Oldboy (2004)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 132
Fresh: 107 | Rotten: 25
Violent and definitely not for the squeamish, Park Chan-Wook's visceral Oldboy is a strange, powerful tale of revenge.
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 7
Violent and definitely not for the squeamish, Park Chan-Wook's visceral Oldboy is a strange, powerful tale of revenge.
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Average Rating: 4.3/5
User Ratings: 114,838
My Rating
Movie Info
South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook directed this violent and offbeat story of punishment and vengeance. Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is a husband and father whose reputation for womanizing is well known. One day, for reasons he doesn't understand, Oh Dae-su finds himself locked up in a prison cell, with no idea of what his crime was or whom his jailers may be. With a small television as his only link to the outside world and a daily ration of fried dumplings as his only sustenance, Oh Dae-su
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Cast
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Min-sik Choi
Oh Dae-Su -
Gang Hye-jeong
Mido -
Ji-tae Yu
Lee Woo-Jin -
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All Critics (132) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (113) | Rotten (26) | DVD (27)
Both brutal and lyrical, writer-director Park Chan-wook's existential nail-biter has torture scenes that will have you avoiding dentists, sushi bars and badly appointed hotel rooms.
Top CriticShakespearean in its violence, Oldboy also calls up nightmare images of spiritual and physical isolation that are worthy of Samuel Beckett or Dostoyevsky.
There's a lot less here than meets the eye.
Quite an achievement then, and well worthy of its Cannes prize.
It's mesmerizing and discomfiting, engaging the viewer on a visceral and an intellectual level.
A visually beguiling trip that keeps pulling you along and keeps you wondering what fresh hell could possibly come next.
Vengeance here's a clever, evolving beast. Dae-su's guardian-like enemy stokes his bloodlust, embittering the free man's returning love of life. The climax is a scarlet swelling into Greek tragedy as truth, reprisal and justice smear.
Banzai-violence kin to "Cast Away" about a man at time's cruel whim, "Oldboy"is an endurance test worth taking. Its conclusion is the most sadistic and destructively wrathful since "Seven," and the point of no return has rarely shocked this much.
Intense and dark but also humorous and moving, this is an ambitious film that fulfils its promise, despite an arguably overly protracted denouement. Excellent.
... a revenge thriller set in a cinematic neverland one zip-code away from Seven and Saw.
One of the best imports I've seen in a while...
Vengeance, says director Chan-wook Park, is the most dramatic subject in the world. The problem with that view driving his filmmaking is that it seems to override his creative judgement, presenting us with cruelty as the vehicle for his cinematic jollies.
Director Chan-wook Park keeps the suspense going for as long as possible.
Part character study, part action flick, the film seamlessly blends genres in an extremely satisfying way. The photography is spectacular - of particular note is a Escher-like staircase sequence that is simply extraordinary.
As played by Choi Min-shik, Dae-su attains tragic stature. He's like a shaggy King Lear undone by his own foolishness.
Definitivamente no para todos los gustos, esta violenta y asombrosa película coreana promete convertirse en una de las verdaderas sorpresas del año.
Park has a strong visual style and a near-surrealistic noir touch, but unraveling the mystery scarcely repays sitting through his relentless rounds of gut-wrenching violence.
Not to everyone's tastes, but if you have a strong stomach, OldBoy is sure to impress.
Oldboy is a delirious, confronting ride, a movie full of visceral shocks and aesthetic pleasures: it has an explosive immediacy and a persistent afterlife, a lingering impact that is hard to shake.
Be amazed at my cruel virility. Feel the pain. Oh yeah.
Audience Reviews for Oldboy
Super Reviewer
I'd heard this was a highly acclaimed film, and, thankfully, aside from the "corridor fight" I really knew basically nothing about this, and that's a good thing. The less you know, the better, as part of why this is great is the experience of seeing the story unfold.
It's dark, twisted, and really unsettling, but it has a point, and the moments of strong violence are justified. Plus, there's some well placed moments of quirky humor which are good since a story like this could do with some occasional levity.
Despite the bleak and lurid subject matter, this film is actually quite gorgeous, and very well shot, It's slick, stylish, and very artful. The aforementioned "corridor fight" is amazing, especially since it's done in a single take. It's not the only sequence that sings though, but it is a clear highlight.
The music is quite good, the writing and direction strong, and the performances, especially Min-sik Choi in the lead, are all pretty solid. The dubbing kinda stuck out, and not in a good way, but that's really my only complaint here.
This is compelling stuff, and a great thriller. Definitely check it out.
Super Reviewer
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- Mido: In front of me is some kind of box. He`s telling me to open it.
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- Oh Dae-Su: If they had told me it was going to be fifteen years, would it have been easier to endure.
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- Oh Dae-Su: Be it a stone or a grain of sand, in water they both sink.
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- Mido: I love dae-su.
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- Oh Dae-Su: Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.
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- Lee Woo-Jin: Your gravest mistake wasn't failing to find the answer. If you keep asking the wrong questions, you'll never find the right answer.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Stupidest movie ever | 34 days ago | 8 |
Latest News on Oldboy
October 19, 2012:
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August 20, 2012:
Samuel L. Jackson Joins OldboyThe ever-busy Jackson will star opposite Josh Brolin in Spike Lee's remake.
August 10, 2012:
Five Favorite Films with David DuchovnyDavid Duchovny became a bona fide pop culture star in the '90s with his wry, oddball performance as...
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Foreign Titles
- Oldboy (Oldeuboi) (2005) (CA)
- Old Boy (FR)
