The acting was not convincing whatsoever, while Brolin played his character well at times, it also seemed very overdone at other moments.
Now 13 years after the original, Spike Lee Directed the remake of this movie.
So I actually thought remaking this movie make sense especially for English viewers who haven't seen the original.
Oldboy (2013) is, unfortunately, not a good remake.In some ways the movie smartly avoids trying to copy some things from the original that would not fit with an American version.
The remake was honestly just trying way too hard to be like the original rather than being it's own film and that's why it failed.
Especially if you haven't seen the original.I thought Spike Lee did a good job of keeping the original essence of the film and making tweaks to appeal to American audiences.
Great movie never saw the original, it's weird but keeps you watch till the end.
The original Oldboy is possibly the best revenge story of all time, but this film misses the point so far, the only thing loyal is the name.
I watched the original Korean movie, enjoyed it.
Seriously I was never a fan of original Oldboy(2003) movie..but this Spike Lee movie was a blast.Josh Brolin gave one of his best performance as an arrogant and carefree person who realizes his mistakes when he was confined to a small room for 20 years.The action sequences are very great.
There's a nice Hitchcockian quality to the new "Oldboy," Spike Lee's remake of Korean director Park Chan-wook's cult film of revenge and regret.
For me I found the movie very engaging.Josh Brolin performance is great, He really did a good job as far as acting goes.
If you've seen the original, then you know the power of truly good character development and you know how difficult it was to see the ending of this film play out the way it does.Spike Lee takes his version to a bit of a different level, while keeping very many of the same scenes and subject matter as the old one.
Many people who are huge fans of the original film will be divided by this remake, but I know I was very pleased with the end result.8/10.